Boston Herald, Laura Crimaldi
A Wellesley High School volleyball coach yesterday insisted that a terrible blunder led to him inadvertently playing a pornographic video in front of a group of teen players — prompting his resignation.
“What I would like to do is get my story out, have people understand what happened, not lurk in the shadows and give people the impression that I’m some kind of a sleazebag, I’m some kind of pervert,” coach Wayne Lem, 57, told the Herald in a tearful interview. “Folks, this is what happened. Judge me on what happened. Don’t let any prejudices dissuade you and condemn me for something that is honestly an unfortunate incident.”According to Lem, the bizarre chain of events began last Tuesday, when he and the boys team and three junior varsity girls gathered at the high school to eat pizza and watch last year’s men’s collegiate volleyball championship. While he was setting up a DVD/VHS player he brought from home, Lem said, he realized he couldn’t find the disc and started to go over the practice schedule.
“When I was handing out schedules, the boys just started cracking up and started yelling. I quickly turned around and an adult video came on the screen,” said Lem, who said he turned off the TV, apologized and then dismissed the team.
“I panicked,” Lem said. “I was in shock.”
In a phone interview, Lem said he believed the video belonged to a house guest. In person, however, Lem declined to discuss how the video ended up in his player.
Lem said the school did not force him to resign, but he decided to step down.
“I’ve worked hard to establish a stellar coaching career. I’ve always been cognizant of the problems that some of these coaches have encountered in the past — improper behavior, improper touching, whatever,” Lem said. “I didn’t coincide with the promise that I made that I would do anything that I could possibly do to get this program up to snuff and get it successful.”
Lem — a coach with more than 30 years experience at Harvard, Boston College, Regis College and Brookline High — has been replaced, said Superintendent Bella Wong, who declined to comment further on personnel issues. There is no criminal investigation, she said.
The move was a “kick in the stomach,” said Newton North High School volleyball coach Richard Barton.
“Wayne is just such an impeccable guy,” Barton said. “He is someone they would want in their school.”
Former boys volleyball players also defended Lem.
“Coach Lem felt as though he needed to be a perfect role model for the players on the team, so I can only imagine how terrible this must be for him right now,” Wellesley graduate Jakob Gnirke said in a Facebook message.
Lem said he’s unsure whether he’ll coach again.
“The boys contacted me. They wanted me to come back,” Lem said. “And I told the guys that I have to be responsible. I have to be accountable. There isn’t any other way I can handle the situation.”
