Chris Bryant resigned as John Bapst boys basketball coach this week after parents complained about his intensity, he said.
Bryant, who was just a couple weeks into his third season on the bench for the Bangor-based private school, posted on Facebook about his resignation on Tuesday and said his decision followed parent complaints that left him feeling like he no longer had the support of parents or the administration.
It also came the same week that Brewer High School athletic administrators announced Tuesday that Carl Parker has stepped away from the Brewer head coaching role “for personal reasons” after leading the Witches boys basketball team since 2023.
In a Wednesday interview with Bangor Daily News, Bryant said that some of the John Bapst parent complaints came after an incident in practice as the Crusaders team was preparing for a tough but exciting matchup against Fort Kent last week. At one point in that practice, Bryant kicked a basketball against the gym wall in frustration.
His comments about the situation shed new light on the sudden resignation announced in a Tuesday evening Facebook post.
“We were doing a shell drill in practice, pretty standard stuff. It went horrible. I called for a drink break, the players left the gym, and I kicked a basketball at a wall,” Bryant said Wednesday. “I kicked it pretty hard, but I mean, it’s a gymnasium. I think gymnasiums can handle basketballs.”
The next day, he was in the athletic director’s office and was told there had been multiple complaints about his intensity at practice.
“I told the administration that I didn’t necessarily feel that I’d done anything wrong, but I’d be happy to apologize,” Bryant said, adding that he made a post on the app the team uses for communication.
He said he received a one game suspension for the ball-kicking incident and was unable to coach during the Fort Kent game on Saturday.
“That was very disappointing, but I understood that it’s a private school and, you know, parents have to feel heard and have access,” Bryant said. “And I didn’t deny what I did. I kicked a basketball in anger after a poorly executed drill. I’m an intense guy. The Big East is an intense league.”
Bryant said he then returned to practice on Monday and thought things went great, calling it probably the best practice of the season. He said knew he would be under a microscope, and he made it a point to have a less structured and more fun practice in an attempt to move on from the negative situation from the previous week.
But not long before he and the team were set to get on the bus and travel to Waterville for Tuesday’s game against the Panthers, Bryant said he was alerted to more parent complaints and told he couldn’t coach that game either.
According to Bryant, John Bapst Athletic Director Dan O’Connell told him that there had been more parent calls about a comment Bryant made in practice to a player on the Crusader’s third team.
The third team is called the “yellow team,” behind the backup “purple team” and starting “white team.” John Bapst’s colors are white and purple.
The comment in question involved telling a player “that’s why you’re on the yellow team” in response to something that happened in practice.
“I don’t deny saying that. I did say that,” Bryant said. “And I basically told the administration, if that’s an issue, we can’t continue. It’s gonna be something every day. That’s just a comment a coach would make.”
O’Connell, the athletic director, didn’t immediately respond to inquiries on Wednesday about the situation.
Bryant said he wasn’t bullying or yelling at the player.
“I couldn’t believe it was an issue,” he added. “I barely remembered saying it.”
Bryant was surprised by the additional round of complaints after a practice that he said was all high fives and smiles. And he said he decided that there would be no way to continue if there were going to be parent complaints every practice.
“It just wasn’t going to be a good fit this year,” Bryant said. “They just wanted me out, so you know, I step away from the team and wish them the best of luck as they continue along this journey.”
He called it a “tough day” but noted that he’d gotten positive texts from former players at Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln and Mt. View in Thorndike, where he coached years ago as part of a coaching career that spans more than two decades.
“I kicked a ball. They thought I was too intense. I am intense,” Bryant said. “It was a mutual parting, I guess you could say.”
Above all, he said he was grateful for the opportunity to coach the team for two seasons and build impactful relationships. He wishes the players and the program all the best as they continue this season, and he was proud of the Crusaders team for going down to Waterville and getting a win Tuesday night.
Bryant also coaches a third and fourth grade travel B team in Bangor, and said that group will be his sole focus now this season. He said he could see himself coaching at a different school at some point in the future.
He previously spent several years as an assistant coach at Husson University in Bangor.
