Kenneth Harring, the head coach of the UMass Lowell baseball team, announced his retirement Monday after 19 seasons. His resignation comes in the wake of an allegation by a former UMass player that the coach had exhibited racist behavior toward him, as reported by the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting.
The coach and the UMass Athletic Department denied the allegations made by Cedric Rose, a transfer student who made the New England Collegiate Baseball League All-Star team in 2022. Rose, who is Black, said he was cut from the team once Harring dicovered Rose was keeping track of what he described as the coach's racist comments in a journal.
Instead, the department cited the 22-year-old Rose for aggressive behavior prior to the spring season this year. The school's athletic director, Peter Casey, accused Rose of violating "the team expectations and philosophy document that all players are required to uphold” -- but he declined to clarify what that meant after GBH News sought elaboration.
A subsequent external UMass investigation conducted by Worcester attorney, Brigid Harrington, determined in June that while Harring, who is white, may have directed harsh words toward a Black baseball player, the coach's behavior did not violate the school's policies on harassment and retaliation.
Harring did not specifically mention Rose or the investigation in his resignation letter, which was published Monday on the official UMass Lowell Athletic Department website. But he did allude to the broader controversy.
"After some reflection, I have made the difficult decision to voluntarily resign my position at the university and move on to the next chapter of my career," Harring wrote. "I wish to avoid being a distraction to the university and program that I am so proud of and that has been such an important part of my life for so many years."
Despite the investigation concluding Rose's dismissal was warranted, the school acknowledged that the coach's behavior was troubling.
"Though the investigator found that no policies were violated, their investigation revealed interactions that do not align with the university’s commitment to an inclusive and welcoming environment," the university said in a statement to GBH News in June.
Rose's attorney Ed Burley said his client had documented the coach's alleged racist behavior in a series of notes that he kept in a diary. Burley and the family contend that the coach's discovery of Rose's journal is what led to Cedric being kicked off the team.
Coach Harring's resignation is unlikely to put the brakes on ongoing litigation initiated by Burley and the Rose family.
Burley told GBH News that they are in talks with UMass Deputy seeking compensation for the Rose family. He said they have also outlined several steps for "reforming the UMass Lowell baseball team," including diversity training for the coaching staff and team and a public apology for the school's handling of Rose's complaints.
