Ex-Jefferson High girls coach admits he had ‘inappropriate’ relationships

JEFFERSON — In a 21⁄2-hour interview conducted in August 2014, Donald McCormack, former Ashtabula Star Beacon sports editor and former Jefferson High School assistant girls basketball coach, agreed with two detectives that his relationships with some of his players were “inappropriate.”

He said he was in love with one former player he’s accused of sexually assaulting in 1991, took her on a trip to Cincinnati and provided $1,800 to her family for moving expenses so she could play basketball in Jefferson.

He told a detective he probably thought his relationships with female players were OK at the time, “but looking back at it, it was inappropriate for a man to have.”

He also told the detectives that two girls who alleged he touched their buttocks one night at a party at which he and other adults were drinking alcohol are probably telling the truth, but he doesn’t know because of the amount of drinking he did.

When a detective asked McCormack whether he thought he should be charged criminally for his actions, McCormack said, “Yes,” but when asked what crimes he committed, he said only, “I need help.”

For the complete story, read Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com