- A longtime college baseball coach has resigned his position after a cheating scandal.
- The coach was accused of using illegal electronic devices in their batting helmets.
Cheating is a part of baseball, but one team went too far, and how they got caught suggests they didn't think their plan through.
Rodney Velardi, the head coach of the baseball team at Atlantic Cape Community College in New Jersey for 13 years, resigned on May 4, according to Josh Friedman of the Courier Post.
According to the Post, the resignation came two weeks after an opponent, Rowen College, accused the team of using illegal electronic devices in their batting helmets during a game between the two schools.
It turns out the opposing team's first baseman could hear a voice coming from the helmets of the Atlantic Cape players.
"I just thought, nah. I didn't believe it. I didn't not believe him, but for that sophisticated of cheating, I just didn't think they would do it," Rowan College head coach Rob Valli told the Courier Post.
The coach explained that he wanted some confirmation before taking the accusation to the umpires. In the third inning, when the same players got on base again, the first baseman signaled to his coach that he could hear the voice again.
Valli then asked the umpires to check the helmets and they found listening devices on two players on the field. According to the Courier Post, Atlantic Cape denied the devices were used during the game, and nobody was ejected.
Atlantic Cape Chief Marketing Officer Laura Batchelor told the Courier Post that the league investigated the incident. After initially suspending the coach, they asked him to resign when they determined the devices were used in the game.