St. Anthony's Coach Fired After Calling Rochester Girl 'Animal'

MELVILLE, NY — Tom Ciancuielli was the assistant coach for junior varsity boys football at St. Anthony's High School in Melville until this week.

Ciancuielli was fired after he wrote a Facebook post calling a 9-year-old Rochester girl a "total animal" after she was pepper-sprayed by police Friday.

Ciancuielli wrote the post in reference to a video showing two police officers pepper-spray the girl, who was hospitalized. The two officers were suspended.

"She is a total animal and not following simple orders, totally justifiable," Ciancuielli wrote.

Many in the St. Anthony's community reportedly saw his comment and shared it. On Monday, St. Anthony's High School posted a statement calling Ciancuielli's words "offensive and inappropriate."

"St. Anthony's High School believes in the democratic ideals of liberty, equality and the principle of law in a pluralistic and multicultural society," the statement said.

Patch reached out to Ciancuielli for comment but has not heard back as of Wednesday.

Ciancuielli previously coached for Long Island Elite Football.

"He is no longer part of the organization but we felt compelled to make a statement anyway," Benjamin Carey and Gerald Filardi, the football organization's founders, said in a statement. "We will never tolerate anything like this among our coaches, players, parents or anyone associated with our organization."

Patch reached out to Ciancuielli for comment but did not receive a reply.