'Gentle Giant': Wantagh High School Coach Dies Of Coronavirus

WANTAGH, NY — Tony Carter, a longtime football coach at Wantagh High School and health care worker in Mineola, has died after contracting the new coronavirus, according to a report. He was 57.

Carter, of Uniondale, died Tuesday morning, his family told Newsday. Carter served as defensive coordinator the school's football team for 18 years and spent more than three decades working at Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, according to the report.

News of Carter's death reverberated through the community, with tributes pouring in on social media. Friends remembered him as a great coach, father and husband who knew how to hold his student-athletes accountable and be their best selves.

"Coach, you were an amazing coach and an even better man," one person wrote. "You had such a positive impact on the Wantagh community. You made every player a better person on and off the field. You will be missed. RIP."

Another wrote: "The Long Island Football community lost a great coach, father, and husband to the Corona Virus (sic) last night."

A third person said: "When you take a step back and you have influence on young people just look at Coach Carter, his demand of your best in whatever you are going to do, not just winning, but the integrity to do your best. Thank you, coach Carter, for being that living lesson each and every day. We will continue your legacy about student athlete."

An online fundraiser has been created through GoFundMe by a fellow coach to support Carter's family. The poster said Carter is survived by his wife, Yolanda and children Sabriyah and Idris, along with his mother, brothers and sisters.

Carter also coached in Westbury and Roosevelt, reaching, educating and touching numerous people on the field, the post said. But perhaps none more than his son, Idris.

"Their time spent together on the field as father and son is immeasurable and celebrated throughout the course of his coaching career," the post said. "It is with great sadness and unbearable pain that we open up this fundraising page in honor of Coach Carter and to help with the financial burden this beautiful family will face moving forward without their 'gentle giant.'"

As of Thursday afternoon, the account had raised over $30,000.

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