Anonymous group reaches out to coaches regarding Timber Creek football
The anonymous group S.T.O.P. has reached out to South Jersey football coaches in a renewal of its criticism of the Timber Creek Regional High School program.
S.T.O.P -- an acronym for Stop Taking Our Players -- has sent a letter to coaches whose teams have Timber Creek on the schedule this season, encouraging them to complain to the NJSIAA.
"As head coach of a program that follows the rules, we implore you to file a complaint with the NJSIAA, forcing them to address this illegal recruiting immediately," read the letter, which was received by one head coach on Monday.
The letter was accompanied by a copy of a 13-page letter and flash drive that the group sent to the Camden County Prosecutors Office as well as the NJSIAA and media outlets in May.
That letter in May led to a three-month investigation by the CCPO and an ongoing probe by the NJSIAA.
The latest letter, which begins, "Greetings head coaches," accuses the NJSIAA of "purposely slow playing their investigation" with the intention of trying to "get through the football season and into another sports cycle before offering their final ruling on this matter."
In a related development, the NJSIAA on Monday released a statement saying that a "reconfigured" legal team continues to review information on Timber Creek.
The NJSIAA is "reviewing all available information related to Timber Creek Regional High School and complaints that out-of-district students had attended the school and represented it in interscholastic athletic competition," the statement said.
NJSIAA executive director Steve Timko indicated that a "health issue" involving a member of the organization's legal staff has delayed the review of the Timber Creek program.
"There are a significant number of files that need to be assessed," Timko said in a statement. "Our reconfigured legal team will take the time required to complete this process and then inform us of its findings.
"From there, we'll make a formal report to the NJSIAA's own executive committee."
If Timber Creek is found to have used ineligible players, the team could be subject to forfeiture of games played this season as well as in past seasons -- including the school's South Jersey Group 4 championship in 2015.
Timber Creek (7-0) is the No. 2 team in the Inquirer Top 25 rankings.
The Chargers will enter this year's South Jersey Group 4 tournament, which starts Nov. 11, as the favorite to capture the program's fourth sectional title since 2011.
NJSIAA associate director Larry White, who has directed the organization's investigation of the Timber Creek matter, declined to comment on Monday.
White said at the NJSIAA's executive committee meeting on Oct. 12 that the organization was leaning toward developing a "Corrective Action Plan" with the Black Horse Pike school district with regard to residency and transfer issues at Timber Creek.
The latest letter also criticizes the news media for a "lack of transparency" and for not reporting that questions about the residency of players at other schools were raised in the May letter.
The Inquirer has declined to report many of the details of the May letter because the charges were made by an anonymous group and also because some of the athletes who were identified by initials are minors.
In addition, neither the CCPO nor the NJSIAA has seen cause to investigate the other schools mentioned by S.T.O.P. in the May letter.
The NJSIAA's announcement on Monday as well as news of S.T.O.P.'s latest letter were new developments in a saga that began in May, when S.T.O.P sent the anonymous, 13-page letter accusing Timber Creek of illegal recruiting and residency violations to the Camden County Prosecutors Office and the NJSIAA as well as media outlets.
The prosecutors office announced Sept. 9 that it was closing a three-month investigation into the Timber Creek program, indicating that no criminal charges would be filed but that "residency descrepencies" have been uncovered and would be forwarded to the NJSIAA.
At the time, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo said that "all evidence associated with residency rule violations will be forwarded to the state's governing body of high school athletics for review."
In its latest letter, S.T.O.P. closed by writing, "if this is the NJSIAA's vision of what high school athletics should look like in the future, please let everybody know so they can start recruiting to become more equipped to compete against these 'All-Star' teams."
-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com
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