Rickey Foggie’s declaration that he still plans to pursue the Eagan football head coaching position drew little public response Thursday from the school district in which the high school is located.
“All I can say is that Rickey Foggie withdrew his name from consideration Monday and at that point we moved forward to fill the position,” said Tony Taschner, communications director for Independent School District 196. “Other than that, we’re limited in what we can say due to data privacy regulations.”
Foggie, a University of Minnesota quarterback in the mid-1980s, was hired to be Eagan’s head football coach on May 13. A link on his personal Twitter account to a website promoting pornography was brought to the attention of the school administration, resulting in Foggie withdrawing his name on Monday night.
Foggie said the Twitter follow to the site was unintentional. He said he took steps, at the request of school administrators, to rectify the situation, including removing the Twitter account and meeting with team members Monday morning. The district administration met with him again that evening and, Foggie said, gave him no choice but to resign.
“I felt like I was backed into a corner because I felt the only thing I had left was to protect my reputation,” Foggie said Wednesday. “But after having the opportunity to talk to some other people, I’m willing to fight because what they did wasn’t right.”
Eagan is one of four high schools in District 196, which also includes Apple Valley, Eastview and Rosemount.
Jim Paulsen • 612-673-7737