Below is all I could find on Google related to Mr. Hopson. Nothing at all is either racist or homophobic. That doesn't mean there isn't anything to the accusations but given the serious nature of the claims I certainly hope someone actually provides some evidence behind them, or steps up and apologizes if they can't.
However the two excerpts below do illustrate the continued division and disagreement that will continue to plague the school board going forward. Whether he was right or wrong is not what worries me. How the current board and he will be able to coexist and get things done is beyond me given the history below. I see a future with more arguing by adults resulting in more failure for kids. I think that the only thing that's been proven over the past several years is that Asbury Park simply will not be able to fix our own schools. Too many egos, too much croneyism, far too many agendas other than the kids. As a kid when things went this horribly wrong we'd call a do-over. We need the state to come in here and give us do-over. Run the system without all of the history. See what works. Be open to trying things without the baggage of worrying about who's friend's job might be impacted. And reward performance rather than politics. Here are the quotes... >From August, when the status of Dr. Lewis and the football coach were in question: Since that time, several parents have come forward to protest the move and voice support for the coach. A small group of parents and football players took a bus trip to Trenton last Friday and met with Deputy Commissioner of Education Isaac Bryant. Greg Hopson, one of the parents who organized the trip, said the group asked Bryant to suspend the Asbury Park school board for repeatedly denying candidates for employment submitted by Superintendent of Schools Antonio Lewis. D'Alessandro contested that allegation. "Ninety-five percent of everything Lewis asks for are routinely agreed to," he said. "We have had a couple of high profile candidates who have not been hired." Regarding the football coach: Greg Hopson, Asbury Park, has two sons who played for Coach Stinson. Gregory Junior will be going to West Virginia, Wesleyan or Delaware State University in the fall with an academic and athletic scholarship. He has offers to play football for both teams. His younger brother Frederick is going into his junior year. Hopson is very upset about the delay in hiring a football coach and will be attending tonight's meeting. Young Gregory said Coach Stinson has been a role model and a mentor. "He helped me on and off the field, academically and athletically. Since he joined the program it has been going up and up. More kids are going to college," said Gregory. He added that Stinson helped him throughout his four years. "Everything I asked him to do, he did, he was just there, you didn't have to ask." Hopson says his son played both defensive and offensive positions and in his opinion always gave 110 percent. "Being his father, I want to say I motivated him. At home I did, but at school it was the coach." Hopson said many parents are fighting for Coach Stinson to be rehired. When they learned that Stinson had not yet had his contract renewed, they attended the last board meeting to voice concerns. "He had not been re-appointed. We went to the meeting and we pushed the point," said Hopson. "We are not bullies; we are a bunch of concerned parents who want answers. The ninth and 12th graders are all suffering. I think the fault lies with the board." Hopson believes the Board of Education is not taking the leadership role it should in the school community. "I feel the athletic director is being managed by other sources with their own agendas," he said. DiSanto said yesterday that he had not seen the board agenda and as far as he is concerned, board members will "vote their conscious" at the meeting tonight. Lewis and athletic director Ronald Standridge could not be reached for comment. Hopson is so concerned about the current atmosphere at the school that he sent a letter to the commissioner of education, Lucille E. Davy, detailing his concerns. He also believes someone with access to his son's school records sent erroneous information about his son to colleges. Because of the situation, Hopson's son was put on home instruction for the remainder of the year.
