Fairfield head football coach Joe Bernard has chosen to remain without comment concerning his Nov. 22 driving under the influence arrest in Penn Argyl, PA.
“I have no comment at this time,” Bernard said. “I need to talk to Fr. Kelley, since this wasn’t something that involved Fairfield University.”
In the early morning hours of Thanksgiving Day, Bernard crashed his vehicle into five parked cars at approximately 1:45 a.m., according to the Penn Argyl Police Department. Bernard, a resident of the small Pennsylvania town, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.23 percent, which is above the state’s 0.10 limit, police said.
According to the town police department, Bernard was charged with driving under the influence and careless driving. Bernard waved his preliminary hearing that was scheduled in February and has not been given a county court appearance date at the time of publication.
The Mirror recently received an anonymous letter stating that the university’s administration may soon take action against Bernard. Director of Athletics Eugene Doris said that action has already been taken.
“Appropriate action to the situation was immediately taken after the incident,” Doris said. “I can’t say what action was taken, just that it’s a personal matter.”
Some Stags’ players believe the incident should have no reflection on Bernard’s coaching status.
“I don’t really think it’s any of our business,” said sophomore defensive end Joe Murphy. “It doesn’t affect the way he coaches us. We look at it as just a mistake.”
However, other players were not surprised to hear of the incident. “He’s always drinking on the bus on the way home from away games,” said Chris Hook, who was a member of the team for three years. “Everybody knows that he drinks. He doesn’t hide it.”
Bernard, who never officially told his players of the incident according to Murphy, finished his first season as Stags’ head coach with a record of 5-5 overall and a third-place finish in the MAAC.
Bernard took over on April 2, 2001 when Kevin Kiesel departed after guiding the program in its first five years of existence, while Bernard served as the team’s defensive coordinator.
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