Until last spring, Edwin Zarowin thought his job was secure. He was 31 years into coaching men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field at Hunter College, after having coached at Brooklyn Technical High School for 21 years. He was 88.
A new college cross-country season will begin next month, but Zarowin will no longer be Hunter’s coach. Unhappy over his situation, Zarowin has filed an age discrimination/retaliation complaint against Hunter, and some current and former athletes have waged an online war. He and his supporters claim that the college unfairly, and perhaps illegally, decided that Zarowin was simply too old.