Washington High School football coach Tony Lombardi is a smart, funny and talented guy who cares about his players. Unfortunately, he seems to have a self-destruct button that gets him in trouble.

Washington High School parents complained about him last winter to the Cedar Rapids School District and he was instructed by the district to undergo "remediation," whatever that means.

Last week he had an unfortunate incident with a player from Cedar Rapids Prairie and the district has suspended him from Friday night's game at Dubuque Wahlert.

First remediation, now a suspension. If that's Strike 1 and Strike 2, he could be down to his final strike.

Fairly or unfairly, Lombardi has become a lightning rod in the community. And he's brought some of it - perhaps most of it - on himself.

He's a loqoacious guy and sometimes says things he probably shouldn't have said. He admits that was the case last Thursday night when he made a disparaging comment to Prairie junior Kentrel Smith after their game at Kingston Stadium.

Washington Principal Ralph Plagman won't talk about the incident, citing privacy issues. He said he'd be breaking the law if he talked about a private personnel matter.

The Cedar Rapids School District has taken the same stance. They won't comment on Lombardi, citing privacy rules.

There are some legitimate reasons for privacy rules, but how about the public's right to know? If you have a son at Washington who's on the football team, wouldn't you want to know what's really going on with the coach?

What if you have a son who's an eighth grader at McKinley Middle School who might want to play football at Washington next year? Don't you have a right to know?

What if you're a taxpayer in Cedar Rapids and your money is being used to pay Lombardi's salary? Don't you have a right to know?

We don't need to know every little detail, but some public explanation from a school official might be a good idea. So far, there's been total silence.

To his credit, Lombardi issued a statement Wednesday night and apologized for his actions at last week's game against Prairie. He also conducted media interviews Wednesday night, including one with the Metro Sports Report.

School board members and school district employees live in fear of lawsuits, so that may be part of the reason nobody is saying anything. It's impossible to know, because they aren't talking.

None of this is meant to excuse Lombardi, who is a veteran teacher and coach. He's taken responsibility for what happened and admitted he was wrong.

But what's next?