The “Free Pick” Facebook group written about in the following article is, at the time of publication, an open group. Since it is a public domain, Inklings reserves the right to directly quote from the group.

WARNING: This article contains explicit language and chronicles verbal exchanges that may be considered offensive. Inklings noted this in its decision to run the article to publication, with the consideration that the language was necessary to more completely detail a serious issue.

“Invite everyone,” stated the first post by Austin Nicklas ’14, in the “Free Pick” Facebook group he created on Nov. 17. Nicklas created the group about 24 hours after allegations were made that, Michael Pickering, a freshman lacrosse coach, an employee of the Westport Public School Maintenance Department, and a freshman football assistant coach for the past nine seasons, shared access codes to a pornographic website with students.

Pickering has been charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, and his name has subsequently been removed from the “Coaching Staff” page on the official Wreckers Football website.

“Free Pick” was created with the stated intent to “show…support for [Pickering]” a man described in the group description as “a great guy” who “deserves to be set free.” The description also asks members to, “invite all your friends.”

The group is filled with scores of posts by students consisting of two simple words: “Free Pick.” In addition, many of the students who posted on the site also have switched their profile pictures to a photo of Pickering, standing, smiling.

Burim Trdevaj ’13 recently posted ideas for students to show their support: “So far I’m thinking sunglasses and white tees at the football game to support [Coach] Pick. Also as many kids as possible should go to his court date on Nov. 28 and show our support. Let’s get this ball rolling.” The game Trdevaj refers to is the Thanksgiving game against Greenwich, scheduled for next week.

Contrary to popular belief, a public Facebook group is legally defined as public domain. From the first post hailing the coach’s leadership skills to the first post that railed upon the town’s actions, anyone could view any posts in the group, regardless of whether they had a Facebook account. This includes teachers, parents, coaches, and school administrators.

Throughout the posts, students and school administrators were called, “fags,” “snitches,” “assholes,” and “bitches,” and the overreaction of the media regarding pornography was brought up countless times, especially by recent Staples graduates.

“Damn media these days,” commented Jason Davis ’11.

“It’s just porn,” posted Micah Grand ’11.

“Honestly, if I had account information for a porn site, I’d make that s**t public too,” posted Steve Siecienski ’11, echoing the beliefs of his classmates.

According to the posts, many students felt that the repercussions to Pickering’s misconduct were too severe.

“This group isn’t about money or anything else other than to try to raise awareness for the fact that Mike Pickering is a great guy and doesn’t deserve to be arrested for making a stupid mistake,” posted Burim Trdevaj ’13.

Some called for violence against the student. Some students demanded the name of the so-called “snitch” that reported the situation to the administration.

“Someone post the chick’s name so it can be just as public as this stupidity,” posted Grand.

However, other students disagreed with this train of thought, and voiced their opinions in the group.

“No one knows the gender or the name for sure, so I don’t see where this is going,” posted Matty Campbell ’13 in response to Grand’s request for a name.

“When I said that, I was just trying to make sure we weren’t getting off topic. No one knew who it actually was,” said Campbell in a subsequent interview.

“Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will PICK himself up and carry on,” posted T.J. Sedgwick ‘09, emphasizing the word “Pick” in order to link the proverb to the current situation.

A trend was sparked by Trdevaj when he posted a tribute to Pickering, in which he called Pickering “the nicest and coolest football coach” he had ever had “the honor of playing for,” a man who “helped [him] become the lineman [he is] today,” and kept him from quitting football freshman year. Calling the situation “a small event” that is being “blown to ridiculous proportions,” Trdevaj said Pickering “does not deserve this type of treatment and will need a lot of people to support him in his time of need.”

Trdevaj also requested that people “like” his post to show their support for “Pick,” as well as comment saying all Pickering had done for them as a coach. Trdevaj’s goal was to eventually show the post to ABC-News and make a “real impact.” At the time of publication, the post had exactly 300 “likes.”

Directly after a speech given by Principal John Dodig on the morning of Nov. 18, the negative posts in “Free Pick” began to slowly disappear. Some students deleted their posts. Some students called for less negative posts and for posts that were more in line with the original goal of the group, to show support for Mike Pickering.