NJ Youth Sport Coach Accused Of Sexually Abusing Players: Reports

MONMOUTH COUNTY – A youth sports coach in New Jersey has reportedly been accused of sexually abusing children.

Tony Sagona, who founded and coached the Jersey Shore Warriors, has been accused of sexually abusing two minors who played on his New Jersey Amateur Athletic Association (AAU) basketball team, according to NBC.

The Monmouth County suits against Sagona were filed on Dec. 2, according to NBC, one day after a New Jersey law creating a two-year window that allowed accusers to file lawsuits against alleged sex abusers went into effect.

One complaint said Sagona targeted a 16-year-old, identified in court documents as Richard Roe, when he first joined the Jersey Shore Warriors team, according to The Asbury Park Press.

Sagona began making sexual demands, the report says. If he refused, Sagona would reportedly suggest that the minor should reconsider whether he deserved to be part of the team.

A second former basketball player who filed suit is identified in court papers as James Doe, according to The Press, and the Jersey Shore Warriors and the Amateur Athletic Association were also named as defendants

In 1987, Sagona founded the Jersey Shore Warriors AAU program after leaving Staten Island, according to the team's Facebook page. The program has had over 300 players go on to play college basketball and at least four who played professionally in the NBA, the Press said.

Tony Sagona also coached in the Great Kills Babe Ruth League and American Legion League in the 1970s and 1980s on Staten Island, according to The Staten Island Advance. He also faces accusations there, too, which were the subject of a recent NBC report.