It appears Rob Ford would’ve lost his volunteer position as coach of the Don Bosco football team regardless of the most recent scandal affecting Toronto’s mayor.  Ford was told yesterday he has been banned from coaching at any Catholic school in the city. A spokesperson for the Director of Education with the Toronto Catholic District School Board  says Ford’s dismissal was finalized before the scandal of the alleged crack smoking video erupted last week.

The review is said to have been prompted by an interview with Sun News in which Ford said the Don Bosco Eagles players would not attend school if not for the football program and that many players “come from gangs and broken homes”.  He also said Don Bosco is “a tough school in a tough area.”  These comments have been called inaccurate by Don Bosco’s parent council,  some teachers at the Etobicoke school.  Mayor Ford remains the coach of another football team, the Rexdale Raiders, in the Ontario Minor Football League.

The Mayor received the bad news after his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, came to his defense at a scheduled news conference.  “My brother is an honest and hardworking man with integrity.  Never has the mayor been so accessible or cared so much for the issues facing residents.  Rob is telling me these stories are untrue, and I believe him.”  Doug Ford  went on to explain that his brother has stayed silent on the advice of his family and lawyers, and would let the media know if and when he had anything to say.

U-S-based website Gawker and the Toronto Star separately reported last week that a drug dealer was shopping around a cellphone video that appeared to show Ford smoking crack, making homophobic comments about Justin Trudeau and racist comments about members of the Don Bosco football team.