St. John’s coach apologizes in court after appearance on DUI count

St. John's coach Ed Heintschel, left, appears in Maumee Municipal Court with attorney Richard Hasbrook. A judge rescheduled a pretrial until April 2.

St. John’s Jesuit basketball coach Ed Heintschel offered to resign in November after he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, but the school requested that he not.

On Tuesday, Heintschel, 62, appeared in a Maumee courtroom, where Judge Gary L. Byers rescheduled a pretrial for April 2.

"I offered resignation, suspension, whatever they deemed appropriate," Heintschel told The Blade in his first public comments about the incident. "I want to make it clear there was not an attempt by St. John’s to cover this up. Obviously, in a city like Toledo, it’s going to be found out. They just didn’t feel due to the legal matter, and letting it unwind, that it was necessary to announce it until things worked out."

Heintschel, who is employed by the school as a counselor and as a teacher, said he does not plan to resign after the season. Heintschel’s attorney, Richard Hasbrook, said "It’s my hope that there’s no administrative action until the case is concluded in the courts."

St. John’s administrators declined comment through a school spokesman, "because it involves a personnel matter."

St. John’s is 17-3 overall and 11-1 in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference after beating Clay on Tuesday night.

Heintschel, who last month became the 10th coach in Ohio to win 600 games, was pulled over Nov. 26 on Dussel Drive for not using his turn signal and almost hitting another vehicle, according to the arrest report. Heintschel later registered a .140 blood alcohol content, nearly twice the legal limit in Ohio. He admitted to the arresting officer that he consumed two Manhattan drinks.

"Obviously I am embarrassed," Heintschel said. "I feel bad for the school. I’m secondary. I apologize to everybody. I’m where I’m at right now, and we have to work through it."

Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo@theblade.com, 419-724-6160 or on Twitter @AutulloBlade.