A heartbroken Morris, NY father named Edward Chase shared a distressing video of his son Zackary aka Zack Chase suffering a panic attack after exclusion from varsity basketball, but hope arrives when the Binghamton Bulldogs welcome the talented senior shooter with open arms for a game.
Edward Chase took to his Facebook to share a video on December 5, 2025, that’s hard for any parent to watch without feeling sick to their stomach.
In the clip, you can see his son Zackary, a Morris Central School basketball player, sitting on the sofa, panting and getting pale with a full-blown panic attack.
Edward wrote under the video that this is why he’s fighting so hard and why he won’t let it drop.
It all started last year, toward the end of the season, the varsity coach told the older JV players, including Zack, that their season was over and they were done.
A couple of days later, the same coach pulled a handful of younger kids up from JV to dress varsity and play in the sectional finals.
Zack and the other seniors who had been there all year were left standing on the sideline in street clothes.
When Zack asked the coach why, the answer he got was that there weren’t enough jerseys. That excuse still makes Edward’s blood boil when he talks about it.
This year is Zack’s senior year, which means it’s the very last chance he’ll ever have to play high school ball, and things have only gotten worse.
Zack has autism, and everyone who has ever watched him play knows the gym is the one place where he feels completely at home.
He’s been playing since 4th grade, shows up to every single practice, knows every play, and can shoot the cover off the ball on a good night.
But when senior tryouts came around, the coaches kept him on JV again and basically told the family he might get hurt or slow the team down.
They never offered any extra help, never talked about ways to make it work, nothing.
Edward and his wife, Sara, asked for a meeting with the athletic director and both coaches. They walked in hoping for answers and left feeling like the decision had already been made before they even sat down.
One of the coaches supposedly said out loud, “I don’t know why we’re even here.”
Zack’s older sister, Kelsey, put the whole story on her Facebook a few days ago, and it spread like wildfire through Morris and all the surrounding towns.
People who went to school with Zack, parents who watched him grow up on the court, even teachers who had him in class, call it straight-up discrimination.
However, like a glimmer of hope, the Binghamton Bulldogs basketball team and their coach, Vincent, took Zack in with open arms.
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Edward, his wife, Sara, and his daughter, Kelsey, expressed their gratitude via their respective Facebook accounts. Edward wrote:
The Binghamton bulldogs welcomed zack with arms wide open. Said this boy can shoot. please come back cause you are part of the team now.thank you bulldogs and to the owner vincent.we appreciate it. The chase family..
Edward Chase
Whereas Sara Chase penned, “Thank you Binghamton bulldogs and coach Vincent!! You made his night letting him be part of your team.“
She continued:
In the meeting we had they said he couldn’t do lay ups and couldn’t dribble And as people can see in the videos they are full of crap!!
Sara Chase
Grateful Edward, with the overwhelming support, wrote an appreciation post, which reads:
I want to put this out there after all the responses from people in my comments and dms about the same thing happening to there children speak up yell it as loud as you can !! This doesn’t stop with zack we all should come together and scream from the roofs and make a change . Im hear i hear ya and i am willing to help anyone
Edward Chase
He said that the situation started with Zack but it sure does not have to end there, and he is willing to help everyone.
“We need a change for our children and ny school system needs a over haul after all these kids all have feelings and are someone and all have a future in some shape or form……protect all kids at all cost !!!!!! No parents should ever feel defeated or alone Ever !!!!!” Edward continued.
Likewise, he didn’t back off from sharing a handful of comments about the school and the coaches there who are going to be famous for all the wrong reasons.
A comment read, “Morris Central School should recognize the story is reaching far beyond their little town in upstate ny. They should be embarrassed and ashamed and do the right thing.”
Deb Zachow, a former Morris Central School student, wrote, “As a graduate of Morris Central School, I am disgusted and horrified, do better.“
