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Coaches throughout the Fox Valley could be seen with folded white towels on their shoulders Tuesday evening.
The gesture was in clear support of basketball coach John Mielke, who resigned Sunday morning as Appleton East boys coach following a confrontation with an East parent at a local bar Friday night.
Mielke's sudden resignation sent shock waves through the basketball communities in the Fox Valley. A groundswell of support for Mielke was evident on social media throughout Monday and Tuesday as players, coaches and fans voiced their backing of Mielke.
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Tuesday's slate of games in the Fox Valley Association saw coaches from the girls basketball teams of Appleton East, Oshkosh North, Oshkosh West and Appleton North with folded white towels on their right or left shoulder, a staple look of Mielke throughout his 18 years as Patriots coach.
Tweet hashtags of #Family #Mielke and #FVAFamily were layered within the texts by the accounts of those teams.
Mielke let his team know at a practice Sunday morning that he was stepping down as head coach.
Oshkosh North boys basketball head coach Brad Weber also showed support for Mielke on Tuesday. The Spartans defeated Appleton East 72-35 at East in the Patriots' first game without Mielke as head coach. Assistant Steve Coenen is the acting head coach for the rest of the season.
"Shocking," Weber said. "Because when you see the news, it hits you. But in today's society when you think about it, probably not that shocking."
Weber is in his first year as head coach at North, taking over the reins from longtime Spartans coach Frank Schade, who retired following last season. Schade and Mielke were similar in their demonstrative style of coaching.
"To lose two giants in this conference of coaches ... I mean, if you look at how great as coaches they are, they're even better people," Weber said. "And I think the sad part about this is (Mielke) is a great man and I believe he's great for kids. I'm just disappointed that is where his chapter ends for him. And I just think for the game of basketball and for kids, I'm sad that he's not on that sideline."
Appleton East graduate and former University of Wisconsin basketball player Dave Mader shared his thoughts on Twitter: "I had a chance to help out for a short time with Coach Mielke. He cared deeply about the players. He was a friend and mentor to numerous coaches. He loves the game of basketball and is an extraordinary human being. It was a privilege to work with Coach Mielke."