The Riverhead High School football coach has been suspended for trying to cover up a security camera in the gymnasium.

Coach Leif Shay objected to the surveillance, echoing the statements of some students and teachers who call it intrusive. However, the Riverhead School District superintendent says the gymnasium camera was installed more than two years ago. Shay was suspended from his athletic responsibilities, and students say he has been reassigned to other duties.

Schools across Long Island increased security in the wake of the recent Virginia Tech massacre and a threat over the summer of a Columbine-like attack at Connetquot High School.

Donna Gregory, of Riverhead, doesn't think the cameras should be a problem.

"I personally think if the teachers are doing their job, then they shouldn't mind being filmed," Gregory says.

Student and football player Andrew Smith sees it differently.

"I think they went a little too hard on Coach Shay," Smith says. "He stood up for something that he thought was right, so he's noble and we still respect him as a coach and everything."

"If they can't have cameras in the classrooms, why should they have cameras in the gym? It's where he teaches," a fellow 11th-grader says.

Shay did not return calls for comment.

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