Tony Lombardi resigned under pressure Thursday as the football and baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Washington High School, effective at the end of the 2012-13 contract year.

Washington High School announced Lombardi's resignation Thursday morning, declaring he resigned for family reasons.

Lombardi will continue to coach the Washington baseball team for the 2013 season.

Lombardi, 51, is currently being investigated by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, which is pursuing a complaint filed by Washington parents who have accused Lombardi of verbal abuse of their children and unprofessional conduct.

The state investigation began in June of 2012, was extended in November and could be reaching a conclusion this spring. The investigation will continue, despite Lombardi's resignation.

"Whether or not a practitioner remains employed by a local district has no procedural effect on the BoEE ethics complaint process," Duane Magee, the executive director of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, told the Metro Sports Report in an e-mail Thursday.

The statement from Washington High School claimed Lombardi is resigning because he wants to spend more time with his family and take a break from the pressure of serving as a head coach at a Class 4A high school.

Lombardi's wife, Kari, is the girls volleyball coach at Washington. They have five children.

Kathi Jensen, one of the Washington parents who filed the complaint against Lombardi, does not think Washington High School has told the full truth of why Lombardi resigned.

"They're protecting him. They are," said Jensen, who has been a spokesperson for the unhappy Washington parents. "Once again, the truth is not being told. That's what bothers me. That's what truly bothers me."

Jensen expressed relief that Lombardi will be leaving Washington.

"This really should have happened years ago," she said. "It never should have carried on this long."

Jensen also expressed sadness for Lombardi's family. "I feel for his family, but he put them in this situation," she said.

Lombardi compiled a 51-25 record in seven years as Washington's football coach and made the playoffs five times. During his tenure, more than 40 of his players have gone on to play college football.

This will be his second year as the baseball coach.

Braedon Tovey, who played football for Lombardi, expressed support for his former coach in an e-mail to the Metro Sports Report.

"Honestly, it's frustrating. It's really frustrating," said Tovey, who played for Lombardi in 2010 and 2011.

Tovey said there's a reason Lombardi yelled at his football players.

"Coaching athletics, you can't just be polite with kids," he said. "It gets you motivated. That's all Coach tried to do."

Tovey said some football players did not want to improve and resented Lombardi. "They're the ones who didn't want to work at it, and they complained to their parents," he said.

Jensen and other Washington parents claim that Lombardi's inappropriate language was directed at other students at Washington - not just football players - and was directed at both boys and girls.

Lombardi was investigated by the Cedar Rapids Community School district last year and was ordered to undergo "remediation" for his conduct. There were no other penalties.

He was suspended from a football game last fall after he made inappropriate remarks to a Prairie football player after a Washington-Prairie football game.

Lombardi was fired from his previous teaching and coaching job in Hinsdale, Ill., in 2006 for using "harsh language" in front of players and assistant coaches, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Lombardi sued the Hinsdale school district for wrongful termination and received a financial settlement.

Lombardi was hired at Washington for the 2006-07 school year. Dr. Ralph Plagman, the Washington principal, knew about Lombardi's situation at Hinsdale when he was hired to coach the Warriors.

Dr. Plagman is also being investigated by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, based on charges by Washington parents that Dr. Plagman did not effectively respond to their complaints about Lombardi.