CIF commissioner Dennis Ackerman was cleared of any wrongdoing on Tuesday, prompting accusations of intimidation and stacking the deck through his staff amid high school recruiting controversy.
The ongoing controversy surrounding allegations of racism and favoritism on the board that supervises San Diego high school athletics reached a boil on Tuesday with the release of a report that cleared its commissioner of any wrongdoing.
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) San Diego Section revealed the report Tuesday to a skeptical public audience led by Stewart Payne, the father of a former Eastlake High girls basketball player whose Citizens Against CIF organization filed the complaints that led to a five-month investigation of the practices of commissioner Dennis Ackerman and his colleagues.
He, along with other parents, a reverend and a referee, spoke out on behalf of Citizens Against CIF, calling for further scrutiny despite the investigation’s conclusion that states that “Investigators were not able to substantiate the allegations made by Citizens Against CIF.”
About 20 members sat in the audience, many of them vocal and clearly displeased during the nearly two-hour session surrounding the report’s findings.
“These two gentlemen — your commissioner (Ackerman) and assistant commissioner (William McLaughlin) — are not fit to serve in the capacity they are serving,” Payne said in a speech to the CIF board, urging them to take further action. “They do not have the best interest of children, students and athletes at heart.”
The basis of the investigation stems from a March 2009 incident when the Eastlake High School girl’s basketball team was disqualified from the playoffs for using a player who was found to use a false address to obtain eligibility. Payne’s daughter played for that team. Coach Janet Eleazar was later fired in the wake of recruiting allegations.
Meanwhile, Poway High School, where Ackerman’s two sons have played baseball, received a pass amid seven instances of recruiting violations involving the baseball team....
I never understood why so many schools use taxes from all families to support athletics for a small minority of students.
I was appalled about ten years ago when Valhalla High School changed its admissions policy to the girls tennis club from open enrollment to top players only. The result was that more than forty girls were thrown out so that a small group could get specialized coaching at public expense. Not surprisingly, that small group consisted largely of girls whose families had provided them with private lessons.
At about the same time, Cuyamaca College decided that only the best players should be given sports classes, and the rest should just go to the fitness center. Fortunately, this policy was reversed after complaints.
Is the goal of education to separate the haves from the have-nots, or is it to create a society of productive individuals? I also wonder if we're doing young athletes a favor by distorting their egos and making them feel that performance in sports is more important than the well being of society as a whole.
I agree with the following letter by Danielle Andreassi.
From: danielleandreassi@hotmail.com To: bob.giovati@sen.ca.gov; nancy.vogel@sen.ca.gov; citizensagainstcif@yahoo.com Subject: FW: NEED YOUR HELP: With Rights Being Denied to the Disabled as per SB225 by the Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009
Please help us implement Senate Bill 225 as it was written.
Please contact me if you need more information, but this is a serious problem that our disabled students as they are being denied a FAPE (free and appropriate public education), and this is a violation of State, Federal and ADA laws and we are all paying for this as taxpayers. This is coming at a high price to these parents and a huge emotional cost to these students. Each of of these parents that have been touched by inappropriate behavior by CIF has had to pay a high financial price and most likely had to go to court for the sake of their child. A high school student should see time on a field or basketball court not a courtroom.
Several parents, students and citizens last night denounced the local governing body of high school athletics, accusing it of discrimination in a town hall meeting that drew nearly 100 people.
The gathering at New Assurance Baptist Church in Rolando was organized to protest decisions made by the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
Pastor Rickey Laster said the meeting's purpose was to “speak truth to power.” It was conducted by a grass-roots group calling itself Citizens Against CIF, which has accused San Diego Section officials of bias against schools from disadvantaged areas.
“It's discrimination is what it is,” said Rudy Johnson, a Horizon High School senior.
The meeting lasted more than two hours with many emotional pleas to fight local CIF officials through various means, including picketing the San Diego Section's Board of Managers meeting Tuesday. Some elected officials sent representatives to monitor the meeting, including Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, and Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista.
Local CIF officials said they could not attend because of scheduling conflicts. But a private attorney who has worked for San Diego Section officials, Dino Buzunis, tried to give the CIF's side. His comments often were met with jeers from the crowd. Buzunis asked them to keep an open mind so they can “know the entire story.”
“You're only being told what certain people want you to hear because decisions have been made that they're unhappy with,” Buzunis said.
Buzunis said “the CIF is not a racist organization” and that its rules are designed to create a level playing field for all.
Several players from the Eastlake High girls basketball team didn't agree. The San Diego Section booted the Titans from the playoffs last year, accusing them of having an ineligible ninth-grader who used false addresses to gain enrollment at Eastlake middle and high schools. Eastlake team members denied it. Coach Janet Eleazar recently was fired amid such allegations of improper recruiting, which she denied.
Others at the meeting asked why the wrestling and baseball programs at Poway, where section Commissioner Dennis Ackerman lives, didn't face serious penalties after facing similar accusations. Eastlake and San Diego High, in a similar case, ended up with fired coaches and forfeited games...
Rocco Sanchez was one of the most sought-after high school football players in the country...
Sanchez's dream of playing in the NFL suffered a major setback when his parents split up. Sanchez and his mother moved, forcing him to leave Castle Park High School and attend Otay Ranch High School.
It was not a big deal, until Maria Castilleja, the principal at Castle Park High School, called the school district and said Sanchez did not really move.
Sanchez and his mom, Mika Molina, moved into a home near Otay Ranch High School. However, Molina's husband stayed in Castle Park's district...
In August, the CIF held two hearings and found that ... Sanchezes violated a CIF rule which "requires the entire Sanchez family move" to the new address.
According to 10News, the CIF and the school district said Sanchez's mother was lying. Therefore, Sanchez could not play football...
"There's certainly an appearance of a conflict of interest, and you should avoid those appearances," said Bob Ottilie, an attorney representing Sanchez...
CIF Abusing Its Power?
...Molina said the CIF unfairly used the CIF's rule book and ignored the fact that she had split up with her husband...
"I can give you horrible examples of people who have been deprived of their rights and haven't had a chance to prove they're right because of the way the CIF investigates these matters, hears these matters and delays these matters," said Ottilie.
Ottilie has taken on the CIF numerous times and has won every battle over student eligibility.
The former wrestling coach for Carlsbad High School said abuses by the federation turned physical at a wrestling tournament when a CIF official attacked him.
"I turned my back to him, and that's when I get assaulted by him basically," Pilot said.
Someone turned their video camera on just as CIF tournament director Richard Malliet choked Pilot.
Parent Rick Trevino wrote a letter to the CIF and said that Malliet had Pilot in a choke hold. Douglas Gadker, another parent who wrote the CIF, said Malliet had Pilot "in a headlock and was dragging him from behind."...
According to 10News, the tournament director, who witnesses say was the attacker, was not punished. Instead, the CIF has, at least temporarily, banned Pilot from coaching at CIF events...
