High School Sports

The Coronado High School basketball team in San Diego had its division regional championship vacated Wednesday by the California Interscholastic Federation. The move stems from a June 19 game against Escondido's Orange Glen High School when at least two Coronado players threw tortillas toward the predominantly Latino team.

Coronado has been placed on probation through the 2023-24 school year and will not be allowed to host any sectional, regional or state playoff basketball games through 2022-23. The school will not be allowed to participate in any postseason sports until the completion of a sportsmanship workshop and game management training, the CIF announced.

"While consequences are warranted for such an egregious action as throwing tortillas at a predominantly Latino team and the sanctions below are being levied on the athletic program at Coronado High School, we must all be aware that behavior does not normally change with sanctions alone," a CIF statement read. "The path towards real change comes with the development of empathy for those who are on the receiving end of this type of degrading and demeaning behavior, no matter the proffered intent of that behavior."

The workshop, which includes racial sensitivity training, is required for all Coronado administrators, athletic directors and student-athletes.

Kristen Taketa of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported witnesses saw Coronado head basketball coach JD Laaperi cursing at an Orange Glen coach following the game at the start of the incident.

"That's why you don't talk (expletive)," Laaperi allegedly said. "Get your kids and get the (expletive) out of here."

Video footage showed players throwing tortillas shortly after.

The Coronado Unified School Board unanimously voted to fire Laaperi last week. The CIF "strongly encouraged" Coronado to work with Orange Glen to create a positive relationship, suggesting a restorative justice approach including community service projects the two could collaborate on.

"We are currently reviewing the decision and will evaluate a possible appeal," the Coronado Unified School District said in a statement released after CIF's decision. "We have also retained an outside investigator to thoroughly review the incident, which will guide any additional corrective actions. Whatever actions we take to address this matter, this incident and the CIF decision have served as clear reminders of the importance of sportsmanship and respectful conduct toward one another."

Coronado High School boys basketball fans threw tortillas at players from Escondido, California's Orange Glen High School, which serves a predominantly Latino and Hispanic population, following their team's win in the CIF Southern California Boys Basketball Division 4-A Regional Championship last Saturday.

Coronado Unified School District Superintendent Karl Mueller issued a statement after the game, calling the incident "reprehensible."

The CIF has also started its own review:

California State Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez called for the CIF to issue sanctions to Coronado High School or strip the school of its title:

Coronado defeated Orange Glen 60-57 in overtime.

Ryan Wood, who plays at Norwalk High School in Iowa and is of mixed race, was on the receiving end of a racist taunt, his mother, Lisa Wood, told George Shillcock and Matthew Bain of the Des Moines Register.

Lisa Wood said that after Ryan struck out during a game against Dallas Center-Grimes High School on Friday, the catcher clapped in his face and said, "Go sit down." After that, she heard either the catcher or someone else from the Dallas Center-Grimes dugout say, "Let him hang."

Wood added that all of the parents sitting near her heard the comment, although they couldn't pinpoint exactly who it came from.

No action was taken against Dallas Center-Grimes by the umpire, and DCG Activities Director Brent Buttjer denied anyone directed a racist taunt at Ryan Wood.

Buttjer said he was aware someone used a "common expression used in baseball when a person strikes out," and that he was told the expression was something other than "let him hang," though he would not confirm what he was told was said to Ryan Wood.

Norwalk and DCG are scheduled to play again on June 28, and Lisa Wood said that although neither she nor her son want that game to be canceled, they want someone to be held responsible for the alleged racist remark.

Lisa Wood said she and her son want the player responsible to be "suspended for multiple games or for the rest of the season," and for some type of action to be taken against the umpire as well.

Norwalk Superintendent D.T. Magee told Schillock and Bain the district was "providing support to the Wood family" but would not provide further comment while Dallas Center-Grimes is investigating the situation.

Former longtime NBA star Rasheed Wallace is continuing his coaching career, agreeing to become the head coach of the boys' team at North Carolina Good Better Best Academy.

The high school in Durham announced his hiring Wednesday.

Wallace got into coaching shortly after his playing career ended in 2013.

He served as an assistant to Maurice Cheeks and John Loyer with the Detroit Pistons in 2013-14 before taking the head job at Jordan High School in Durham in 2019. The 2004 NBA champion and four-time All-Star played his college basketball at nearby North Carolina from 1993 to 1995.

Unfortunately for the school's media strategy, the announcement of Wallace taking over NC GBB may only be the second-biggest coaching change announced in Durham on Wednesday.

The top high school boys basketball teams in the country are forming the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference as an elite national league to begin the 2021-22 season, according to Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN.

The initial six teams include Oak Hill Academy (Virginia), Montverde Academy (Florida), IMG Academy (Florida), La Lumiere School (Indiana), Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas) and Wasatch Academy (Utah). Two more teams are expected to join.

The teams will play a 10-game regular season with a postseason tournament plus special NIBC events.

"The games will be intense because of the talent level, the national platform, as well as the scouting and preparation that goes into each game," Sunrise Christian coach Luke Barnwell said. "The standings keep everything competitive, and having a postseason championship will make it even more competitive."

Several of these teams have competed at the GEICO national tournament in recent years, with Montverde winning five titles since 2013. including its 2021 win over Sunrise Christian. Montverde also beat Sunrise Christian in the first-ever NIBC title game last season.

The Florida powerhouse has consistently been one of the top basketball programs in the country in recent years with NBA alumni like Ben Simmons, D'Angelo Russell and RJ Barrett plus potential future stars like Cade Cunningham and Moses Moody. Rising senior Jalen Duren is rated the No. 2 overall player in the 2022 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Montverde's Dariq Whitehead, IMG's Jarace Walker and Jaden Bradley, and Oak Hill's MJ Rice will also be among the big names to watch in next year's inaugural season.

These games could serve as a showcase for the top prospects against elite competition, likely drawing plenty of college coaches and NBA scouts to each game.

Twin brothers Matt Bewley and Ryan Bewley, both 5-star prospects in the 2023 recruiting class, have reportedly signed two-year, seven-figure contracts with the new Overtime Elite professional league.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported details of the first-of-their-kind deals:

In March, OTE executives announced their plan to create a league for players between 16 and 18 years old who are looking for a professional option that covers their final high school years and the one-year wait period between high school and the NBA draft without having to leave the United States.

"This offering and opportunity not only gives you pro-caliber training and development in a facility that models and starts to simulate what life will be like in the NBA ... but it also provides a six-figure salary," OTE president and commissioner Aaron Ryan told Martenzie Johnson of The Undefeated.

The league is set to launch in September and will also provide players with "financial literacy, media training and social justice advocacy" instead of a traditional school curriculum.

Ryan told Johnson that OTE represented a new route for "athletes trying to hack the system to find a way to really address ... preparing themselves for a pro path and a pro career."

The success of Overtime Elite is likely dependent on the ability to land top prospects like the Bewley twins to attract attention and make the league financially viable over the long haul.

Matt (No. 2 prospect in 2023, per 247Sports) and Ryan (No. 16) had both attracted interest from high-profile Power Five college basketball programs, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Miami, before opting for the pro route.

The 6'9" twins played high school basketball at West Oaks Academy in Orlando, Florida. They are on path for eligibility as part of the 2024 NBA draft.

Nicole Pyles, a softball player for Hillside High School in North Carolina, was told she could only remain in a game against Jordan High if she removed beads from her hair.

According to Steve Wiseman of the News & Observer, two umpires—one of which was white and one of which was Black—strictly interpreted a rule from the National Federation of State High School Associations that bans plastic visors, bandannas and hair beads.

"It was humiliating," Pyles, who is Black, said. "Why do I have to take away from myself just to play this game where we are actually doing well? I'm embarrassed because you pick on me in front of all these people for no reason."

Pyles decided to have her teammates cut her hair and remove the beads to remain in the game.

"I was upset," she said of the white base umpire. "He had seen me play multiple times...if it was a rule that's that important why wasn't it enforced the first time you spoke to me or you saw me come on the field or off the field or any of that?"

Durham Public Schools is investigating the incident and supported Pyles while calling out the rule in a statement.

"DPS supports our student-athletes and their right to self-expression in a manner befitting their culture, consistent with safety in training and competition," the statement said. "We believe the blanket ban on hair beads is culturally biased and problematic. We support our student, Nicole Pyles, and believe this rule should be amended. We frown on any rule or policy that promotes cultural insensitivity or does not reflect the ideals and principles of DPS and our employees."

Pyles wants the rule changed.

"I want to see the rule changed, specifically the beads rule," she said. "[It] embarrassed me, hurt me, hurt my family, embarrassed my teammates on their senior night in front of their families, their friends, previous Hillside students who played at Hillside years ago and graduated college."

Jordan eventually won the game 23-12.

Cooper Gardner, a Bath High School junior baseball player, has died after suffering a traumatic brain injury during a game against St. Patrick Catholic School on April 21, per Kara Berg of the Lansing State Journal.

An official cause of death has not been made public.

According to that report, Gardner "was moving to cover a player from St. Patrick's who was stealing second base, [Bath High School junior varsity coach Michael] Collins said. He dropped down to catch the ball and tag the runner, but when he did, they believe the other player's knee collided with [Gardner's] head and he fell with all his body weight on [Gardner], Collins said."

"I've never witnessed something like that," Collins said. "You just always read about things going wrong, but you never think it's going to be one of your kids."

Gardner was unconscious for 40 minutes and was rushed to the emergency room with the brain injury and heart and lung complications, spending six days in a pediatric intensive care unit before being transferred to a regular room, per a GoFundMe page created by a family member. He died Sunday morning in his home.

"If you had a bad day, you could go to practice and see his smiling face and all is right in the world," Collins told Berg. "As smart as can be, had everything in front of him. Good student, humble kid...he was just too young."

An elite boarding school in New Jersey is being sued by a former student wrestler over claims coaches and administrators allowed the team to haze him despite repeated claims of harassment and sexual assault. 

The unnamed wrestler is suing the Blair Academy, four administrators and four coaches—including former head coach Brian Antonelli—for unspecified damages, according to Lori Comstock of the New Jersey Herald. 

The alleged hazing began in 2016 when the plaintiff was a freshman. During a December road trip with the nationally recognized wrestling program, the student claims two teammates forced him into a bed before stripping his clothes and pulling him in a hotel shower. 

Antonelli "merely laughed the incident off," the suit claims, and told the wrestler the hazing was a "rite of passage" and would only last "the first few months." 

The plaintiff—identified as John Doe in the lawsuit—claims he suffered through repeated incidents of harassment throughout his four years at the boarding school, reportedly requiring him to step away from the team on occasion. 

Now a wrestler at a nationally ranked program in college, the plaintiff said Antonelli convinced him to rejoin the team as a freshman by explaining they needed him for qualifying points. 

Per Comstock:

"Antonelli allegedly witnessed one incident in which the boy was tackled to the ground on campus but did nothing about it. The boy said he also received explicit threats from a wrestler that he would be victimized by gangs. Someone also set up a 'fake web account' in the boy's name on a Blair Academy computer server and filled it with pornographic images and threats, the suit said.

"The boy said he had a meeting during his senior year with Christopher Fortunato, then the academy's head of school, and other administrators, but that they refused to look into the incidents. Fortunato, who left the school last December, told him to 'fight through it and take a few days off,' the lawsuit says." 

Blair coaches are alleged to have also called the wrestler's soon-to-be college coach encouraging them to revoke their scholarship offer to the plaintiff, arguing he was a "baby" and had to "toughen up." 

Fortunato nor Antonelli responded for comment to the New Jersey Herald. A Blair Academy spokesman said the school does not comment on pending litigation. 

The Moline Police Department in Illinois announced Saturday it completed an investigation into a video that showed members of the Moline High School football team forcing a Black player to sit in a locker stuffed with banana peels while being threatened.

Moline Police Chief Darren Gault told Thomas Geyer of the Quad-City Times the department had identified all of the student-athletes involved in the incident and have since provided all of the information to Rock Island County State Attorney Dora Villarreal for further review.

Gault said the players who forced the Black player to sit in the locker were of "both different and similar races to the victim" and viewed the situation as a prank.

"We all agree that regardless if the students viewed this as a joke, it is unacceptable behavior," Gault said. "This is a teaching moment for everyone and a reminder that we can do better. We can treat people better. We can be better friends. We can be better teammates. We can be better people. We can also stand up and confront situations when they are wrong. In doing so we can raise our morals and increase the respect we have for each other."

The Moline-Cole Valley School District released a statement calling the actions represented in the video "vile behavior" and said it planned to take "decisive action" following its own internal investigation, per TMZ Sports.

Video of the incident, which occurred Thursday, included a white teammate of the Black player saying he'd "break both your knees" if he didn't sit in the locker.

School board chair Sangeetha Rayapati, who's also the city's mayor-elect, said the people involved in the incident will be held "accountable," per Geyer.

"I speak from the heart when I say we have a responsibility to teach them a better way,” she said. “It's awful to know a child was treated that way. It's awful to know that that child will be marked forever by the incident and the disrespect they received. And it's awful to know other children would see this as a joke."

Moline's football team played a road game against Galesburg High School on Friday night. It's unclear whether the individuals involved played in that contest.