18 Football Players May Be Benched in Drinking Incident

Eighteen Oak Park High School football players face discipline for drinking alcoholic beverages two weeks ago during a league-sponsored tournament.

The expected punishment for the drinking, which happened after the team won a touch football game in Santa Ynez, has some parents worried that their sons may not be able to play in the upcoming season because of the school district’s zero-tolerance policy.

Oak Park Unified School District Supt. Marilyn Lippiatt said the district is still investigating the July 7 incident.

A punishment for the students or, if necessary, their coaches has not been determined.

“We do not condone underage use of illegal substances at any age,” she said of the school’s policy. The students’ punishment could range from reprimand to expulsion.

The district clearly takes teenage drinking seriously.

In 1997, school district trustee Jeri Fox resigned after an outcry following a homecoming party she hosted, where teenagers drank. A year ago, the district’s staff was looking into employing drug-sniffing dogs, despite a minimal amount of reported drug activity.

And that has parents, who say that seven of the students have been threatened with a yearlong expulsion from the team, worried for their sons’ futures.

“I don’t want to hurt my boy’s chances of being reinstated,” said Albert Melshenker, whose son plays for the team. “I don’t want to make accusations, but 15- and 16-year-old boys were put into a situation against which they had no defense” because they allegedly had no supervision.

Oak Park players stayed at the homes of local players in Santa Ynez and apparently were not given curfews by their host parents. At some point, police arrived at one of the homes where students had been drinking, a parent said.

Deputies in the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department did not file a report describing such an incident, which would not be unusual, Lt. Mike Burridge said.

Lippiatt was scheduled to meet with parents Wednesday night to discuss punishment.

Parents said seven of the players have been threatened with removal from the roster for the entire season and 11 with a one-month suspension along with community service.

Some parents of the seven players said they believe their sons are being singled out because they were the only players caught drinking. The 11 others came forward later and confessed.

One parent said the situation is more than just about keeping his son on the team, but is a chance to teach about the perils of drinking. He hopes the punishment involves some kind of program, rather than team suspension, he said.

“This is not a matter of [keeping] a spoiled kid on a football team,” Melshenker said. It’s “that my son and his friends get positive, and instructive, life-changing awareness out of this event.”

The team’s coach, Dick Billingsley, said he could not comment on the incident or the players’ punishment.

Times Community News reporter Katie Cooper contributed to this story.