Column: Plenty of blame to go around in Marine League football fiasco

In one of the strangest occurrences in state high school football history, the City Section’s No. 1-ranked team, Narbonne, is set to go seven weeks without playing a game. That’s because the coaches of Marine League teams at Banning, San Pedro, Gardena and Carson made an agreement to forfeit games against the Gauchos unless the City Section took action to address alleged rule violations.

It’s the final week of the regular season, and only Carson is left to forfeit its game Friday. Colts coach Michael Christensen says it’s happening. Narbonne hasn’t played since Sept. 27, against King/Drew, and won’t play again until Nov. 15, the start of the Open Division playoffs.

The only problem with the coaches’ stance — and it’s a big one — is that no evidence of wrongdoing has been produced. Their principle — stand up against alleged cheating — is courageous at a time few want to go on the record and risk getting disciplined by their administration for a controversial stance.

There’s reason to be suspicious because Narbonne was put on probation, banned from the playoffs and had a City Section title taken away in 2019 for using an ineligible player. The program was investigated by the Los Angeles Unified School District. The former coach, Manuel Douglas, got caught up in an FBI and IRS investigation involving money donated by a booster for equipment, uniforms and travel expenses.

Since the spring, Narbonne has received 24 transfers to its program, the most of any team in the City Section, according to commissioner Vicky Lagos. But Lagos said, “No one has given us anything to contradict the paperwork.”

Facts matter. The line being thrown around, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” is meaningless unless proven.

With no evidence, there can be no action. Meanwhile, players at Narbonne have been stuck practicing and practicing while hoping for a resolution. The fact adults have been unable to come up with a solution is an epic failure on their part.

Clearly the Marine League coaches decided it’s the future they are most worried about. Narbonne had separated itself under Douglas, who won nine City titles and two state titles and was competing against top Southern Section schools. When he resigned in 2020, the Gauchos had an exodus of players, leaving the program at rock bottom. Enter a former Banning junior varsity coach, Malcolm Manuel, who took his lumps when going 2-9 in 2021 (including a 49-0 loss to San Pedro) and 6-7 in 2022 (including a 46-7 loss to Carson).

The Gauchos aren’t close to being as strong as the old Narbonne teams, so the decision to boycott playing them has nothing to do with safety reasons. It’s based on concerns that they might be headed to powerhouse status again, resulting in players from all over wanting to play for them.

The thing is, families have a choice of what school to attend. They can move, they can transfer, they can select a school for athletic reasons, they can get a permit. San Pedro, Carson, Banning and Gardena all have transfers and say it’s not about transfers. But it clearly is.

The LAUSD and City Section aren’t afraid to investigate on-the-record allegations. The coaches know that. Hawkins High’s program was investigated in 2017, the coach fired and all the transfers stopped. The fact LAUSD has failed to resolve this latest predicament is shocking.

Forfeits in the City Section have a long, disturbing history, starting with the 1977 season when Lincoln refused to come out of the locker room at halftime after trailing 63-0 to Wilson. It launched a national debate about who was right, who was wrong and when is quitting allowed for safety reasons.

Are Marine League coaches really saying it’s OK for their players to forfeit to Narbonne for safety reasons?

The question is how to move forward. One or two of these boycotting teams could end up facing Narbonne in the City Section Open Division playoffs. They certainly will agree to play because forfeiting a playoff game would result in the program being banned from next year’s playoffs.

Will fans behave? Will players shake hands? Will coaches exchange film? Will LAPD need to come out en force?

The one blessing in disguise could be Narbonne players using their time off to focus on school. Quarterback Jaden O’Neal let everyone know he’s got a 4.0 grade-point average this semester. Narbonne will win the Marine League championship with four forfeit wins and probably be seeded No. 1 in the playoffs with an 8-2 record.

A request to interview Narbonne players was declined. Manuel also has declined to speak on the record other than his Oct. 9 statement denying his program was involved in any activities that would jeopardize eligibility.

It’s a big mess with problems on both sides. The adults need to have their own conclave in a locked room, with no cellphones. Nobody gets out until it’s worked out. Looking for the white smoke could take time.