Thursday, October 22, 1998
Survey: St. Louis
more lenient
The Las Vegas incident
By Pat Bigold
would have drawn more severe
punishment at many
mainland schools
Star-BulletinSt. Louis School football players who took part in rowdy behavior at a Las Vegas hotel last month would have drawn more severe punishment at several parochial high schools on the mainland than they did at St. Louis.
In a telephone survey of religious schools with strong football programs, the Star-Bulletin found that drinking by players or poor supervision by coaches could result in multiple-game suspensions, expulsions or coaching dismissals at the mainland schools.
St. Louis players hired strippers, drank beer and damaged rooms in the early hours of Sept. 6.
Father Mario Pariante, president of St. Louis School, imposed a four-day suspension on the school's football program, including a game forfeiture.
But as reported Tuesday, none of the players found to be directly involved will miss any more playing time.
The school has absolved coaches who accompanied the team on the trip of any wrongdoing.
Mainland athletic officials surveyed were not informed of Pariante's punishment before being asked what would happen if such an incident occurred under their watch.
"In our philosophy, they are in serious, serious trouble," said Bruce Rollinson, head coach of Mater Dei High of Santa Ana, Calif., the 1994 and 1996 national high school champion.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy on drugs, alcohol and weapons," Rollinson said. "I think the students there would be maybe looking at expulsion.
"Strippers? It's done," Rollinson said. "And I guarantee you that we, as professional educators and supervisors in the capacity of coaches, we are in serious trouble, too. And we are probably relieved of our duties."
Rollinson and other respondents were informed that St. Louis head coach Cal Lee said he left the World Trade Center Hotel at 2:30 a.m. for The Strip, and that some of his assistants also left the hotel.
"I'm not saying I'm holier than thou, but I took a team into Hawaii and I never left that football team," Rollinson said (Mater Dei played Iolani in the Father Bray Classic in 1990). "I was checking and double-checking. This sounds like there was total chaos. Probably, I would resign."
Lee has said that he offered to resign, but that Pariante refused to accept the resignation.
Terry Eidson, athletic director and assistant football coach of De La Salle of Concord, Calif., ranked No. 1 in the "Super 25," said alcohol infractions carry an automatic two-game suspension.
Asked what would happen to a De La Salle head coach who was absent from the hotel premises while his players engaged in destructive and illegal activities, Eidson said, "He probably would be fired.
"I can not imagine a coach who's been around for a number of years even thinking of doing something like that," he said.
"I think they (players) would be suspended for the season," said Bob Santello, athletic director at Catholic Central High of Radford, Mich., the No. 17 team in the poll. "That would be my first reaction to that kind of situation. And if there is a ring leader, who got the beer and organized the stripper, that could lead to him being kicked out of school.
"There is liability there. A kid is drunk and maybe falls out of a window or drowns in a pool, you're talking major liability. So there has to be some accountability, and the most severe penalty is firing."
Denny Duron, athletic director of Evangel Christian of Shreveport, La., the No. 3 team in the poll, said he couldn't understand why the St. Louis team was in Las Vegas.
"Why in the world would you take a football team into an area where you're being so distracted," Duron said. "If those children had done that kind of thing, and we had been made aware of it, then they would no longer be students at our school. In no uncertain terms, they would have to find another place to go to school."
Duron said the ransacking of rooms alone would result in expulsion.
Tim Lins, head coach of Crespi-Carmelite in California, said season suspensions would be likely.
"But we don't have a set policy for something like that," said Lins, whose school is Roman Catholic. "We would have to sit down and come up with an action, but it would be severe."
Dale Gabor, athletic director at St. Ignatius in Cleveland, Ohio, No. 25 in the poll, said suspensions would be likely and coaches could be disciplined.
"But it would be unfair for me to say we'd do this or that, because every case needs to be judged by its own merits," he said. "We have a disciplinary review board in place."
