narbonne

SoCalHoops High School & Prep Report

More Narbonne News: Girls Ruled
Forfeit On Title, Will Appeal--(April 24,1998)

Remember our article last week, Big Trouble For Narbonne Girls--Must Forfeit City Title, Possibly State Crown--(April 18,1998), when we reported that Narbonne had been slapped big time for using ineligible players?

Well, yesterday, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times reported that James Anderson, coach of the Harbor City Narbonne girls' basketball team, said the school plans to appeal the decision by the City Section rules committee that stripped the Gauchos of their 4-A title and ruled three players ineligible for one year because of residence issues.

Narbonne, which also won the Division I state title, was also put on two years' probation and ruled ineligible for the playoffs next season.

Junior Portia Mitchell and sophomore Raimi Mitchell, sisters, were suspended for a year retroactive to March 2. Sophomore Syretta Stafford was suspended for one year retroactive to Feb. 20.

Jeri Durham, administrator of the Los Angeles Unified School District's office of operations, said Wednesday afternoon that she had not yet heard from Narbonne Principal Pat Donahoe or the parents of the suspended players. Appeals must be made by May 1, ten school days from the date of notification of the sanctions.

Durham told the Times that if an appeal is filed she will assemble two other administrators to form a review committee. "We'll review materials provided to us by the rules committee and ask [Narbonne] to bring us any other materials they may need to present their case," she told Klein. "We will ask for clarification and review whatever additional information is present. [The committee] will deliberate and make a decision, either to uphold the rules committee decision, modify it or rescind it totally."

"If they [Narbonne] don't agree with our decision and want to appeal, they have to go to the state [California Interscholastic Federation]."