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SoCalHoops College News

Former Ventura Coach Sues School;
Players Do Too--(Aug. 26, 1998)

Recall the fiasco last summer that used to be the Ventura College basketball program? Glen Hefferman, a highly successful coach at another JC program was lured south with promises that he would be the head coach at the even more highly successful VC program, which only two years before had been JC state Champions and the prior year had gone to the final four. But all of that vanished as the program disintegrated in controversy surrounding recruiting violaitons by the prior coach and the suspension of most of the players, and Hefferman's abandonment of the program, which ultimately forced the school to (temporarily) disband the entire men's basketball program.

Now Glen Hefferman has sued the community college district, claiming that officials deceived him when he was hired by failing to mention the team was under investigation for recruiting violations. What he did not know at the time, according to his lawsuit, was that the program faced severe sanctions and banishment from post-season play for violating state rules, including providing players with money and free meals.

Two months after Hefferman took the coaching position, the program was slapped with those sanctions and a two-year probation by the Western State Conference. Hefferman contends he was misled by the district and wrongfully discharged and discriminated against when he left the college after sanctions were imposed.

According to Hefferman's attorney, he has been unable to secure another coaching position in the wake of the Ventura College incident, which according to the lawsuit included physical threats by members of the athletic department after Hefferman cried foul.

In January, three months after the basketball program was stripped of its championship titles and placed on probation, Hefferman filed a claim against the district seeking $150,000 in damages. In the claim, which was a prerequisite to filing suit against a public entity, Hefferman claimed that the district and its administrators "fraudulently and deceitfully solicited [him] for employment." He also claimed that if he had known the "correct material facts," he would not have left his job and moved his family to Ventura County to take the coaching position.

In February, the district responded to Hefferman's claim, stating that it "was rejected in its entirety." The response opened the door for Hefferman to file a lawsuit, which he did Aug. 14. According to the lawsuit, Hefferman was "wrongfully terminated" from his position at Ventura College after "false, inaccurate and untruthful accusations" were made in order to fire him. Hefferman also claims in the lawsuit that as the program fell into disarray, athletic directors abused him verbally and threatened him physically. He is seeking undisclosed damages for lost wages, benefits and medical expenses. Hefferman is also seeking punitive damages that his attorney said he expects to exceed the $150,000 initially sought in the claim.

Hefferman is not the first to sue the district and its administrators over the program's collapse. In March, three former basketball players filed a lawsuit claiming that their reputations were ruined after the conference refused to let them play during the 1997-98 season. The players are also seeking unspecified damages and those suits remain pending.