Calif. H.S. Football Coach Fired Over Alleged Kickback Scheme

Eric Patton has been removed as San Clemente’s football coach following an investigation into alleged kickbacks given by a sporting goods company to high school coaches in Orange County, according to the Orange County Register.

Tritons Athletic Director Jon Hamro, an assistant coach, will replace Patton on an interim basis.

The Register reported that Patton was among coaches who allegedly received kickbacks from the now-defunct Lapes Athletic Team Sales of Laguna Beach as part of a slush fund operation. Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent Joe Farley told the Register last month that LAPES may have overbilled the district for athletic supplies and then shared the net proceeds with coaches who placed orders.

The district told the Register that coaches may have embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in district and parent money as part of the scheme.

“We believe there could have been criminal misconduct,” Farley told the Register. “The findings are significant enough that it merits being turned over to the sheriff’s department.”

Patton declined to comment when reached by the newspaper and referred all questions to his attorney. He had been San Clemente’s coach for 11 seasons and compiled a 97-44-1 record.

The Tritons open the season Sept. 2 at Long Beach Cabrillo.