California football coaches forfeit games against school with alleged recruiting violations

Four California high school football coaches announced they will forfeit games against Narbonne High School over allegations of illegal recruiting and financial incentives for transfer players, according to an initial report from the Los Angeles Times.

The four schools, Banning, Carson, Gardena, and San Pedro, were supposed to be the final four games for Narbonne, and play in the same division.

Part of the allegations include offering student-athletes “thousands of dollars to play for their team,” including housing arrangements.

A recent story from On3.com detailed the alleged recruiting violations by the Narbonne Gauchos football program. Below is an excerpt from the On3.com story.

“Narbonne’s practice of fielding All-Star teams has, in the past, created significant safety concerns,” they added. “When these practices occurred previously, the sheer imbalance in team strength posed real risk to player’s safety, and we are seeing a similar situation develop now. In addition to this, Narbonne has had over 20 transfers since last season, further supporting concerns about their recruitment practices.

… Reports in the past of players being flown in from out of state to join an already stacked roster reinforce the belief that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader strategy. We believe Narbonne’s practices undermine the level playing field that athletics are supposed to offer, and if allowed to continue, these actions will create lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of our league.”

The four coaches have also proposed that the Los Angeles City Section either expel Narbonne from the league because of its alleged practices or allow the other schools to break off and form another league “where fairness and integrity are prioritized.”