High School Coach In Trouble

Published: Sept. 27, 2012 6:02 p.m.

Coach vulgarity complaint shines light on sports culture

Fullerton baseball player Grant Sims, 16, comes forward to discuss a taboo topic – foul language in coaching.

By SCOTT MARTINDALE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

FULLERTON – Sixteen-year-old Grant Sims says he's never been one to complain about expletives and vulgar language he hears daily at baseball practice.

It's to be expected, he says, including from his coaches at Fullerton Union High School. But at a June baseball game, Sims said, head coach Marc Patino went too far.

During a team huddle, Patino referred to Sims with a derogatory term for gay people, and when Sims gave the coach a displeased look, Patino threatened to initiate a graphic sex act with the high school junior, according to a complaint filed with the Fullerton Joint Union High School District.

The district, in an Aug. 31 letter to the Sims family, reported it took "significant disciplinary action" against Patino.

"The district does not condone or tolerate any comments or actions of any of its employees that would embarrass or demean students, staff or members of the public," Edward Atkinson, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, said in the letter.

The district would not elaborate on the punishment, citing personnel confidentiality. Patino, a full-time social science teacher at Fullerton Union High School, did not return multiple requests for comment. He remains the team's head coach.

Orange County school and athletic officials acknowledge that situations like the one Sims alleged continue to play out on sports fields across the nation, a reflection of a decades-long, less-than-successful effort to wipe out the strong and threatening language used in high school sports.

"Cussing and swearing is something you can't ever defend with a parent," said Vince Brown, athletic director at Santa Ana's Foothill High School, a coach for three decades. "But it's difficult because a lot of times the coaches are using it in the heat of the moment, and it's something that comes from either the way they were coached or are accustomed to coaching. There's a huge learning curve."

Even when officials seek to hold coaches like Patino accountable for their behavior, experts say, schools' ability to take decisive action is hampered by state laws that protect teachers' due-process rights.

As a result, officials say, schools generally don't take actions like suspension and termination, especially in instances of a single reported transgression.

TEEN ALLEGES PATTERN

Sims said his decision to report Patino to school authorities was based on a pattern of behavior that emerged in the classroom as well as on the field. (Sims also had Patino as a teacher last year.)

In the written complaint, Sims and his parents accused Patino of regularly referring to one of Sims' teammates with a derogatory term for Jewish people, and of regularly using phrases such as "You (expletive)" and "You're the biggest (expletive)."

During the June 25 team huddle, Patino said, "The only (expletive) not playing (defense) today is Grant," according to the complaint. When the teen gave his coach a displeased look, Patino said, "Don't look at me that way or I'll skull-(expletive) you," the complaint said.

"Profanity doesn't bother me; it's the terms and remarks toward people that do," said Sims, who plays centerfield and pitcher.

"My parents have always taught me to do the right thing, stand up for what I believe in, and make a difference," said Sims, a self-described devout Christian who attends Fullerton's Eastside Christian Church. "I don't want other kids going through the same thing I did, being pushed down, ridiculed, attacked, and being afraid to say anything about it."

After the June 25 game, Sims' father confronted the coach, surreptitiously tape-recording their conversation with his cell phone.

On the 12-1/2-minute recording, which was reviewed by the Register, Patino appears to explain why he used the graphic language.

"I'm just trying to get him to be cool, to be relaxed," Patino is heard telling Sean Sims.

Later in the conversation, Patino says: "I'm sorry. If he's feeling that upset, then I totally apologize."

Grant Sims said he was so disturbed by the June 25 incident that he quit the remainder of summer practice. He rejoined his team after school resumed in August.

Since that time, Patino has not apologized to Sims or talked to him about the incident, the Sims family said.

"If a student said this to a teacher, they would at least be suspended, if not expelled," Sean Sims said. "If someone said this to their boss at work, they would be fired. These things should never be said to children, and these boys are becoming young men."

CULTURE OF FOUL LANGUAGE

High school athletic officials say that expletives and vulgar language are no more appropriate on a practice field than they are in a classroom.

But officials also acknowledge that in the heat of competition, under intense pressure, even coaches who know better will slip up. Furthermore, officials say, strong language is intrinsic to the way an entire generation of coaches communicated with players – a pervasive culture many coaches seem reluctant to give up.

"We used to think the old-school way was the only method to communicate with the athletes," said Brown, past president of the Orange County Athletic Directors Association. "I was probably one of the biggest offenders of language in my early career; now I tell my coaches, 'You can never coach the way I coached when I was young.' "

Brown said that when he began coaching the 1970s, profanity was a mainstay of high school coaching. But the callous language of the 70s and 80s gave way in the 90s to a more positive, nurturing approach, Brown said.

Today, the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section – the umbrella organization for Southern California athletics – requires coaches to sign a code of ethics, pledging that they will refrain from "the use of profanity, vulgarity and other offensive language and gestures." The organization also heavily promotes "pursuing victory with honor," a CIF motto.

"We're there to provide student athletes with the best possible role models," said Chris Corliss, who oversees health, sports and physical education programs for the Orange County Department of Education. "We ask coaches, 'Would you accept that same type of language from your student athlete?'"

As for reporting transgressions, athletics leaders agree that schools can only begin to address inappropriate language when students are willing to shine a spotlight on a problem that is rarely discussed or reported.

"At the end of the day, if this is wrong and you feel strongly about it, you've got to come forward," said Thom Simmons, a spokesman for the CIF Southern Section, based in Los Alamitos. "Otherwise, other kids will continue to be hurt by what's occurring."

TOUGH TO BUILD CASE

School administrators who were asked to review the Sims family's complaint for the Register expressed shock and disgust at the coach's alleged language.

They noted it rose above the strong language typically overheard on a sports field, and that it appeared to be corroborated by Sean Sims' tape-recorded conversation with the coach.

But they also urged caution in jumping to conclusions, noting that only the school district has had the opportunity to interview the coach and hear his side of the story.

"I'm definitely appalled that this kind of language is going on in any school system," said Theresa Daem, a retired Laguna Beach Unified superintendent who now runs a national superintendents' association. "Not that anything would justify what he said, but there are many times when you're investigating something that you learn things that give it a bit of a different perspective."

Daem said Fullerton district officials likely were appalled at the words Patino was accused of uttering. But after investigating, even if they had wanted to remove the coach from his position, their hands would have been tied, Daem said.

First of all, Daem said, if they were to remove the coach, it could create a community backlash. More importantly, teachers have due-process rights codified in state law, she explained.

"You need to build a file; you can't just have this one instance of a verbal insult," said Daem, executive director of the Newport Beach-based National Association of School Superintendents. "You would need to take measured steps toward something as big as suspension or dismissal. As horrible as it was, there are processes they have to adhere to."

Had an employee in the private sector used racial or gay slurs or threatened someone in the workplace, even if jokingly, that employee easily might have been suspended or fired, said Ron Wenkart, an attorney for the county Department of Education.

"The framework of the law is very different in the private sector," Wenkart said. "Unless it's a unionized business, the employer has a lot more discretion to decide whether to fire someone. If they find this conduct unacceptable, they probably would fire the person."

Michael Stone of the California Teachers Association said due-process rights are intended to protect teachers from false allegations and discriminatory action by their employer. Private-sector employees have the right to immediately file a wrongful-termination lawsuit, Stone said.

Stone, a trustee for the state teachers union and an Aliso Viejo Middle School math teacher, also said school administrators and other supervisory personnel should make regular appearances in teachers' classrooms and on athletic fields, to nip inappropriate behaviors in the bud before students and parents lodge complaints. Observing teachers is the way administrators are supposed to hold them accountable, Stone said.

"Good administrators walk out onto the field and they see what's really happening," Stone said.

PAID LEAVE

Toward the end of Fullerton Union High's summer season in mid July, the team's remaining schedule was abruptly canceled. District Superintendent George Giokaris confirmed the cancelation was due to a "confidential personnel matter," but declined to elaborate further.

Giokaris, however, said that in general, when an employee is accused of harassment, intimidation or making a threat, the staff member is put on paid leave so the district can investigate.

"We make a relevant determination whether the facts of the case support the allegation of threats, intimidations and harassment," Giokaris said. "Based on what we find, appropriate discipline is assigned."

Giokaris also said an audio recording created without the other party's consent could not be used to build a case against an employee.

"We cannot legally use something that is obtained illegally," Giokaris said. "It's pretty much the same legal standard as trying to prove someone committed a criminal act that would cause someone to have to go to jail or pay a fine."

Regardless of the legalities, Stone said, teachers and coaches should always use proper language – it's just common sense.

"You're representing your high school," said Stone, who spent a season coaching freshman football.

"If you play dirty, it's not just a reflection on yourself, but on the youth you're coaching."

Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or smartindale@ocregister.com or Twitter: @MartindaleScott