Referee Files a $15,000 Complaint : Morse Coach, Fans Subjects of Suit

A high school basketball referee has filed a complaint with the San Diego Unified School District seeking $15,000 in punitive damages for alleged verbal assault by Morse High School Coach Ron Davis and his team’s supporters.

Frank Wilhelm of Vista claims the incident occurred in the aftermath of the San Diego CIF 3-A championship game on Feb. 27 at the Sports Arena. Morse, a member of the San Diego Unified School District, lost the game to Poway, 87-63.

The school district has rejected Wilhelm’s complaint, as is customary in such cases. Wilhelm’s attorney, Scott R. Burton, said his client is contemplating a lawsuit against Davis, the school district or both.

In the written complaint to the school district, Wilhelm said: “Davis used many vulgarities, including the term ‘white racist.’ Davis incited his players and team followers outside the Sports Arena an hour after the championship game that Mr. Wilhelm officiated. Coach Davis went out of his way to verbally assault Mr. Wilhelm with racism and vulgarities and knew with his supporters surrounding him that they might physically attack Mr. Wilhelm, or at the very least would cause apprehension of a physical attack.”

Davis laughed when he was read the report.

“Are you serious?,” he asked. “That’s not true whatsoever. I’d never do anything like that. Nothing ever happened. It’s unreal to think someone would say something like this.”

Burton said that Wilhelm was not physically harmed. However, Burton said his client suffered mental and emotional stress, causing difficulty in sleeping.

According to Burton, there were at least 20 or 30 Morse supporters, along with Davis, waiting for Wilhelm at his car that night.

“Basketball games get heated, and apparently, there were a couple of technical fouls called,” Burton said. “In this particular situation, Mr. Davis apparently intentionally waited for Mr. Wilhelm with his supporters near him. Fortunately, no one was physically hurt, but there certainly was a threat of it. If you’re walking along and a group of people is at your car, who knows what can happen.”

Davis said: “How would we know where his car was? There’s something going on here. I won’t let this thing bother me. It sounds so unreal to me.”

Burton said Wilhelm filed the complaint partly for future considerations.

“The main idea is to keep this kind of conduct from occurring,” Burton said. “We need to deter it somehow. Mr. Wilhelm doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else.”