City Delays Decision on Prosecution of Youth Coach

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said Friday that it will decide early next week whether to file criminal charges against a Chatsworth youth football coach who gave over-the-counter diuretics to five members of his team of 10- and 11-year-old boys.

Ron Fidler, coach of the Chatsworth Chiefs Mity-Mite team of the Valley Youth Conference, was suspended Wednesday by conference officials after a parent complained.

Claudine Dodd filed a complaint with the Devonshire Division of the Los Angeles Police Department last week, accusing Fidler of giving water-loss pills to her 10-year-old son, Jeff, after practice Sept. 11.

“This is an unusual case,” said Deputy City Atty. Steve McKee. “The primary issue is whether there is any criminal violation. We have to do some research. We’re not talking about prescription drugs, we’re talking about an over-the-counter product.”

Fidler, who has coached in the Valley Youth Conference for 15 years, admitted giving pills to the players to help them reduce to 115 pounds over two days. He said he wasn’t sure whether the boys had taken them.

At the weigh-in before the team’s opening game Sept. 13, all five players given the pills weighed more than the division’s maximum weight of 115 pounds, Fidler said.

The executive board of the Valley Youth Conference will meet Monday to discuss the case.