Lipman Resigns as Royal A.D. Over Soccer Violation

Glenn Lipman resigned Tuesday as the Royal High boys’ athletic director, ending the threat of Southern Section sanctions against the school’s athletic department.

Lipman’s resignation satisified Southern Section officials and concluded a two-week struggle set in motion when the school’s championship soccer team was ruled in violation of Southern Section rules for using a player who participated with a Junior Olympic team during the season.

Southern Section Commissioner Stan Thomas issued a one-sentence statement after Tuesday night’s executive committee meeting: “The executive committee agrees that Royal High School is taking appropriate corrective action and the issue is closed.”

Lipman, 33, has been a teacher at Royal for 10 years and athletic director for the past four. He will retain his job as health and physical education teacher and is still eligible to coach, but he loses the extracurricular job that pays about $4,000 a year. The resignation is effective in September.

Lipman said he was not pressured to resign and that his decision was prompted by his concern for the Royal students.

Lipman and John Duncan, superintendent of the Simi Valley Unified School District, still object to Southern Section recommendations that Royal relieve three administrators, including Lipman, of interscholastic athletic duties. The Southern Section’s executive committee March 15 also recommended two-year’s probation for Royal’s athletic department but allowed the Highlanders to keep the 4-A Division title they won March 4 with a 1-0 victory over Newbury Park.

The school district rejected those recommendations last week, claiming that the Southern Section exceeded its legal bounds by attempting to dictate personnel decisions. The district also threatened legal action if the Southern Section moved to strip Royal of its title.

Duncan claimed Royal already had followed some of the recommendations after the other two administrators in question--then-interim Principal Pat Blackburn and activities director Jim Cox--were disassociated from the school’s athletic department.

But Lipman remained a stumbling block. A meeting Monday between Thomas and Royal Principal Dave Jackson failed to break the stalemate until Lipman’s announcement Tuesday.

“I cannot sit by and allow the Royal soccer team to be deprived of their legitimate championship, nor can I accept the possible alternative of prohibiting Royal teams from participating in CIF athletics,” Lipman stated. “It is for these reasons that I submit my resignation.”

Duncan, who praised Lipman for his courage and his “personal sacrifice,” said the resignation will not impede Lipman’s pursuit of other administrative jobs in the district. He also blasted the Southern Section for what he called its harshness.

“This whole damn thing is totally unfair. The CIF has extended themselves so far beyond their legal rights that it does not bode well for them,” he said.

The battle stems from a two-week trip to the Soviet Union by senior defender Cam Rast, who played with the Junior Olympic team in late December. Rast, the Marmonte League’s defensive player of the year, also played in Guatemala in February and received Southern Section approval for that trip.

Royal officials never notified nor received permission from the Southern Section for the trip to the Soviet Union, an oversight they acknowledge. But they object to the severity of the punishment, saying it is not commensurate with a crime they refer to as a procedural error.

School officials deny that their rejection of the recommendations represents a challenge to the Southern Section’s right to administer the largest section in the California Interscholastic Federation with 479 member schools.

“We’re a member school and we need to work together to solve problems,” Jackson said. “No one has an argument that they need to govern high school sports. The disagreement is how far their power goes.”

Coach Peter Schraml rushed to Lipman’s defense, saying if officials were looking for a fall guy, he was ready to volunteer.

Schraml, who took the job one week after the season started, coached at Cal Lutheran for five years. Royal is the first high school job for Schraml, whose primary occupation is airline pilot.

“If they wanted to take my head, I was prepared to resign,” he said. “I still feel the mistake we made was not intentional and to see Glenn lose his job over it disturbs me quite a bit.”

REACTION

“I cannot sit by and allow the Royal soccer team to be deprived of their legitimate championship, nor can I accept the possible alternative of prohibiting Royal teams from participating in CIF athletics. It is for these reasons that I submit my resignation.”

--Glenn Lipman, Royal athletic director

“This whole damn thing is totally unfair. The CIF has extended themselves so far beyond their legal rights that it does not bode well for them.”

--John Duncan, Simi Valley schools superintendent

“If they wanted to take my head, I was prepared to resign. I still feel the mistake we made was not intentional and to see Glenn lose his job over it disturbs me quite a bit.”

--Peter Schraml, Royal soccer coach

“The executive committee agrees that Royal High School is taking appropriate corrective action and the issue is closed.”

--Stan Thomas, Southern Section commissioner