Mum’s the Word From Heat Coach
Bobby Sibbald isn’t talking.
The coach of the Los Angeles Heat lashed out at the media earlier this week and said he will refuse to speak to reporters during the coming American Professional Soccer League West playoffs.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Aug. 17, 1990 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday August 17, 1990 South Bay Edition Sports Part C Page 13 Column 1 Zones Desk 1 inches; 19 words Type of Material: Correction
Heat forward--Los Angeles Heat forward Brad Smith was incorrectly identified in a photograph in Thursday’s edition as Bobby Smith.
Sibbald’s actions are believed to have been triggered by:
* Recent reports that he has missed practices due to commitments with his full-time job as a salesman for a hair products company.
* A Times reporter’s interpretation of what appeared to be a shoving match between Sibbald and a player who was cut soon after the incident.
* A report in The Times that team President John Ajemian has announced that the Heat will leave the South Bay to play in Orange County in 1991.
Sibbald, calling the reports negative publicity, questioned the intentions of the Times reporter, who is also a youth soccer coach.
“I don’t see how you can say you like soccer when you write negative things (about it),” he said.
When asked if his blackout was directed at a specific news outlet, Sibbald responded: “I’m not talking to anyone.”
Sibbald deferred comments to Heat General Manager Jill Fracisco, assistant coach John Britton or the players.
Said Fracisco: “Bobby is an Englishman. He is very superstitious, maybe because of his background in the sport (as a professional player in England and the United States). He’s gearing up for the playoffs. That’s the way he gets before a big game. And he is very closed-door. He keeps more to himself.”
Sibbald’s outburst comes at time when the second-place Heat appears to have shaken out of its season-long malaise and is beginning to live up to billing as the most talented team in the APSL West.
