Officials Clear Muir Coach of Allegations

Bill (Rocky) Moore, boys’ basketball coach at Pasadena Muir High, was cleared Friday of allegations that he physically and verbally abused two of his players.

At a meeting Friday morning, Gary Talbert, Muir’s principal, and Vera Vignes, superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District, agreed that internal investigations by the school and district yielded no substantial evidence of wrongdoing.

Talbert also said an investigation conducted by the Pasadena Police Department had found no wrongdoing.

Moore, who had been on paid administrative leave from his teaching and coaching duties at the school since Tuesday, was immediately reinstated. He was back on the bench Friday night when Muir played host to Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta in the Pacific League season finale. He will return to his job as a health and physical education teacher Tuesday.

“This has been a very painful experience for the school and Coach Moore,” said Talbert, who coached the boys’ basketball team at Muir from 1967-81.

“Like all other coaches, we’ll evaluate Moore and the direction of the team at the end of the season.”

Rudy Lamar and Larry Smith, parents of Muir junior players Bradley Lamar and Lavon Smith, testified at a board meeting Tuesday that Moore had abused their sons. Smith said he had a videotape from a faculty-student game last June that showed Moore playing very rough against his son.

Vignes viewed the videotape privately, but it was not shown at Tuesday’s board meeting.