Hagins Says He’ll Sue Arizona State

Stephan Hagins, former star catcher for University High in Irvine, says he will sue Arizona State over the school’s refusal to let him play baseball because of a heart-valve problem.

Hagins, a freshman who was All-State and Times All-County last spring, said he offered to sign a waiver absolving Arizona State of liability should something happen to him. But the university has refused to give medical clearance.

“If they think they’ve got a $3-million debt in the athletic department now, just wait until I get through with them,” Hagins told The Arizona Republic in Sunday’s editions.

Hagins, who batted .507 as a University senior, signed a letter of intent with Arizona State but continued to consider a pro career. The Republic said the publication Baseball America learned that the Major League Scouting Bureau had rated Hagins the No. 1 professional prospect in the nation among high school players.

But Hagins’ father, Guerry, died of a heart attack at age 60 two days before Major League Baseball’s June draft. Pro scouts already knew his son was born with a faulty heart valve, though he had medical clearance to play sports throughout his youth. And after his father’s death, Hagins went from a potential first-round draft pick to the 23rd round, where he was taken by the Cleveland Indians, the Republic said.

“When my dad died, everybody was turned off toward me because they thought my heart problem was hereditary,” Hagins said. “It’s not at all. He died of coronary-artery disease. I have a heart-valve problem. Nobody did their homework.”

On Aug. 5, Hagins underwent a 5 1/2-hour medical procedure, called balloon aortic valvuplasty, at UCLA Medical Center to clear the valve.

After declining to sign with the Indians, Hagins enrolled at Arizona State, but lack of medical clearance has kept him from participating in fall practice.

University officials cited a letter in which Dr. Joseph Perloff, a UCLA heart specialist who performed the Aug. 5 procedure, “strongly advised” Hagins against participating in competitive sports and said he should not plan on a professional athletic career.

Paul Ward, general counsel for Arizona State, said the university’s team physician and an outside physician have agreed.

Hagins’ mother, Shirley, who moved to Sedona, Ariz., from Irvine after her husband’s death, said other doctors have told her that her son is at minimal risk.

Phoenix attorney Joe Rocco is expected to file a request this week on behalf of Hagins asking for an injunction ordering the university to allow Hagins to practice and play with the team while his case is being decided, said another attorney for Hagins, Dave Smith of Smith Sports Agency in Newport Beach.

“Steve turned down quite a lucrative contract with the Cleveland Indians organization,” Smith said. “He changed his future based on promises made by Arizona State.”