Shoving Incident Cited as a Factor in Cancellation

Tonight’s scheduled Marmonte League game between Simi Valley and cross-town rival Royal highs has been canceled by the Simi Valley Unified School District, in part because of an altercation between Simi Valley basketball Coach Dean Bradshaw and a player.

Officially, district administrators cited lack of practice time because of the Jan. 17 earthquake as the major factor in canceling the game. Simi Valley’s gym has gone unused since the earthquake because of structural damage and Royal’s gym served as a Red Cross shelter until Tuesday.

But Leslie Crunelle, director of secondary education for the district, admitted Tuesday that Bradshaw’s shoving of senior guard Sam Rodriguez during a 51-44 league victory over Westlake on Jan. 14 affected the decision.

Bradshaw has been suspended while the district conducts its investigation of the incident, which might not be completed until early next week. “The situation (with Bradshaw) was not the sole determining factor,” Crunelle said. “But, yes, I’m sure that had to do with it as well.”

The school’s junior varsity and sophomore teams, however, will play as scheduled at Royal. Officials said the varsity game will be rescheduled only if it is needed to determine seeding for the Southern Section playoffs. If needed, the game is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 12 at a site to be determined.

Neither team has played since Jan. 14. Simi Valley is 12-5, 3-2 in league play. Royal is 4-10, 1-3.

Royal Coach Larry Wiksell is troubled by the district’s decision.

“(The official explanation) is the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever heard,” Wiksell said. “This is a shame. Playing our rival is always a big game, and it was something the kids were really looking forward to because of all the problems from the earthquake.”

Simi Valley will return to the court Friday night when it plays host to Camarillo in a league game at 7:30 at the Apollo Continuation School in Simi Valley. Royal plays host to Channel Islands on Friday night.