Preserve the Integrity Before It Disappears

What is happening to high school sports in Southern California?

The integrity in what many consider the last pure form of athletics seems to have been stripped away.

Reporters these days spend as much time investigating bench-clearing brawls as covering games. There are more stories on coaches being suspended than on those who are picking up milestone victories.

Even parents have been held responsible for instigating fights in the stands this school year.

And please do not blame the media for looking for negative stories. The only ones to blame for all these problems are the athletes, their parents and the coaches, whose ethics seem to have taken an unfortunate turn for the worse.

Does none of this sound familiar? Perhaps a review of a few incidents is in order:

--Leodes Van Buren of Newbury Park, the state’s top wide receiver last fall, was charged last Friday with firing a gun into the home of his girlfriend. If convicted, he is in jeopardy of losing his scholarship to Colorado, to say nothing of penalties courts might hand out.

--A week earlier, Reseda baseball player Alonzo Arreola was suspended for the rest of the season for punching a Chatsworth player during a postgame handshake. Reseda Coach Mike Stone called the incident “unfortunate.”

--Players, coaches and fans were involved in a fight during a boys’ basketball game between Gardena Serra and Santa Monica St. Monica in January. One parent was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. When the teams played again, attendance was limited and security increased.

--Simi Valley boys’ basketball Coach Dean Bradshaw was suspended midway through the season for shoving one of his players to the floor during a game. He has since been reinstated.

--And who can forget Stan Thomas being asked to resign in October for allegedly using his expense account to pay for lavish vacations, golf games and gas for his boat?

The list includes everything from sexual assault to recruiting.

Since high school athletics are only a small part of the education process, it is important to keep them in perspective. There is a public fascination with sports, and being part of a team teaches valuable lessons. But participation should still be regarded as a privilege, not a right.

Standards need to be set, followed and enforced. Elements that have negatively affected professional and collegiate athletics, such as fighting and cheating, simply cannot be allowed in prep sports.

How can next school year be different?

With open enrollment threatening to further encourage the building of all-star teams, integrity is more important than ever. It must begin at home, continue on the field, into the locker room and into the coaches’ offices.

Things that have gone on this year cannot continue. Otherwise, there is nothing special about high school sports. It ends up being more of the same. And that is not OK.

Prep Notes

The Southern Section baseball playoffs begin today with the wild-card round. The first round starts Friday. Pairings were released Monday, and, as expected, undefeated La Puente Bishop Amat (25-0), top-ranked by The Times, is top-seeded in Division III. Fountain Valley is top-seeded in Division I and Redondo in Division II. . . . The Southern Section also released the softball pairings Monday. Wild-card games are Wednesday and the first round Friday. . . . The City Section boys’ and girls’ swimming finals will be Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Long Beach Belmont Plaza.

Dick Hill, Orange County’s winningest high school football coach, is the new coach at Orange High. Hill, 66, retired from Santa Ana in 1991. . . . The Southern Section track and field finals are Saturday at Long Beach City College. They were moved from Cerritos College, where the State Junior College track meet will be held.

Times’ Top 20 Baseball Poll

The Times’ top 20 high school baseball poll, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Bishop Amat SS III 25-0 1 2. Sylmar City 4-A 23-3 4 3. Fountain Valley SS I 22-3 2 4. Lakewood SS I 20-6 5 5. Chatsworth City 4-A 22-4 3 6. La Quinta SS III 22-3 8 7. Tustin SS III 21-5 10 8. Brea-Olinda SS II 21-4 11 9. Nogales SS I 18-6 9 10. El Camino Real City 4-A 18-5 14 11. El Dorado SS I 19-7 13 12. Redondo SS II 22-4 18 13. San Marino SS IV 19-1 12 14. Hart SS II 19-5 15 15. Poly City 4-A 19-4 20 16. West Torrance SS III 21-6 16 17. Diamond Bar SS I 17-7 17 18. Newbury Park SS I 18-7 6 19. Cres. Valley SS I 16-5 NR 20. Simi Valley SS I 18-6 NR