It Was One Punch With Many Repercussions : Prep football: Charges of racism have been raised--and vigorously denied--since a black player struck a white referee.

There was a punch, no question. A high school football player ran after a referee and struck him. As the player was restrained by a teammate and a coach, the referee fell, his glasses smashed, his left eye bleeding.

Everyone at Beverly Hills High watched in disbelief. Millions have seen the punch replayed on television news and magazine shows.

What triggered it? Why did Kumasi Simmons, an honor student at Compton Centennial High, punch referee Ken Smotrys, 34, in the Oct. 20 game?

The answer, say Simmons’ family members and their lawyer, is race.

Simmons was called “nigger,” said Linda Randle, the player’s mother. “But you know, as I’ve been talking to people, this is not an uncommon story. It happens all the time. But this time they’ve chosen the wrong person, because I’m going to stand up for my son.”

It didn’t happen, said Smotrys, who is white.

“In 12 years of officiating, I have never referred to a player as a ‘nigger,’ nor have I heard any other official use that word,” he said.

There has been no heated rivalry between Compton Centennial and Beverly Hills high schools, 25 miles apart geographically, worlds apart socioeconomically, and both competing in the Ocean League.

Yet, in a report filed with the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section, Dick Schreiber, Beverly Hills’ athletic director, said he heard the Centennial coach, who is also Compton’s mayor, tell his players to “remember last year’s game, remember them [Beverly Hills players] calling us niggers,” during pregame warm-ups on the field.

“They called my players niggers on their own field,” Centennial Coach Omar Bradley said this week. “Do you know how that makes a young man feel? . . . They don’t forget someone calling them a name, even though they’ve grown up with it their whole life. It instills rage. And when the kids act on that rage, they’re called down as a common criminal.”

Beverly Hills Coach Carter Paysinger, who is African American, denied that anyone from his school made such remarks, adding that many of his players are black.

For two quarters on Oct. 20, there were no problems. According to reports from the officials, there were an average number of penalties. Beverly Hills led, 14-0.

During the halftime break, Smotrys, who has been an official for 12 years, said he told the other officials he was concerned about two Centennial players, Simmons and Avante Rose. Smotrys said both had been extremely vocal in the first half and appeared to be upset. He was not sure why.

Andre Farkas of Beverly Hills fielded the second-half kickoff and returned the ball to his 30-yard line. Several videotapes show that Simmons tackled the Beverly Hills player and pushed his helmet to the ground after the whistle. Smotrys saw the incident and ran to where the ball was downed, on the way colliding with another Centennial player, Vincent Brooks.

Accounts of what the referee said to Simmons vary.

Smotrys said that he told Simmons not to push a player’s helmet into the ground again.

“I was being very loud with him, but I wanted him to understand that that is not the way to play football,” Smotrys said. “I told him to step out of the way and not to do that again. Maybe I should have called a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but a lot of times you like to give a kid a warning first.”

Leo Terrell, Simmons’ attorney, said his client was told “42, you’re out, nigger,” adding that they were “fighting words.”

Smotrys denies that he used the racial epithet. Statements filed with the Southern Section by Beverly Hills players--including Farkas, who was between Smotrys and Simmons at the time--say that they did not hear the word.

In any case, both teams went to their huddles, and Smotrys stood in the Beverly Hills backfield. As the Centennial defense broke out of its huddle, Simmons walked past his teammates and across the line of scrimmage. When he got about five yards away from Smotrys, he charged.

“When he got close, I could see his eyes were like moons and I knew something was wrong,” Smotrys said. “I knew I was in trouble.”

A Beverly Hills student, standing nearby, says he heard Smotrys warn the player, “Get away, get away.”

Smotrys said he saw the punch coming. Videotapes show Simmons had a clenched right fist when he punched the referee, coming off the ground with the momentum of the blow.

Smotrys told a trainer from Beverly Hills to call the police because he wanted Simmons arrested. The Beverly Hills police quickly arrived and began questioning Simmons and Smotrys, and the referee asked police to arrest Simmons.

While police were questioning the two and other witnesses, Brooks told police that he was pushed to the ground and called a “nigger” by Smotrys when the two collided after the second-half kickoff. Brooks said he wanted Smotrys arrested.

The game was declared a forfeit to Beverly Hills. Simmons and Smotrys were arrested, handcuffed and taken to the police station, where they were charged with simple battery and released. Charges against Smotrys have been dropped; Simmons has a hearing Nov. 7.

For a week after the incident, police and school officials have been trying to learn why Simmons, who has been described as a model student, would hit a referee.

In the police report, Simmons said he overheard Smotrys telling another Centennial player to stop doing something or he would be penalized. He said this made him angry, so he ran at the referee and hit him.

Simmons makes no mention of a racial epithet in the police report.

When Simmons arrived at school Monday morning with his mother and his stepfather, Lenny Randle, a former major league baseball player, he was apologetic and remorseful, Centennial Principal Carrie Allen said. She followed district guidelines by suspending him for five days. She also informed him that he had been dismissed from the football team, because CIF Rule No. 522 states that a player forfeits all eligibility for striking an official.

The rule does not list a provision for provocation.

Allen said Simmons said only that he was sorry and accepted his punishment.

The Randles and the Centennial coach, Bradley, who is Simmons’ uncle, weren’t as accepting. They hired civil rights lawyer Terrell, who is threatening legal action against Smotrys, the CIF and the Compton Unified School District for violation of Simmons’ civil rights. He may also seek an injunction that would allow Simmons to continue playing should he remain at Centennial.

Terrell said Monday that Smotrys referred to several Centennial players as “niggers” during the game and that he was responsible for creating a racist atmosphere, which provoked Simmons’ action.

Bradley said several of his players told him they heard Smotrys refer to them as “niggers” during the game. The coach said he encouraged Brooks to stand up for his constitutional rights in claiming a citizen’s arrest of Smotrys.

Smotrys, who works for the South Bay Football Officials Unit and resides in Lawndale, vehemently denies making any racist remarks.

“I am terribly disturbed about how I am being portrayed,” he said. “I do not consider myself a racist. To be honest, I wish I knew what made that young man so angry.”

On Oct. 6, Smotrys had officiated a Centennial home game apparently without incident. Bradley said he recalled Smotrys handling a Centennial game last season but couldn’t recall any specific problems.

Simmons, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound running back/linebacker, has declined requests for several interviews, as have his mother and stepfather.

At a Tuesday news conference, a videotape taken by Lenny Randle was cited as evidence of Smotrys’ alleged bias. On it was the Brooks-Smotrys collision and a first-half play in which three Beverly Hills players tackled Rose. One of the tackles was by the throat, yet the only penalty called was against the Centennial player for pushing the Beverly Hills players off him.

An investigation being conducted by the Southern Section office in Cerritos has turned up no witnesses, other than Simmons and Brooks, who say they heard Smotrys use the racial epithet.

The investigation hasn’t been completed, but a letter from Bradley to Allen says that “two of my players ran off the field to me stating ‘Coach Bradley, the official in the white hat is cursing us out.’ I then asked the players what did he say, [one player] responded by saying, ‘He is calling us niggers.’ ”

The Southern Section is calling in an independent investigator to review the case next week.

The Beverly Hills police talked with Brooks a second time on Wednesday, and he stood by his statement that Smotrys had used pejorative terms in dealing with Centennial players. On Friday, battery charges against Smotrys were dropped by the district attorney. But until the matter is resolved, Smotrys has been suspended from officiating.

The Compton School District is also investigating. Among other things, they are looking into allegations that Bradley, who is an English teacher at Lynwood High and a second-year coach at Centennial, or someone on his staff encouraged the attack on Smotrys. Bradley has declined further comment.

The district is also reviewing whether Simmons, a senior, was improperly enrolled at Centennial. He attended and played football at Ayala High in Chino Hills the past three years. He started the football season there in August, but transferred to Centennial before the first game. Simmons told Ayala Coach Mark Pasquarella that he was disenchanted with his playing time and wanted to seek other options.

Because the Randles did not move from Chino Hills, Simmons needed to receive a waiver from the Southern Section for football eligibility at Centennial. The Section said it did not receive a request for such a waiver. If Simmons is declared ineligible, Centennial will have to forfeit its two victories because Simmons played in both.

Lenny Randle, a combative major leaguer who in one memorable incident in 1977 punched his manager, Frank Lucchesi of the Texas Rangers, said he owns several houses, including one in Compton. He said his son is continuing a family tradition by attending Centennial.

Mark Pasquarella, who was Simmons’ coach the previous three years at Ayala, said the player visited him this week and was left distraught by the whole incident.

“He just shook his head when I asked him what happened,” Pasquarella said. “Kumasi was always excitable on the sidelines, but I’ve never know him to be a violent kid.”

Smotrys has also retained an attorney and said he may pursue legal action.

“Part of me just wants to put the whole thing behind me and the other part wants to tell this young man and anyone else involved that you can’t go around saying whatever you want when it’s not true,” Smotrys said.

* Times staff writers Jim Hodges, George Dohrmann and Greg Sandoval contributed to this story.