Compton to Fire Basketball Coach Accused of Abuse

Russell Otis, the nationally renowned high school boys basketball coach from Compton, is being fired just weeks before he stands trial on charges of sexually abusing one of his players.

The Compton Unified School District’s state-appointed chief, Randolph E. Ward, began the process of dismissing Otis earlier this week. Wednesday afternoon, Compton’s school police chief hand-delivered a notice of termination to Otis’s home in Carson, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Ward’s move represents a reversal by the district, whose officials once said the coach would remain on leave pending a verdict in his trial, scheduled to begin March 28. Through a spokesman, Ward said: “We do not comment on personnel matters.” Fausto Capobianco, the school district’s communications director, said he could neither confirm nor deny that a letter had been sent to Otis.

Despite the timing, the termination notice makes no mention of the criminal case. Instead, it cites Otis’s failure to obtain a permanent teaching credential after 14 years of employment as a coach and physical education instructor with Compton, sources close to the case said.

The termination is not yet final. Otis may appeal the decision at a school board meeting Tuesday night. But only Ward, who has final authority over personnel matters in the state-run district, can reverse the move to fire him.

Otis and his attorney, Leonard B. Levine, said they had not been officially informed of the firing. The coach, who has said the player’s allegations are fabricated, says he has completed all the course work necessary for the credential. His friends said Thursday that the notice was only a pretext for a district bent on separating itself from him before his trial.

“He’ll exercise all his legal remedies to overturn this decision, which we think is not based on the law or the facts,” Levine said. “In this country, people are innocent until proven guilty. I doubt that this decision will be met with any favor by the school board, the community or the high school.”

If the termination goes forward, it could spell the end of one of the more remarkable careers in Southern California sports. Otis, a 38-year-old Compton native, began coaching basketball at Dominguez High in 1987 and built a national powerhouse, earning a lucrative Nike contract, producing top recruits for major college programs and winning four state championships in the past five years. His 2000 squad was ranked the best in America in newspaper polls. Compton’s mayor presented team members with national championship rings last spring.

Otis’ fame came from coaching, but his job was as a physical education and health teacher. In an oversight that has not been fully explained, the school district allowed Otis to keep his job without a teaching credential. The coach instead relied on state and county emergency permits. His last such permit expired on Nov. 1.

The next day, Otis was arrested on allegations of groping, sodomizing and performing oral sex on a 17-year-old senior guard in Otis’ Carson townhouse. Three former acquaintances of the coach, including two Dominguez students, have since come forward to describe similar alleged conduct by Otis. The coach has denied the allegations.

After his arrest, Otis was put on leave. District officials suggested that if Otis was acquitted, he could return to his job. But in recent weeks, Ward and other senior administrators have been concerned by the coach’s frequent attendance at Dominguez games. At a home game on Jan. 12, the crowd gave him a long ovation.

The coach’s lack of a teaching credential was reported by The Times shortly after his arrest last fall.

The Compton Unified School District was taken over by the state Department of Education in 1993. A consent decree requires the district to reduce the number of teachers who lack credentials. A lawyer familiar with the case, who asked to remain anonymous, said Ward will probably argue that Compton has little choice but to dismiss the coach.

The same lawyer said the district will probably have to rehire Otis if he is acquitted in the criminal case and receives his full teaching credential.

In the meantime, the Compton district could find itself in the difficult position of being sued by opposite sides in the case. The family of the 17-year-old alleged victim has already filed a notice of its intent to sue the district for failing to properly control the coach. And Levine on Thursday said Otis may sue the district to keep his job.

Compton school board member Saul Lankster, whose son plays varsity basketball for Dominguez, criticized the decision, saying it is unfair to Otis and will open up the district to costly lawsuits.

“I think it is piling on, and is absolutely idiotic,” said Lankster, who has raised money for an Otis defense fund. “Why not wait until after the trial, and then sort everything out?”