Coaches’ Lineup Could Include a Lawyer

John Emme, the baseball coach at Corona del Mar High in Newport Beach, has been sued twice in two years by Marc Martinez, a physician whose son pitched on the school team.

Martinez alleged in his first suit that Emme harmed his son J.D.’s future as a college pitcher by making him pitch too many innings, damaging his arm. Martinez pulled his son off the team in his senior year and later filed another suit, saying the coach made false statements in a newspaper article, ruining his son’s chance for a college scholarship and, perhaps, a career in the big leagues.

Such “disappointment” lawsuits, legal experts say, are an emerging trend as parents -- who not so long ago simply attended games and pulled an occasional snack bar shift -- take on school districts and coaches over the handling of their children.

In some cases, moms and dads contend coaches have done a poor job of showcasing their children to college or pro scouts. In other suits, parents say coaches and trainers failed to help young athletes reach their potential.

Parents’ expectations have been raised by the success of such athletes as Tiger Woods, Venus Williams and Kevin Garnett, who made millions when they were still teens. High school senior LeBron James of Akron, Ohio, is expected to sign a shoe deal worth $20 million to $30 million even before he is drafted by an NBA team later this year.

“The stakes have gotten higher,” said Bob Jarvis, who teaches sports law at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and has tracked some 200 sports lawsuits in the last year. “College costs more. Parents see all these kids going to the NBA, the tennis and golf tours, making all this money. They want it for their kids. And when it doesn’t happen for them, they have to blame somebody.”

“In the old days, parents said, ‘You coach the kids, and we’ll help get them money for travel and uniforms,’ ” said Jarvis. “Now, they don’t want to do any of that stuff. They say, ‘We’ll come to the games, we’ll second-guess you and we’ll sue you.’ ”

Lawsuits in which parents or students say promising careers were short-circuited by coaches began to surface about a decade ago. About 20 such suits were filed in the last year, but experts say they are not aware of any case in which a court has ordered a financial judgment.

One early case involved Bryan Fortay, a high school football star from New Jersey who said his career nose-dived when Dennis Erickson, then the coach at the University of Miami, didn’t name him the starting quarterback. Fortay alleged in the 1993 lawsuit that Erickson promised him the starting job when he was a high school senior. Fortay alleged that Erickson broke that oral contract when he gave the job to Gino Torretta, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1992. Fortay and the University of Miami eventually settled.

In 2001, Lynn Rubin of Union City, Calif., filed suit seeking $1.5 million in damages from the New Haven School District after his 15-year-old son, Jawaan, was demoted from the varsity to the junior varsity basketball team at Logan High. Rubin, who also was seeking the dismissal of the varsity coach, said in a recent interview that he felt the demotion was “messing up [Jawaan’s] future and professional earnings.” The suit was dismissed.

So far, most of the “disappointment cases” appear to be frivolous, said sociologist Richard Lapchick, who directs the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. But if juries begin handing up judgments, he said, it could leave coaches feeling handcuffed, afraid to talk freely with recruiters, second-guessing themselves on how they handle young athletes.

For Emme, the baseball coach at Corona del Mar High for the last six seasons, the suit alleging he ruined the career of J.D. Martinez is a reflection of the times. “In this day and age,” Emme said, “there are a lot of parents spending thousands of dollars grooming their kids for pro careers or college scholarships.”

“I didn’t want to sue the guy,” said Martinez, an emergency room doctor who lives in Newport Beach. “It’s costly. There are risks involved. I did everything I could, but I didn’t think I had any other choice.”

One of those risks includes being counter-sued. In January, Emme filed a $1-million malicious prosecution suit against Martinez, claiming the coach’s reputation had been damaged.

In his suit, Emme paints his former player as “an outstanding young man” who possessed average baseball skills. But his father, the coach alleged, had “grandiose ambitions” for his son as a collegiate and professional player.

Despite claims by parents such as Martinez, the role of the high school coach in the college recruiting process has generally diminished. These days, scouting services specialize in shopping kids to colleges, complete with videotape packages highlighting a player’s strengths.

“We always say, ‘You can’t hide Babe Ruth,’ ” said Bob Flint, a high school baseball coach for 35 years who has spent the last three seasons at Irvine’s Woodbridge High School. “Even if I wanted to completely bury a kid, I couldn’t do it ... if you’re good enough, they’ll find you.”

Martinez showcased J.D.’s right arm as much as he could during the summer and fall. After his senior year, J.D. played in a tournament in Waco, Texas, before numerous college scouts. Marc Martinez said his son was given a “7” rating out of 10.

“He was throwing 83 to 84 miles an hour,” Martinez said. “He was stronger and better than he had been in high school. The scouts in Texas said he was a prospective Division I college player and a potential lower-round draft pick.”

But J.D., who declined to discuss the case, was not recruited by any Division I programs, even though Marc Martinez said his son received about 30 letters of interest from colleges. Martinez, who asked for $25,000 as well as punitive damages in his suit, said Emme told him that he was going to “close the door” on his son’s chances of getting a college scholarship. Emme said he never closed any doors on the young baseball player.

“I was not contacted by any schools about J.D. after he left my program,” Emme said.

To some, Emme has become an illustration of the changing relationship between coach and parent.

When he was a young coach in Texas, Flint said he didn’t know a single parent. “I always thought players played, coaches coached, umpires umpired and parents sat in the stands,” he said. “And we didn’t cross those lines.” Now, the kids and parents “are with me 11 months of the year,” Flint said. “It’d be nice if we could get away from each other, but we need to be around each other to compete with everybody else.”

Bob Ferraro, director of a Pennsylvania-based national coaches association, said it was probably just a matter of time before parents began taking their gripes against coaches to the courthouse.

“Everyone wants to blame the coach,” said Ferraro, who said complaints against coaches to his office have risen dramatically in the last few years. “The kid didn’t win the game, it’s the coach’s fault. The kid didn’t get the scholarship, it’s the coach’s fault.”

Ferraro said some parents now view sports as a financial investment. “Unfortunately,” he said, “many times the parents are living through their kids.”

So whatever became of J.D. Martinez’s college career?

J.D. is a 19-year-old freshman at the University of San Diego, a Division I Catholic school known for its academics. But he is not playing baseball. He tried out for the team, but didn’t make the cut. “He’s doing great,” Marc Martinez said of his son. “He’d love to be playing baseball, but he just rolls with the punches.”

Something his dad wasn’t able to do.

“I guess I could have walked away,” he said. “But I don’t walk away.”