Westchester Appeal Denied

Westchester High is down to its last strike in an effort to overturn sanctions against its state-champion boys’ basketball team.

The City Section announced Monday that a three-person appeal panel had upheld penalties that include Westchester’s being banned from the playoffs this season for allegedly recruiting 6-foot-9 junior center Amir Johnson from Los Angeles Verbum Dei.

Westchester now will appeal to the California Interscholastic Federation state office in a last-ditch attempt to be reinstated for postseason play and to restore the athletic eligibility of Johnson, who was banned from practice and interscholastic play for one year for allegedly giving false testimony at a hearing last month.

Charles McLurkin, Johnson’s attorney, said he would seek a court injunction if his client’s appeal is not heard by the state office in a timely manner -- “hopefully by next week,” he said.

In a similar case last fall, Bakersfield High center Robert Swift was ruled eligible to play by federation executive director Marie Ishida, who overturned a ruling by the Central Section that said Swift transferred from Bakersfield Highland after allegedly being recruited by a Bakersfield administrator.

The difference in the Westchester case is there are witnesses -- two Verbum Dei administrators -- to the alleged pre-enrollment contact between Johnson and Westchester assistant coach Marlon Morton in Verbum Dei’s gymnasium last summer.

Morton, who was barred from coaching at any City Section school for one year, has called the allegations “blatant lies.” Johnson said the incident never happened.

Verbum Dei does not have specific dates for the alleged contact, a point that Westchester Coach Ed Azzam brought up after Monday’s decision.

“I don’t believe this is a fair ruling at all,” Azzam said. “They’re not allowing us an opportunity to prove our innocence.”

At an appeal hearing last week, Westchester Principal Dana Perryman presented a timeline in an attempt to show it was “highly unlikely” that Johnson, because of a heavy tournament schedule and summer-school classes, could have had contact with Morton at Verbum Dei.

The appeal panel heard testimony from parents, students and representatives from both schools before making its decision.

Westchester, the two-time defending state Division I champion, is 17-2 and ranked No. 1 in the Southland by The Times. The Comets play host to Western League rival Fairfax on Wednesday night in a rematch of last year’s City Championship game won by Westchester.