Column: ‘Protect those who follow the rules’: Open letter to incoming Southern Section commissioner

The Southern Section is in the process of hiring a new sports commissioner to replace Rob Wigod, who has run an organization made up of 562 private and public high schools for 11 years.

With the Southern Section executive committee scheduled to meet Thursday in closed session to consider a final decision, let me offer some observations to the person about to be hired from someone who has been covering high school sports since 1976:

Welcome to your new position. Yes, the pay is great at more than $220,000, but the problems are immense and, like a reporter, there are no days off. Overseeing high school sports in the largest section in California requires perseverance, humility, occasional humor and most importantly fighting for integrity because the cheaters are out there and fear no one.

You can never satisfy everyone. It’s a balancing act, taking into account schools, students and parents while using common sense when tough decisions need to be made. There’s always the threat of litigation hanging over nearly every decision but sometimes you have to hold your ground and make sure your lawyer is behind you.

It’s true that the separation between the powers and the nonpowers has widened. The hands-off approach to avoid litigation has empowered those who want to run their program as if it were a college program.

Yet there is fight left from those who understand winning isn’t everything. Teaching life lessons, developing athletes and preparing students for college are worthy endeavors, especially with the support of principals who understand how a quality sports experience can translate to success in the classroom and off the field.

The challenge is to call out those schools and administrators, whether public or private, when they seek to abandon the protocols and norms of the high school experience. They are easy to identify. They will do anything to win and then claim it’s for the kids. Parents like winning. They want scholarships for their sons and daughters. So they play the transfer game year after year. If only more emphasis could be placed on double- and triple-checking schools with multiple transfers to make sure the players are eligible, everyone involved would feel more comfortable and confident that rules are being followed.

That is the promise that must be made to keep high school sports moving forward. Since member schools have decided they don’t care how many transfers take place, someone has to be held accountable to check moves are done within the rules. Relying on individual schools has become laughable at times. Just look at what happened for four years at Riverside Poly. It wasn’t until a parent complained loudly that the district investigated and uncovered the cheating.

Competitive equity is here to stay. The culture is changing, though some will continue to seek a return to the days of the past, when small schools faced small schools, league finishes mattered and geography played a big part of playoff matchups.

What should be your emphasis?

An open-door policy for one. Your predecessor was not afraid to discuss and consider anything. He was a good spokesman for high school sports and never forgot that he needed to keep fighting, not for the college scholarship athletes but the player at the end of the bench on a basketball team who just wants to participate.

Sometimes coaches need to be reminded to stop catering to the athletes getting all the scholarship offers and maybe salute the kids who show up to practice every day, never complain and work their butts off just seeking a chance to play in front of mom and dad.

Yes, loyalty is a two-way street. Not everyone gets to play. Mom and dad get mad and transfer their son or daughter thinking they can do better. It’s legal. It’s happening more and more (nearly 15,000 annually statewide). The only way coaches can sleep well at night is by knowing they are doing their best to create a positive team atmosphere and not worry about a parent seeking individual glory through their child.

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As someone who has seen many commissioners come and go, understand that your constituents are the member schools. They want fairness. They want leadership. They want quick action when it is needed. The private vs. public school debate is never going to be settled, but be open to changes and suggestions to lessen the divide.

Good luck with the task at hand. Handing out trophies and shaking hands with administrators and students is the fun part. Putting out the weekly fires, not so much. Always remember someone has to stand tall and protect those who follow the rules even when others don’t.