News Summary
A major scandal surrounding illicit player transfers has surfaced at Narbonne High School, leading to serious repercussions from the California Interscholastic Federation. Brett Steigh, a former graduate, confessed to paying parents for player transfers to enhance the football program’s competitiveness. As a result of the investigation, Narbonne has faced sanctions, including a two-year playoff ban and the vacating of a City championship. The fallout from these revelations raises significant ethical concerns about practices in high school sports.
Narbonne, California – A scandal involving illicit player transfers has emerged at Narbonne High School, leading to an investigation by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and subsequent sanctions. Brett Steigh, a graduate of Narbonne High, has admitted to paying parents in order to secure transfers of football players to Narbonne as well as to St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery high schools. His revelations come from an interview on the “Fattal Factor” podcast.
Steigh’s actions began in 2015 when he started donating equipment and funds to Narbonne’s football program. By 2018, he claimed he began to pay parents directly for player transfers, a method he adopted after facing resistance from the coach, who was reportedly reluctant to accept these practices. Steigh’s goal was to level the playing field against private schools, despite asserting that he had never paid players directly and that his illicit dealings were unknown to the coaching staff.
The consequences for Narbonne have been severe. The school has vacated its 2018 City championship and faced a two-year playoff ban due to the violations. Further investigations uncovered additional infractions, resulting in an extended three-year playoff ban. These outcomes reflect the serious repercussions of Steigh’s actions on the school and its football program.
Steigh indicated that part of his motivation stemmed from a desire to assist underprivileged families, claiming he has provided shelter for homeless children in the hope of helping them succeed academically and athletically. He admitted to making substantial payments to at least one family, reportedly as much as $50,000, to facilitate the transfer of players to Narbonne, contributing to the influx of out-of-state athletes.
Following his activities at Narbonne, Steigh became involved with the St. Bernard football program, where he oversaw improvements worth about $1 million. However, this relationship was complicated by an ongoing investigation by the FBI and IRS alongside coach Manuel Douglas; the inquiry concluded without any charges being pressed. Currently, Steigh is associated with Bishop Montgomery, which has also come under CIF scrutiny due to a significant number of player transfers and violations involving ineligible players.
As part of the investigation into Bishop Montgomery, five players were declared ineligible for falsifying transfer documentation, prompting a series of forfeits and the firing of head coach Ed Hodgkiss. In light of these ongoing investigations, Bishop Montgomery announced it would forfeit the remainder of the 2025 football season and noted further CIF rule violations requiring immediate corrective actions.
Patrick Lee, the president of Bishop Montgomery, has denied any connection to Steigh and has initiated investigations within the football program following the discovery of these violations. Steigh mentioned that similar practices are not uncommon among private schools, suggesting that his actions are part of a larger trend within competitive high school athletics.
While taking full responsibility for his misconduct, Steigh has expressed his intention to retire from participating in high school football programs. The fallout from this scandal is not new for Narbonne’s football program, which has faced scrutiny in the past, including previous probation and championship vacating due to earlier violations of CIF rules. As investigations into these practices continue, the future of these programs remains uncertain, raising questions about ethical standards in high school sports.
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Additional Resources
- SI.com: Narbonne Football Players Deemed Ineligible
- Wikipedia: Narbonne High School
- LA Times: Booster Confirms Paying Parents
- Google Search: Narbonne football scandal
- Daily Breeze: Narbonne Football Season with Sanctions Looming
- Google Scholar: High School Football Transfers
- LA Times: Narbonne Football Team Banned from Playoffs
- Encyclopedia Britannica: High School Sports
- USA Today: Narbonne Academic Scandal
- Google News: Narbonne High School Football Scandal
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