The parents of Mesa Vista High School junior varsity basketball players are calling into question how the School District investigated and doled out punishment to players involved in a brawl with Pecos High School players after a 63-62 defeat Jan. 24.
The two schools’ varsity and “C” teams also played that night, without incident, according to parents and Mesa Vista Athletic Director Ruben Lucero.
Six players from each school’s junior varsity team received two-game suspensions and were required to complete an online sportsmanship activity and write a letter of apology to their opponents’ school, Mesa Vista Athletic Director Ruben Lucero said.
Some Mesa Vista parents argue their sons were at first trying to break up the fight, and only threw punches in self-defense after they were hit by Pecos players. Two parents asked the School Board at a Jan. 28 meeting to revoke the sanctions levied against their sons.
“They had no other recourse other than to fight back to keep from getting hit,” parent Margaret Alire said. “We saw fans come down from the stands and hit our students on the head. I feel our students are being punished for being attacked.”
Her son, junior Jared Alire, suffered a cut lip from the fight, she said.
But Lucero, who saw the fight unfold from the bleachers, said both teams’s players were at fault — and both sides are claiming they acted in self-defense.
“Both sides had been talking trash the whole game,” Lucero said. “And that’s normal, that’s part of the game. But once that buzzer goes off, it’s supposed to end there.”
But it didn’t. As both teams lined up to shake hands, a Pecos player allegedly approached a Mesa Vista player, pointing at the buzzer, and said, “What now, (expletive)?” Lucero said.
The Mesa Vista player responded by shoulder-butting his opponent as he walked past, and the Pecos player answered that gesture with a punch to the back of the Mesa Vista player’s head, sparking the fight, Lucero said.
Alire identified the Mesa Vista player as Alex Griego and the Pecos player as Dylan Crook.
Cruz’s husband, junior varsity coach Jaime Cruz Sr., has been relieved of his coaching duties since the incident, Superintendent Robert Archuleta confirmed Monday. Archuleta said the decision was not related to the fight, but was based on that Cruz Sr., also a high school teacher, had been focusing too much on coaching and not enough on his teaching duties. Jaime Cruz Sr.’s son Jaime Cruz Jr., is a star forward for the Mesa Vista varsity team. Cruz Sr. could not be reached for comment.
Pecos Superintendent Roy Herrera said if any fans approached the fight from the bleachers, it was to help split up the fight. And Pecos Athletic Director Dan Padilla agreed with Lucero’s assessment of the fight: that both sides were acting aggressively during the game and were equally responsible for starting the fight. Padilla said Pecos parents argue their students were also defending themselves.
“The bottom line of whole thing is the whole incident was not the right thing, and certainly not a reflection on type of community we are,” Padilla said. “These are some of things that happen in heat of game, but those kids needed to have backed off the court. It’s hard to say who actually started the thing.”
Padilla acknowledged one injured Pecos player did approach the fight from the bench, and though “he didn’t throw any punches,” he also faces consequences. A separate Pecos player on suspension who rushed the fight from the bleachers was suspended, Herrera said.
The two parents — Alire and Georgia Cruz — who addressed the Board Jan. 28 also claimed students were unfairly coerced into incriminating themselves when they were asked to provide written accounts of the incident, which were later allegedly used as the basis to punish the students.
Alire also said parents were never informed of the investigation, and they demanded to know what evidence the school had used to determine which six students would be suspended.
“We can’t promise they will be reinstated, but as the Board, we can find some answers for you,” Board President Joe Gurulé said.
Lucero said the parents were informed. But the punishment cannot be lifted because they were issued to both schools by the New Mexico Activities Association, he said. Alire said she spoke to Association representatives, who told her they recommended a one-game suspension. Suspending students for a second game was the school’s call, she said.
Association spokesman Robert Zayas confirmed officials from his organization met with both schools, but declined to confirm whether sanctions had been issued.
“We hand down sanctions down to schools, but it’s up to the schools to divulge the sanctions themselves,” Zayas said. “If they want that info to be made public, they can go ahead and do that. But if they want to keep it in-house, we give them every right to do so.”
Padilla praised Lucero’s handling of the incident. Both athletic directors conducted similar investigations within their respective teams to determine which students would be punished, then jointly came up with the sanctions with the help of New Mexico Activities Association officials, Padilla said.
“Both sides self-reported to the (Association),” Padilla said. “Both of agreed we would investigate and issue the same punishment — and I do want to extend my thanks to (Lucero) for that — so we can put this thing behind us.”