Lowell High School has put its entire baseball coaching staff on leave as officials investigate allegations of misconduct related to a racial incident involving players.
Brontë Wittpenn/S.F. Chronicle
The entire coaching staff of Lowell High School’s varsity baseball team was placed on indefinite leave Friday as San Francisco district officials investigated allegations of misconduct related to a racial incident involving players.
The suspension of the three coaches comes days after the team won the section championship against their archrival Lincoln High at Oracle Park. The Monday victory put them in a tournament where they are expected to vie for the Northern California Championship next month.
Principal Jan Bautista notified varsity baseball students and families Friday afternoon in a letter that the three were relieved of their coaching duties “pending an investigation into allegations of misconduct and violation of district rules and professional expectations related to athletics activities.”
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While district officials did not provide specific details related to the coaches’ leaves, sources inside the Lowell community told the Chronicle that it appeared to be connected to race-based taunting by Lowell’s varsity players during a junior varsity game last week, also against Lincoln High.
Bautista said junior varsity coaching staff would possibly step up to support the team through the rest of the season.
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“At this time, we are not sharing additional details in order to protect the privacy of those involved and to ensure fairness in the review process,” Bautista said in the letter. “We continue to speak with everyone directly involved, and are taking these concerns extremely seriously.”
Head coach Michael Sera, who is also a physical education instructor at the school, was placed on leave from his teaching role as well, district officials said.
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“Discriminatory behavior and hate speech have no place in our schools or athletic settings,” said district spokesperson Laura Dudnick. “We take our responsibility to support anyone impacted by these actions very seriously, and their well-being remains our top priority.”
This is Sera’s first year as head coach, just the school’s third to hold that position in 44 years. He had been a junior varsity coach at the school for the past 15 years and is a 2011 Lowell graduate.
“It’s all about mentoring and growing these young guys into young professionals,” Sera told the Chronicle a week before the S.F. championship game. “Winning is just a by-product of it all.”
The Lowell controversy is the latest in a series of racial incidents across California, and the nation, involving students athletes at sporting events, some prompting game forfeits, coach suspensions or, in the case of Amador High north of Sacramento, the cancellation of the football season following the discovery of a team group chat filled with racial slurs and hateful speech.
A year ago, Pinole Valley High School’s two baseball coaches faced suspensions after a parent recorded racist taunts directed at a South Asian pitcher and a Chinese American pitcher.
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In San Francisco, it was unclear if any of the Lowell baseball players faced disciplinary actions. District officials said privacy laws prevented them from sharing any additional information about the incident or anyone involved.
Dudnick, however, noted that “accountability” was part of the support system provided to the team’s student athletes.
“We appreciate the school leadership’s prompt action and their recognition of the seriousness and urgency of this matter,” Dudnick said. “We also recognize the tremendous hard work and dedication many of our student athletes have shown in advancing this far in the championship series, and we remain committed to supporting them through coaching, guidance and accountability.”