The Curtis forfeits saga was a silent ticking bomb

Ron Brocato, Sports
Clarion Herald

The Clarion Herald’s recent revelation that J.T. Curtis would not be the nation’s all-time winningest high school football coach any time soon was not meant to be a Halloween surprise or a “Gotcha!” moment.

It was a story that was eight years in the making. And any of my colleagues in the media industry could have broken the news that 30 games won on the football field by John Curtis Christian School between 2013-15 were forfeited by the school and its coach for using a player whom the Louisiana High School Athletic Association deemed to be ineligible because he lived with an assistant coach.

Yet, they let the charade continue, and, in doing so, allowed Coach Curtis to accrue a record of 621-78-7 after the Patriots’ 26-7 victory over District 9-5A rival Brother Martin that tied the career wins total of the national leader, the late John M. McKissick of Summerville (S.C.).

Curtis finished the regular season last Friday with a 41-7 win over previously unbeaten Karr, and the school’s faithful broke out commemorative T-shirts emblazened with the number “622” to celebrate what the school said was a record.

But, eight years ago, the LHSAA stripped the school and coach of three years of victories and levied a fine.

Coach Curtis, who is also Curtis’ head of school, sued the LHSAA and lost at the district court level. Subsequent efforts to have the decision tossed and the fine revoked also failed. Neither the state’s Court of Appeals nor the Supreme Court would hear matter because the LHSAA is a private entity and the points of argument were moot.

The findings flew below the media’s radar, and J.T. Curtis’ wins mounted to more than 600, which made him the second-most successful high school football coach in the nation. The media had forgotten about (or ignored) the forfeits. They had a bigger story to tell when the victories totaled 622.

But, somewhere in the gray matter of my aging brain floated the question of the forfeits. Then, at a volleyball match between Mount Carmel and Archbishop Hannan, in attendance was former LHSAA president Vic Bonnaffee whose daughter-in-law, Bekka, is the Hannan coach.

At that time, Curtis had 619 victories and needed just two more to tie McKissick as the nation’s leader. So, I asked Bonnaffee about the forfeits. “Were they forgiven, or, if not, what happened to them?” He said the forfeits stood.

The red flag began to fly.

I asked LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine the same question a week later. He confirmed that the forfeits were valid.

The LHSAA is one of 51 high school athletic associations who are members of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which is the official custodian of its members’ sports records. The NFHS records show that McKissick and Curtis were the only high school head football coaches with more than 600 victories.

But the federation will not sanction a team or coach’s record without verification by the state association to which a school is a member, said Chris Boone, assistant director of communications and publications for the NFHS.

“We are required by protocol to have the state association verify records for our official use,” Boone said.

Bonine, who was named as a respondent in the suit, said he will not validate Curtis’ victory total because it does not include the forfeits.

“The LHSAA recognizes the NFHS win/loss record for Coach J.T. Curtis as 591-109-7,” said Bonine in a prepared statement. “This record reflects 30 victories forfeited due to LHSAA sanctions between 2013 and 2015.”

Competing in Division III during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Patriots recorded a 10-3 record and back-to-back District 11-3A championships. They defeated University Lab, 32-0, for the Select Division III title, which was subsequently invalidated by the LHSAA after stripping the school of the wins.

Choosing to play up to Class 5A in 2015, Curtis was placed in District 9-5A, most commonly known as the Catholic League, and posted a 4-2 record. The Patriots were eliminated by Archbishop Rummel in the playoffs.

The LHSAA said Curtis has yet to return the championship trophy it forfeited along with the defeats, according to the LHSAA.

When I mentioned the discrepancy to one of my local media cohorts, his reply was, “Well, the school gets the forfeit, but not the coach.” That didn’t make any sense.

A phone call to the NFHS and Boone proved otherwise. The LHSAA staff reported 30 forfeits, leaving J.T. far short of McKissick’s record.

I mentioned my findings to two of my media friends. Neither was particularly interested in pursuing the truth.

The truth didn’t fit the narrative.

I’m not particularly fond of the word “journalist.”  I prefer “reporter.”

And a reporter’s job is to report the news.

I believe the Clarion Herald’s relationship with principals and coaches of Archdiocese of New Orleans schools is cordial and professional. They understand that a reporter has a duty to perform in the interest of three factions: his readers, listeners or viewers; to the media outlet he represents; and to his profession. Sometimes, decisions one must make in those interests will be painful.

A remarkable career

J.T., whom I’ve known since he became the head coach of his father’s school in 1969 and whom I greatly respect as a Christian minister, teaches young men and women to always do the right things in life.

J.T. Curtis is enjoying a remarkable career, for which I congratulate him. Out of respect, I didn’t confront him during his preparation for a difficult game against unbeaten Karr last week to ask why had been silent about the forfeits.

But he deserves an answer by my friends in the media.

And, as a footnote to the Catholic school head coaches who are beneficiaries of the forfeits: Gentlemen, adjust your records.

That includes Frank Monica of St. Charles Catholic with three additional wins to total 287; two for Ryan Manale and De La Salle, and one each for Nathaniel Jones (St. Augustine), Mark Bonis (Brother Martin), Mark Songy (Jesuit), Al Jones (St. Augustine), Eric Rebaudo (Holy Cross), Scott Bairnsfather (Archbishop Shaw) and Ken Sears (St. Paul’s).