Mater Dei football hazing ritual leaves player with brain injury

[Gil Bang 25907]

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Tuesday the fighting game between two Mater Dei football players that left one with a brain injury and broken nose does not meet the legal standards for criminal “hazing” or felony assault, but he is willing to consider additional evidence.

News of the fight over the past week has gone viral, overshadowing the achievements of the champion football team, its coaches and academic officials. Many have questioned why Spitzer has not filed criminal charges in the case — either against the boy who won the fight or school leaders.

Spitzer, in a statement to the Southern California News Group, explained why he viewed the altercation in the Mater Dei locker room as “mutual combat,” despite a Santa Ana police report describing the injured player as “defenseless.” Police recommended felony assault charges against the victor.

‘Thoroughly investigated’

“This incident has been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and reviewed blow by blow by the most experienced prosecutors in my office to see if we could prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” Spitzer said. “We cannot.”

Spitzer continued that neither player participated against their will in the game, which appears to be a tradition on the Mater Dei football team called “bodies.”

“The participants knew they were being filmed and they started throwing punches. Some punches landed; others did not, but it is unequivocally clear that both participants attempted to land as many punches as possible,” Spitzer said. “There is not a single shred of evidence to show that this was anything other than a mutual combat situation with two willing participants who traded blow for blow, including repeated punches to each other’s heads. That does not make it acceptable. But it is not a crime.”

No one tried to stop fight

He added that no one, not even the participants, tried to stop the fight until after the damage had been done.

“At no time did one of the players in the fight tell the other player to stop, even when the punches became head shots and attempted head shots. When another (observer) said stop, both players stopped throwing punches,” Spitzer said.

The Southern California News Group is not naming the two participants because they are juveniles, but is describing the injured player as Player 1 and the other as Player 2. Player 1 weighed about 50 pounds less than Player 2.

 

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The rules of the “bodies” game are few — players punch at each other’s torsos until one gives up. No punches are allowed below the belt or to the face. However, during the game in question, both players started swinging at each other’s faces, according to two videos of the altercation obtained by Southern California News Group and a lawsuit by the injured player.

Midway through the fight, Player 2 landed one punch and then a second to Player 1’s face.

Player 2 “punched (Player 1) on the right side of the face with his left hand before (Player 1) could strike,” said the Santa Ana police report by Detective. David Angel.

“After this, it appeared as though (Player 1) was stunned for the first time in the game/fight. Up until this point, (Player 1) was moving forward and striking (Player 2) punch for punch after every exchange. After being hit this time, (Player 1) stood in front of (Player 2) without moving while holding his right hand over his eyes. This was an apparent sign that he was done with the fight and could not continue the game.

“It is my opinion that at this moment (Player 1) was no longer in the fight due to being hurt by the punch. I believe the fact that (Player 1) stopped punching and moving toward (Player 2) and instead stood still and put his hand over his face, a reasonable person would recognize that (Player 1) was hurt and defenseless at that moment,” Angel wrote.

“At this time (Player 2) threw one final punch that was beyond the scope of the game. The last strike was a punch to a defenseless opponent as he was hurt and dazed from the previous punch, causing serious bodily damage to (Player 1’s) face,” Angel wrote. ““Based on the video evidence, it is clear that both of the boys involved were willing participants in ‘Bodies’ game.”

He added: “Based on the documented injuries, which included a broken nose and lacerations above both eyes, I am forwarding this report to the … district attorney’s office for filing felony battery charges on (Player 2).”

Hazing ‘unacceptable’ in any form

While concluding there was not enough evidence to file charges, Spitzer urged anyone with more information to contact his office.

“As the elected district attorney of Orange County, I have and will continue to protect our children from harm. The safety of our children is all of our responsibility,” he said. “At this point, there is no evidence of hazing or any other crime that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”

“I have and continue to be willing to review any and all information related to this incident and any incident involving potential hazing in our schools. Hazing in any form is unacceptable and if I can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone — whether a player, a coach, or a school administration — has engaged in or condoned hazing, I will hold them accountable.”

Spitzer also said school athletics should strive for better conduct.

“What happened in the Mater Dei locker room on February 4, 2021 is nothing anyone should be proud of and it falls short of the kind of character any of us should wish for our children,” Spitzer said. “Schools must remain safe places for our children to thrive and learn — and to develop the character that we want to see in all of our children. Watching two children trade blow for blow in a locker room environment should be unsettling for everyone. It was for me.”

[MonkeyDoughnut 10226]

How the hell does that explanation not meet the criteria of CA Hazing laws:

245.6 PC states that “hazing means any method of initiation or preinitiation into a student organization or student body…which is likely to cause serious bodily injury to any former, current, or prospective student of any school, community college, college, university, or other educational institution in this state.”

Just a "tradition" so we're ok with it??   

 

Either way...ok no crime.. but serious lack of oversight and judgement that should at minimum suspend the coaching staff for a while.

[HornsOverIthaca 2333]

Interesting Chaz Bono cameo.

[Foosters 17819]

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-12-02/mater-dei-abuse-lawsuit

Opinion piece written by a former writer at the OC Weekly who spent years covering Matter Dei and the Diocese.

Quote

A high school student gets assaulted. Their innocence is shattered; their life, forever changed.

School officials learn about the incident. They do worse than nothing; they cover it up, and even laugh about the matter. Their superiors look the other way. The enablers and abusers get protected; the survivor gets ostracized. And when critics cry foul, the institution plays the victim card.

Just another day at Mater Dei High School, the crown jewel of Catholic education in the Diocese of Orange.

Its powerhouse football team is making national news right now, and not just because the Monarchs are on the cusp of claiming their fourth national championship in five seasons. A lawsuit filed last month against Mater Dei and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange says a former football player suffered a broken nose, a traumatic brain injury and permanent scarring in a February hazing ritual called “Bodies” that amounted to a school-sanctioned beat down.

The lawsuit says the team’s adult staff did nothing to stop the victim’s assault by a much larger player, initially ignored his injuries and lied to Santa Ana police when they investigated the incident. It also alleges that when the boy’s father confronted head football coach Bruce Rollinson about what happened to his son, the prep sports legend cracked, “If I had a hundred dollars for every time these kids played Bodies … I’d be a millionaire.”

The victim transferred to another school but soon found out that he couldn’t immediately participate in sports because Mater Dei officials put a disciplinary mark on his transfer papers. Meanwhile, Rollinson — who was charged in 1989 with choking a female athletic trainer in front of students and eventually pleaded no contest to disturbing the peace over his actions after a trial ended in a hung jury — is preparing his team to play next week for the California state football championship.

The allegations have disgusted the sports world, especially since it seems there’s a high chance there won’t be any disciplinary action whatsoever against the Monarchs. Mater Dei President Walter E. Jenkins just released a letter that basically said the school’s moving on but promises to do better in the future; Diocese of Orange Bishop Kevin Vann hasn’t uttered a word. Through a spokesperson — a Mater Dei graduate, no less — both declined further comment because of the “pending civil action and the involvement of minors.”

The Orange County district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges against the alleged assailant even though a Santa Ana police investigator recommended charging the unnamed student with felony battery. Even the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs high school sports in the state, said it wouldn’t sanction Mater Dei for what happened, arguing it had no jurisdiction over the school — never mind that Mater Dei is playing in a CIF title game Dec. 11.

To those left incredulous by all this, I say: Forget it, Jake. It’s Mater Dei.

I covered the school for years in my previous job, focusing on the many sex-abuse civil cases that originated from the school. We’re talking about easily more than a dozen known multimillion-dollar sex-abuse settlements since 2002 involving at least 10 accused Mater Dei former employees — counselors, teachers, staff, administrators and more — with next to no discipline for anyone involved.

The latest incident is not a sex-abuse case, but it bears one hallmark of how the Orange diocese has dealt with controversy involving minors at Mater Dei: institutional silence and obfuscation.

Take the case of former Principal Michael Harris. Multiple male students alleged that he repeatedly assaulted them in his office through the 1970s and 1980s before he left to open Santa Margarita High, where Harris later resigned in the wake of more accusations that the Orange diocese kept secret for years. Harris was never convicted of any crimes, but he alone has already cost the Orange diocese more than $7 million in sex-abuse settlements — and another former Mater Dei student has a pending lawsuit that names Harris as their abuser.

The Orange diocese also stayed quiet in 1989, when Mater Dei officials allowed then-choir director Thomas Hodgman to quietly resign after he had admitted to sexually abusing a female student. Then-Principal John Weling said nothing to parents at the time but did joke to diocesan officials in a memo that “there is never a dull moment at [Mater Dei]!”

The same silence happened again in the mid-1990s with Jeff Andrade, an assistant boy’s basketball coach that Mater Dei administrators suspected of inappropriate relations with female students. When they interrogated Andrade about such rumors, legendary head coach Gary McKnight burst into the meeting and told Andrade to lawyer up and not say anything else until one arrived.

Mater Dei ended up firing Andrade, who was never convicted of a crime even though he admitted in a deposition to having sex with an underage student. Years later, both he and then-Mater Dei school President Patrick Murphy said during depositions that Andrade returned to campus to help run fundraisers for athletic teams with the blessing of McKnight, who continues to coach at Mater Dei.

None of the above was ever volunteered by Mater Dei or the Orange diocese; they only came to light via lawsuits and the media.

In 2007, current Principal Frances Clare did tell parents in a letter after yet another batch of sex-abuse lawsuits that the school had “informed and cooperated with the legal authorities in an appropriate manner” about two alleged abusers back in the 1990s. But when I called up the Children and Family Services Division of Orange County’s Social Services Agency back then — which mandatory reporters are supposed to contact whenever they find out about child abuse — they said they had no record of any talks with Mater Dei.

Student abuse at Mater Dei isn’t a few rogue individuals over the decades; it’s institutional. And no one knows this better than John Manly, who has repeatedly sued his alma mater on behalf of clients over alleged sexual abuse by adults and currently has “multiple” pending lawsuits against Mater Dei. He’s always made it a point that any sex-abuse settlements he enters with Catholic diocese involve the release of depositions and documents that show what actually happened versus what prelates claimed happened.

“The funny thing about this is that everyone expects them to do something about this,” he said about the scandal currently roiling Mater De football. “But they didn’t do anything about child rape. Do they really think they’re going to do anything about hazing?”

For a minute, I thought they would.

I really thought Bishop Vann had changed the Orange diocese, which has ultimate jurisdiction over Mater Dei, for the better. His predecessor, Bishop Tod D. Brown, presided over a diocese that was just as bad as the archdioceses of Los Angeles and Boston when it came to protecting pedophile priests and ignoring their victims.

Fortunately, Orange County Catholics haven’t seen that with Vann. But it’s a failure of accountability if he allows Mater Dei football to get off scot-free in this case.

For his part, Manly doesn’t think anything will happen to Rollinson, his former sophomore history teacher.

“If you’re a winner, that’s all that matters,” he said. “The thinking is, ‘We’re going to protect the organization, we’re going to protect the money machine.’ If one kid gets violently assaulted, they just don’t care.”

But what really angers Manly about the current hazing case is how Mater Dei has let the Monarchs football team continue to play — and let Rollinson coach — as if nothing is going on.

“Why does Mater Dei protect bullies?” Manly asked. “That young man who hurt the student, what has he learned? ‘Might makes right.’ That you can get away with anything.”

 

[Gil Bang 25907]

So, about 20 years ago I was running an escrow company in Santa Ana.  I had this smoking hot little piece of ass as my assistant.  Little Mexican girl...young, early 20's maybe, but really young.   probably the prettiest woman I've ever known, and certainly the sweetest and kindest.  Just a gem.  Smart as shit too. She had a young toddler.  She had gone to Mater Dei, and got expelled when she got knocked up. 

Fuck that place. 

[Schulz2.0 28950]

Mater Dei is Baylor?

[Gil Bang 25907]

An attorney for three Mater Dei High School football players accused of beating a teammate and another Mater Dei student has been declared ineligible practice law by the State Bar Court.

David M. Nisson, a Tustin attorney, was declared ineligible Dec. 13 after being charged with “willfully” misappropriating more than $500,000 in client funds in cases unrelated to the Mater Dei altercations, according to State Bar Court documents.

The State Bar filed six counts of moral turpitude and misappropriation charges against Nisson on Oct. 6 alleging he “engaged in a major misappropriation of client funds.”

Between November 2013 and December 2020, Nisson “made numerous improper withdrawals” from accounts for six clients, according to State Bar Court filings. The improper withdrawals totaled $511,409.69, according to the filings.

“A petition for inactive enrollment is pending, alleging that this attorney represents a substantial threat of harm to the interests of the attorney’s clients or the public,” the State Bar said on its website.

Nisson in an interview acknowledged the seriousness of the charges.

“It was personal injury cases, like an auto accident, and I was using trust accounts that didn’t belong to me,” Nisson said. “I paid everything back.”

Nisson played a key role in a controversy that has attracted national attention and raised questions about the culture within one of the country’s premier high school football programs following a pair of recent Orange County Register reports detailing misconduct by Mater Dei players.

Nisson represented a current Mater Dei football player who punched a teammate, 50 pounds lighter than him, three times in the face during an alleged hazing ritual called “Bodies” on Feb. 4 while other Monarchs players shouted racial epithets at the smaller player, according to two videos of the altercation obtained by the Register.

The fight would leave the smaller player with a traumatic brain injury, two gashes over his right eye, one over his left and a broken nose that would require surgery, the results of a series of blows to the head that would prompt a Santa Ana Police Department investigator to recommend the Orange County District Attorney’s juvenile division file felony battery charges against the other player, according to a police report obtained by the Register.

 

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not intend to file charges in the case. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has said the altercation does not meet the legal standards for criminal “hazing” or felony assault, but he is willing to consider additional evidence.

The smaller player’s family filed a lawsuit against Mater Dei High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in Orange County Superior Court on Nov. 23.

A Mater Dei player provided a cellphone video to Pat Dubar, a Monarch assistant coach. Dubar shared the video with Nisson, who represented the larger player. Nisson eventually provided the video to the Santa Ana PD.

After reviewing the video of the altercation, Santa Ana PD investigator David Angel concluded that the larger player’s second punch to the smaller player’s face was the turning point in the fight and recommended charges be filed.

Nisson also represented two Mater Dei football players who allegedly attacked and beat a Monarch basketball player as he tried to leave a social gathering in Irvine shortly after midnight on May 5, 2019, according to police reports.

The alleged attack left Chase Hall, the Mater Dei basketball player with a broken jaw that required surgery.

“I’ll never forget what the surgeon said,” his mother Mary Hall said while discussing the punch that broke her son’s jaw.

“He said if it had been a quarter-inch higher,” she continued, “he would have been gone.

“He would be dead.”

Irvine PD also obtained video from a surveillance camera from a home on the street of the altercation, according to a police report. After reviewing the video, an Irvine PD officer wrote he “witnessed (one of the Mater Dei football players) walk up behind Hall and punch Hall in the head area. Hall falls to the ground and is helped into a waiting Uber.”

The Irvine PD officer concluded “this incident stemmed from a previous fight involving (a classmate)” and another student and (the classmate) “was upset over an apparent video sharing of the fight and confronted Hall who he suspected was spreading it. The classmate brought (the Mater Dei football players) with him as intimidation to confront Hall … a result of the confrontation, Hall was physically assaulted by (one of the football players) …which resulted in a broken jaw.

“lt is my opinion a violation of CPC 243(D) aggravated assault occurred. Additionally, (criminal conspiracy) should be considered as it appears as though” the classmate and the football players “arrived at the location for the sole purpose of confronting (Hall) and assaulting him.”

Juvenile proceedings are sealed. Nisson, who represented the two Mater Dei football players, declined to discuss the outcome of the criminal cases because his clients were juveniles at the time of the altercation. Mary Hall attended the hearings and said the players were given probation.

[quigley 1552]

On 11/23/2021 at 8:21 PM, quigley said:

Cultures like this are at least tacitly tolerated. Frequently, they're quietly abetted. Occasionally, leadership participates in their initiation and propagation.

I'll just leave this here.

Seems like there will be few consequences for the adults, making it likely that things like this will continue.

[Gil Bang 25907]

So, looks like the coach won the power struggle.  The President of the school just resigned.

[Gil Bang 25907]

Mater Dei High School president Father Walter Jenkins has stepped down  amid a power struggle between Jenkins and Mater Dei head football coach Bruce Rollinson and his supporters.

Jenkins in November commissioned an independent investigation into the culture of the Mater Dei football and athletic programs in response to a series of Orange County Register reports detailing alleged assaults by three Monarch football players on a teammate and classmate.

The Register reports attracted national attention and prompted increasing calls for Rollinson and Mater Dei principal Frances Clare’s firings even as Mater Dei rolled to national championship.

Jenkins’ departure was announced in a letter to the Mater Dei community by Erin C.O. Barisano, Diocese of Orange superintendent of schools.

Barisano said Jenkins has returned to Holy Cross order in South Bend, Indiana where he will “take on a new assignment.”

Jenkins took over as Mater Dei’s top administrator in July. He had previously served as president of Holy Cross High School in Queens, N.Y.

Jenkins took over as Mater Dei’s top administrator in July.

A Register report in November detailed how a current Mater Dei football player punched a teammate, 50 pounds lighter than him, three times in the face during an alleged hazing ritual called “Bodies” on Feb. 4 while other Monarchs players shouted racial epithets at the smaller player, according to two videos of the altercation obtained by the Register.

The Santa Ana Police Department recommended the larger player be prosecuted for felony battery, according to a police report. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not intend to file charges in the case. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said last week the altercation does not meet the legal standards for criminal “hazing” or felony assault, but he is willing to consider additional evidence.

The Register also reported that Chase Hall, a Mater Dei basketball player, allegedly was attacked and beaten by two Mater Dei football players as he left a gathering in Irvine shortly after midnight on May 5, 2019, according to police reports.

Hall’s jaw was broken during the altercation and he will require additional surgery.

“I’ll never forget what the surgeon said,” Mary Hall, Chase’s mother told the Register while discussing the punch that broke her son’s jaw. “He said if it had been a quarter-inch higher.

“He would be dead.”

An Irvine Police Department investigator recommended that the two Mater Dei players be charged with aggravated battery and they along with a classmate, who police allege orchestrated the beating, be charged with criminal conspiracy. The two players were given probation, according to Mary Hall.

The Hall family filed suit in Orange County Superior Court this past May 5 against an All-County linebacker for Mater Dei (Player 1), a senior Monarch lineman who had received a scholarship offer to play at a Pac-12 school (Player 2), and a classmate alleging assault, battery, negligence, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. The suit continues to proceed through the court.

[Nivek 16916]

So, looks like the coach won the power struggle.  The President of the school just resigned.

Football is life.

[Pato del Muerto 52484]

15 minutes ago, Nivek said:

Football is life.

But sometimes, football is death. 

[Genghis 637]

30 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

But sometimes, football is death. 

It's the circle of (football) life.

 

[Gil Bang 25907]

It was around noon on January 27 when Jemma E. Dunn’s cell phone rang.

Dunn, an Orange County attorney, was driving in Utah on a family vacation. She didn’t recognize the number but answered the call.

The caller identified herself as Amanda Waters, the former Mater Dei High School athletic director.

Waters has been considered a key witness in a lawsuit stemming from an alleged February 2021 hazing incident involving two Mater Dei football players that has attracted national attention and raised questions about the culture of one of the country’s premier high school football programs.

During her conversation with Dunn, an attorney for the alleged victim in the hazing suit, Waters contradicted repeated assertions by Maria Roberts, an attorney for Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange, that her firm represented Waters in the hazing matter, according to emails, letters and court documents obtained by the Orange County Register.

Waters confirmed that she was not represented by the firm in an email to the Register and reiterated her willingness to testify in the case.

“She does not represent me, and yes, I was available,” Waters said referring to Maria Roberts, an attorney representing Mater Dei and the diocese. “I told both sides I am available whenever they want me.”

Waters declined to say whether her resignation at Mater Dei in March was related to the alleged hazing incident a month earlier.

“I cannot comment on the last question,” she said. “Hope you understand.”

Waters was scheduled to be deposed on January 28 and called Dunn about the logistics of the deposition which was to be conducted via Zoom.

“I apologized to Ms. Waters and explained to her that I could not speak with her about her deposition because she was represented by counsel,” Dunn, an attorney at Greenberg Gross, said in a sworn declaration. “Ms. Waters laughed at my statement, and replied that she was not represented by counsel, no one told her she was represented by counsel, she did not agree to be represented by counsel, and most importantly, no one associated with Mater Dei had contacted her about her deposition scheduled for the next day. Ms. Waters further stated that she was ready and available to comply with the subpoena.”

Waters made similar assertions in two emails to attorneys later that day.

“At this time I am not choosing to be represented by an attorney,” Waters said in an email to attorneys on both sides in the hazing lawsuit.

The dispute over Waters’ deposition has emerged as a contentious, and perhaps pivotal, legal battle between attorneys for the victim in the alleged hazing incident and lawyers for Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange. The family of a former Mater Dei football player filed suit against the school and the diocese in Orange County Superior Court on November 23.

The suit alleges negligence, negligence per se-hazing in violation of the California penal code, negligent failure to warn, train or educate, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Attorneys for Mater Dei and the diocese filed a motion to quash Waters deposition with Orange County Superior Court on January 27, only hours before it was scheduled to take place. Attorneys for the alleged victim filed an opposition to the motion on Monday, alleging that Mater Dei “through its lawyer” is waging a “campaign designed to prevent Ms. Waters from testifying at all costs.”

“Defendants’ Motion to Quash is nothing more than an attempt to silence a former employee at Mater Dei High School who possesses key information that is adverse to the Defendants,” the motion said. “Filed as a last-ditch effort to thwart Plaintiff from taking the deposition of Mater Dei’s former Athletic Director, Amanda Waters.”

“It’s unfortunate that we reached this point so early on in this lawsuit,” said Brian Williams, an attorney for the former player. “This action was filed to promote change and ensure accountability. The deposition of Ms. Waters is an important step in uncovering everything that went wrong that led to this unfortunate incident.”

Roberts, the attorney for Mater Dei and the diocese, however, in the January 27 motion asked the court to quash the deposition because of “defects in the deposition notice and subpoena” and her and another attorney for her firm’s “unavailability.”

“It was properly served,” said Williams. “There was no gamesmanship on our part.”

During an incident on February 4, 2021, a current Mater Dei football player punched a teammate, 50 pounds lighter than him, three times in the face during an alleged hazing ritual called “Bodies” while some Monarchs players present shouted racial epithets at the smaller player, according to two videos of the altercation obtained by the Register.

The fight left the smaller player with a traumatic brain injury, two gashes over his right eye, one over his left and a broken nose that would require surgery, according to surgeon’s reports and other medical records. The injuries were the results of a series of blows to the head that would prompt a Santa Ana Police Department investigator to recommend the Orange County District Attorney’s juvenile division file felony battery charges against the other player, according to a police report obtained by the Register.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in the case.

Waters resigned her Mater Dei post on March 24, just nine months after she took the job amid much fanfare. She is currently the athletic director at St. Andrews, a private school in Savannah, Georgia.

Waters was scheduled to be the first person deposed in the lawsuit filed by the former player’s family.

Mater Dei officials initially declined to cooperate with Santa Ana Police Department investigators, according to police reports. Monarch head football coach Brue Rollinson and Kevin Kiernan, the school’s athletic director, finally agreed to be interviewed by a Santa Ana Police Department investigator with Mater Dei assistant principal for student services Miguel Gutierrez present on April 21, more than two months after the altercation and when the Santa Ana PD first requested information from the school, according to police reports.

Rollinson during the police interview denied hazing existed in the Mater Dei program. He added that the interview was the first time he had heard of the Bodies game.

Waters also told a Santa Ana PD officer hazing was “not tolerated” in a separate interview, according to police reports.

Chatham County Superior Court in Georgia issued a subpoena for Waters to be deposed on January 3. She was served with a subpoena on January 5, according to court records. The deposition was scheduled for January 28.

“The date a month out gave everyone ample time to have someone there to take the deposition,” Williams said.

Roberts informed attorneys for the former player in a January 18 letter that her firm “represents Amanda Waters in relationship to the litigation initiated by your clients. Therefore, neither you nor any of your agents, investigators, clients, or representatives, should have contact with her.”

Roberts in the January 27 court filing said “an agreement … had been reached with Ms. Waters” to be represented by Roberts. The motion was filed 6:09 p.m., more than five hours after attorneys for the former player informed her of Waters’ statements that Roberts did not represent her.

“If Maria Roberts had not told us (on January 18) that she represented Amanda Waters and that we couldn’t contact her, we could have contacted Waters and picked a date that worked for everybody’s schedules,” Williams said.

Roberts did not respond to a request for comment.

Waters was apparently unaware of Roberts’ January 18 letter when she called Dunn.

“I told Ms. Waters that the attorney for Mater Dei had objected to the deposition, but I did not know what the status was regarding whether the deposition was still going forward based on those objections,” Dunn said in the declaration. “I told Ms. Waters that since I had been informed she was represented, she needed to confirm the details with Mater Dei’s attorneys. Ms. Waters again stated that she was not represented and that she did not want to be represented by Mater Dei’s attorneys. I told her she had the right to be represented so she needed to discuss the situation with Mater Dei’s attorneys.”

Waters’ phone conversation touched off a series of contentious emails between attorneys on the two sides.

“I propose we take this one issue at a time. First, I think we need clarity around representation,” Mike Reck, an attorney for the former player wrote to Roberts in a 12:39 p.m. email on January 27. “Resolution of that issue will likely provide direction for all of us. Do you currently represent Ms Waters? Ms. Waters has informed us that you do not. However, I also want to be deferential to your (understanding). Perhaps we should simply call her together? Are you available at 1pm pst?”

Roberts responded 10 minutes later.

“I disagree,” she wrote Reck. “There is no reason to take these issues one at a time. We are unavailable for deposition tomorrow and there were multiple defects in the subpoena and the deposition notice to which proper and timely objections were served sometime ago. Whether I represent the witness or not the deposition cannot proceed tomorrow. With respect to whether I represent the witness, that is my understanding and until I hear from her that that is not the case you should operate with that understanding. Having not heard back from you confirming that the deposition improperly noticed for tomorrow is off calendar, we will move to quash the notice and subpoena.”

Later that afternoon, Reck again pushed Roberts for clarification.

“To clear the representation issue up once and for all, it is my understanding that Ms. Waters has advised you personally today that she does not want your office to represent her,” Reck wrote in an email. “Is this incorrect?”

“I am at the airport about to leave town,” Roberts answered a few minutes later. “I told you very clearly I represented the witness. That is the agreement we had. You now tell me she purportedly called you or your co-counsel and said that was not true. I have not heard that from her. I have phoned her and sent a written message to her about this, but have not heard back.”

Later that night Waters emailed Roberts and Reck.

“As this is my first go-around with being subpoenaed to testify, I apologize for the back and forth with you both,” Waters wrote. “As a 3rd party witness and having been served a subpoena, I will comply with whatever is necessary and whatever you work out. I will make myself available when needed.

“At this time I am not choosing to be represented by an attorney. If and when I choose to utilize an attorney, I will let you both know ASAP. At this point, I am not concerned with this request. If that changes, I will notify you both.

“Please keep me informed about the next steps, as I will attend whatever and wherever necessary.

“Thanks again for your understanding.

Roberts wrote Waters back, reiterating the deposition would not proceed as originally scheduled.

“As I indicated in my earlier communications with you today (before you confirmed this afternoon that you did want my firm to represent you), whatever you decide on this issue is fine with us, we just needed to know,” Roberts said. “We have filed and will be serving you with a motion to quash the deposition notice and subpoena served on you which was defective on numerous grounds. That prevents the deposition from proceeding tomorrow.”

“Thanks Maria and I will cooperate with whatever you all need,” Waters said. “I do not feel I need an attorney at this point.”

---

[Dennis Taylor 18807]

On 1/1/2022 at 6:56 PM, Gil Bang said:

So, looks like the coach won the power struggle.  The President of the school just resigned.

You come at the king you best not miss

[Nivek 16916]

22 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

It was around noon on January 27 when Jemma E. Dunn’s cell phone rang.

Dunn, an Orange County attorney, was driving in Utah on a family vacation. She didn’t recognize the number but answered the call.

The caller identified herself as Amanda Waters, the former Mater Dei High School athletic director.

Waters has been considered a key witness in a lawsuit stemming from an alleged February 2021 hazing incident involving two Mater Dei football players that has attracted national attention and raised questions about the culture of one of the country’s premier high school football programs.

During her conversation with Dunn, an attorney for the alleged victim in the hazing suit, Waters contradicted repeated assertions by Maria Roberts, an attorney for Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange, that her firm represented Waters in the hazing matter, according to emails, letters and court documents obtained by the Orange County Register.

Waters confirmed that she was not represented by the firm in an email to the Register and reiterated her willingness to testify in the case.

“She does not represent me, and yes, I was available,” Waters said referring to Maria Roberts, an attorney representing Mater Dei and the diocese. “I told both sides I am available whenever they want me.”

Waters declined to say whether her resignation at Mater Dei in March was related to the alleged hazing incident a month earlier.

“I cannot comment on the last question,” she said. “Hope you understand.”

Waters was scheduled to be deposed on January 28 and called Dunn about the logistics of the deposition which was to be conducted via Zoom.

“I apologized to Ms. Waters and explained to her that I could not speak with her about her deposition because she was represented by counsel,” Dunn, an attorney at Greenberg Gross, said in a sworn declaration. “Ms. Waters laughed at my statement, and replied that she was not represented by counsel, no one told her she was represented by counsel, she did not agree to be represented by counsel, and most importantly, no one associated with Mater Dei had contacted her about her deposition scheduled for the next day. Ms. Waters further stated that she was ready and available to comply with the subpoena.”

Waters made similar assertions in two emails to attorneys later that day.

“At this time I am not choosing to be represented by an attorney,” Waters said in an email to attorneys on both sides in the hazing lawsuit.

The dispute over Waters’ deposition has emerged as a contentious, and perhaps pivotal, legal battle between attorneys for the victim in the alleged hazing incident and lawyers for Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange. The family of a former Mater Dei football player filed suit against the school and the diocese in Orange County Superior Court on November 23.

The suit alleges negligence, negligence per se-hazing in violation of the California penal code, negligent failure to warn, train or educate, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Attorneys for Mater Dei and the diocese filed a motion to quash Waters deposition with Orange County Superior Court on January 27, only hours before it was scheduled to take place. Attorneys for the alleged victim filed an opposition to the motion on Monday, alleging that Mater Dei “through its lawyer” is waging a “campaign designed to prevent Ms. Waters from testifying at all costs.”

“Defendants’ Motion to Quash is nothing more than an attempt to silence a former employee at Mater Dei High School who possesses key information that is adverse to the Defendants,” the motion said. “Filed as a last-ditch effort to thwart Plaintiff from taking the deposition of Mater Dei’s former Athletic Director, Amanda Waters.”

“It’s unfortunate that we reached this point so early on in this lawsuit,” said Brian Williams, an attorney for the former player. “This action was filed to promote change and ensure accountability. The deposition of Ms. Waters is an important step in uncovering everything that went wrong that led to this unfortunate incident.”

Roberts, the attorney for Mater Dei and the diocese, however, in the January 27 motion asked the court to quash the deposition because of “defects in the deposition notice and subpoena” and her and another attorney for her firm’s “unavailability.”

“It was properly served,” said Williams. “There was no gamesmanship on our part.”

During an incident on February 4, 2021, a current Mater Dei football player punched a teammate, 50 pounds lighter than him, three times in the face during an alleged hazing ritual called “Bodies” while some Monarchs players present shouted racial epithets at the smaller player, according to two videos of the altercation obtained by the Register.

The fight left the smaller player with a traumatic brain injury, two gashes over his right eye, one over his left and a broken nose that would require surgery, according to surgeon’s reports and other medical records. The injuries were the results of a series of blows to the head that would prompt a Santa Ana Police Department investigator to recommend the Orange County District Attorney’s juvenile division file felony battery charges against the other player, according to a police report obtained by the Register.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in the case.

Waters resigned her Mater Dei post on March 24, just nine months after she took the job amid much fanfare. She is currently the athletic director at St. Andrews, a private school in Savannah, Georgia.

Waters was scheduled to be the first person deposed in the lawsuit filed by the former player’s family.

Mater Dei officials initially declined to cooperate with Santa Ana Police Department investigators, according to police reports. Monarch head football coach Brue Rollinson and Kevin Kiernan, the school’s athletic director, finally agreed to be interviewed by a Santa Ana Police Department investigator with Mater Dei assistant principal for student services Miguel Gutierrez present on April 21, more than two months after the altercation and when the Santa Ana PD first requested information from the school, according to police reports.

Rollinson during the police interview denied hazing existed in the Mater Dei program. He added that the interview was the first time he had heard of the Bodies game.

Waters also told a Santa Ana PD officer hazing was “not tolerated” in a separate interview, according to police reports.

Chatham County Superior Court in Georgia issued a subpoena for Waters to be deposed on January 3. She was served with a subpoena on January 5, according to court records. The deposition was scheduled for January 28.

“The date a month out gave everyone ample time to have someone there to take the deposition,” Williams said.

Roberts informed attorneys for the former player in a January 18 letter that her firm “represents Amanda Waters in relationship to the litigation initiated by your clients. Therefore, neither you nor any of your agents, investigators, clients, or representatives, should have contact with her.”

Roberts in the January 27 court filing said “an agreement … had been reached with Ms. Waters” to be represented by Roberts. The motion was filed 6:09 p.m., more than five hours after attorneys for the former player informed her of Waters’ statements that Roberts did not represent her.

“If Maria Roberts had not told us (on January 18) that she represented Amanda Waters and that we couldn’t contact her, we could have contacted Waters and picked a date that worked for everybody’s schedules,” Williams said.

Roberts did not respond to a request for comment.

Waters was apparently unaware of Roberts’ January 18 letter when she called Dunn.

“I told Ms. Waters that the attorney for Mater Dei had objected to the deposition, but I did not know what the status was regarding whether the deposition was still going forward based on those objections,” Dunn said in the declaration. “I told Ms. Waters that since I had been informed she was represented, she needed to confirm the details with Mater Dei’s attorneys. Ms. Waters again stated that she was not represented and that she did not want to be represented by Mater Dei’s attorneys. I told her she had the right to be represented so she needed to discuss the situation with Mater Dei’s attorneys.”

Waters’ phone conversation touched off a series of contentious emails between attorneys on the two sides.

“I propose we take this one issue at a time. First, I think we need clarity around representation,” Mike Reck, an attorney for the former player wrote to Roberts in a 12:39 p.m. email on January 27. “Resolution of that issue will likely provide direction for all of us. Do you currently represent Ms Waters? Ms. Waters has informed us that you do not. However, I also want to be deferential to your (understanding). Perhaps we should simply call her together? Are you available at 1pm pst?”

Roberts responded 10 minutes later.

“I disagree,” she wrote Reck. “There is no reason to take these issues one at a time. We are unavailable for deposition tomorrow and there were multiple defects in the subpoena and the deposition notice to which proper and timely objections were served sometime ago. Whether I represent the witness or not the deposition cannot proceed tomorrow. With respect to whether I represent the witness, that is my understanding and until I hear from her that that is not the case you should operate with that understanding. Having not heard back from you confirming that the deposition improperly noticed for tomorrow is off calendar, we will move to quash the notice and subpoena.”

Later that afternoon, Reck again pushed Roberts for clarification.

“To clear the representation issue up once and for all, it is my understanding that Ms. Waters has advised you personally today that she does not want your office to represent her,” Reck wrote in an email. “Is this incorrect?”

“I am at the airport about to leave town,” Roberts answered a few minutes later. “I told you very clearly I represented the witness. That is the agreement we had. You now tell me she purportedly called you or your co-counsel and said that was not true. I have not heard that from her. I have phoned her and sent a written message to her about this, but have not heard back.”

Later that night Waters emailed Roberts and Reck.

“As this is my first go-around with being subpoenaed to testify, I apologize for the back and forth with you both,” Waters wrote. “As a 3rd party witness and having been served a subpoena, I will comply with whatever is necessary and whatever you work out. I will make myself available when needed.

“At this time I am not choosing to be represented by an attorney. If and when I choose to utilize an attorney, I will let you both know ASAP. At this point, I am not concerned with this request. If that changes, I will notify you both.

“Please keep me informed about the next steps, as I will attend whatever and wherever necessary.

“Thanks again for your understanding.

Roberts wrote Waters back, reiterating the deposition would not proceed as originally scheduled.

“As I indicated in my earlier communications with you today (before you confirmed this afternoon that you did want my firm to represent you), whatever you decide on this issue is fine with us, we just needed to know,” Roberts said. “We have filed and will be serving you with a motion to quash the deposition notice and subpoena served on you which was defective on numerous grounds. That prevents the deposition from proceeding tomorrow.”

“Thanks Maria and I will cooperate with whatever you all need,” Waters said. “I do not feel I need an attorney at this point.”

---

That is a bunch of words to say lawyers lawyering it up.

[Huckleberry 32839]

Just now, Nivek said:

That is a bunch of words to say lawyers lawyering it up.

The nugget of info is that the AD at the time of the incident is willing and might be able to give a deposition. Depending on the lawyers' lawyering and judge's judging. 

[Nivek 16916]

4 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

The nugget of info is that the AD at the time of the incident is willing and might be able to give a deposition. Depending on the lawyers' lawyering and judge's judging. 

Fair, but lying lawyers lawyering now involving judges judging if lying lawyer lawyering tactic is lying.   Woman said she was not represented.  Waters should just blab it all out on paper, post it on a blog or in a newspaper and then tell her 'lawyer' to suck a male camel's cock.  

[Gil Bang 25907]

 

The morning after the altercation Waters went to Rollinson’s office and asked him about the incident.

“He said if I had a dollar for every time these kids played bodies, I’d be a millionaire,” Waters recalled Rollinson saying. “So he didn’t say a hundred, he said a dollar–if I had a dollar for every time.”

The statements Waters attributed to Rollinson are similar to ones he is alleged to have made to the father of the injured player the same day.

“If I had a hundred dollars for every time these kids played Bodies or Slappies, I’d be a millionaire,” Rollinson told the injured player’s father, according to a court filing.

But Rollinson later denied in an April 2021 interview with the Santa Police Department that hazing took place within the Mater Dei football program or that he had heard of Monarchs players participating in “Bodies” before the police interview.

Waters’ deposition is part of a lawsuit the alleged victim’s family filed against Mater Dei High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in Orange County Superior Court last November. The suit alleges negligence, negligence per se-hazing in violation of the California penal code, negligent failure to warn, train or educate and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

 

https://www.ocregister.com/2022/04/26/former-mater-dei-ad-says-school-mishandled-hazing-case/