Students Stage Protest on Coach’s Firing : But Ocean View Principal Says Decision to Relieve Harris Is Final

Nearly one-quarter of the students at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach walked out of classes Thursday morning and staged a 30-minute sit-in outside Principal John Myers’ office to protest his decision to relieve basketball coach Jim Harris of his duties.

More than 500 of the school’s 2,300 students heard Myers say that his decision to fire Harris, announced Wednesday, is final. Although many students booed the principal and urged that the sit-in continue, all classes resumed shortly after 10:15 a.m.

Harris was the target of a three-month investigation by Huntington Beach Union High School District officials into athlete-recruitment practices. The investigation concluded that two players who transferred from Lynwood High School were ineligible because Harris exerted “undue influence” to keep them at Ocean View. The school district ordered the school to forfeit its 1984-85 Sunset League championship.

Harris, who remains at Ocean View as a physical education teacher, was visibly emotional Thursday at the students’ show of support. “I’ve never been so moved in my life,” he said. “My knees were shaking for a half-hour after that.”

Several of Harris’ players and other students circulated petitions at the school and in surrounding businesses Thursday calling for his reinstatement. “We think (Myers’ decision) is way too harsh,” said Mike McGlinchey, 18, a senior forward on the basketball team. “If there was an infraction, it was a minor one and he (Harris) didn’t knowingly break any rules.”

The sit-in followed a meeting between the entire team and Myers at which the players turned in their championship plaques. Several players argued that the district’s move was a response to complaints from other schools in the league and urged that Harris’ supporters show up at the district’s board meeting on April 9 to lodge another protest.

Harris, meanwhile, suggested that he may seek a legal remedy.

“I think the only way I’ll get due process is through the courts,” he said. “I don’t think they’ll take me back as coach, so anything else that happens would be small consolation and very little satisfaction. All I want to do is coach.”

Myers said he was impressed by the sit-in. “I respect the students for standing up--or sitting down --for what they believe in, but my decision is final,” he declared.

District officials declined comment on the case, referring all inquiries to Myers. The principal said he couldn’t say what specific violation Harris had committed, pointing out only that the district decided to take action in the face of an increasing number of complaints “from all over” the community.

‘Made Their Point’

In response to students’ threats of additional protests today, Myers urged that they concentrate on the district’s appeals process. “Really, they’ve made their point on this campus,” he said.

Harris is accused of exerting “undue influence” on two players, identified as Ricky Butler and Desi Hazely, sophomore transfers from Lynwood. Both have lived in Harris’ El Toro home while they attended Ocean View.

Neither player would comment and Harris would only characterize the charges as “false allegations.”

Harris’ lawyer, John Barnett, said the district hasn’t provided him with specific evidence in the case and added that witnesses interviewed by the district told him that they had been misquoted in the reports. “It’s like a star chamber proceeding,” he said. “They say, ‘We have our ways of getting information and you’ve done something wrong.’ It’s really archaic and barbaric.”

Wonders at Wait

Barnett said he wonders why the district waited so long to take action. “They were aware of this before the opening tipoff,” he said. “So you have to wonder about the timing. It makes one wonder if there would have been any protest or investigation if the team had gone 2-26 instead of 24-4.”

The basketball program, said forward Mike Halverson, 18, “has been devastated” by the charges. He said younger players are talking about leaving the team. Butler, the team’s star center-forward who became only the fourth sophomore to earn a spot on the Times’ All-Orange County team this year, said he was not sure whether he would play at Ocean View next season.

‘Too Early to Tell’

Myers declined comment on the effect on the program, saying only that “it’s a little too early to tell.”

As for his own future, Harris said he would like to coach again but doesn’t think the prospects are good. “I can’t imagine anyone hiring someone whose name’s been dirtied,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to contemplate the future right now.”