Judge Dismisses T-Ball Coach’s Legal Action

Over the protests of parents, a judge ruled Friday that an LAPD sergeant accused of perjury in the Rampart corruption scandal does not have the right to coach his 7-year-old son’s T-ball team.

Brian Liddy sued Los Angeles County in July after the Department of Parks and Recreation dismissed him as a volunteer coach at the Castaic Regional Sports Complex, fearing bad publicity from his association with the Rampart scandal.

“It’s not fair that I have to be dragged through the false accusations,” Liddy said. “My son is now dragged into it.”

Though Liddy has the right to appeal the ruling by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs, his attorney, Russell J. Cole, said he will not. “The county has unlimited resources but Brian Liddy doesn’t,” said Cole.

Liddy is scheduled to stand trial Wednesday on charges of perjury, filing a false report and conspiracy to obstruct justice. He is accused of helping to frame gang members in three separate arrests. If convicted of all charges, Liddy faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.

Outside the courtroom, parents of players rallied around the man they called their favorite coach.

“I don’t think it’s right. He’s a great coach. Kids love him,” said Kim Campbell, whose daughter, 7-year-old Cori, has refused to play without Liddy. “He was her first coach and she loved him.”

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In April, Liddy was told he had to stop coaching his son’s team because of the criminal allegations against him.

“The Rampart investigation and the charges against Mr. Liddy have been the subject of a great deal of local and national publicity,” said Frank Gonzales, the regional operations manager who oversees the Castaic complex, in a written declaration for the court. “The Department [of Parks and Recreation] management decided to take Mr. Liddy off the volunteer coach schedule while these charges were pending because we believed the publicity . . . had the potential to draw unnecessary or unsuitable publicity unrelated to the purposes of the youth sports league.”

“That’s not for the betterment of the kids,” said Lori Meottel, mother of 7-year-old Jake. “They’re our kids. We’re OK with him being coach.”

Persons convicted of certain sex, narcotics or violent crimes are not qualified to serve as a volunteer coach, according to the application form for volunteer coaches.

“In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty. Why is he being treated his way?” said Campbell.

All the parents of children on Liddy’s teams seemed supportive of him, according to Jeff Dorst, recreation services supervisor at the Castaic complex. A petition signed by 29 parents asking to reinstate Liddy was presented to the Department of Parks and Recreation earlier this year, but to no avail.

Cole, Liddy’s lawyer, had argued the decision to remove Liddy was “arbitrary, capricious . . . and procedurally unfair.”

But Janavs disagreed. The county has “no mandatory legal duty or obligation to accept or continue to use all willing volunteers in their Department of Parks and Recreation programs. Nor does Liddy have a vested or fundamental right in his unpaid volunteer position as coach,” she wrote. “The county’s decision to temporarily remove Liddy . . . pending the resolution of criminal charges brought against him for his alleged involvement in the Rampart scandal does not constitute an abuse of discretion.”

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Principal Deputy County Counsel Stephen R. Morris said he was pleased with the outcome. “Volunteers aren’t like employees. Employees have certain property interests in their jobs and have due process rights,” he said. “Volunteers have no such rights.”

In the end, it’s the children who lost out, parents said.

“It’s hard to find good coaches,” Meottel said. “You have a person who’s totally capable, and they don’t let him do it.”

According to parents, Liddy was a patient, encouraging coach.

“He talked to the kids, not at the kids, like so many coaches do,” Campbell said. “He’d put time into not just the team, but spend time individually with each kid. Brian worked with [my daughter], made her feel confident about herself.”

Liddy said he disclosed to all the parents of children on his T-ball team early on that he was being investigated. “I told them if they had any problem with it, I would step down from coaching,” he said. “Not one had problems with it.”

Liddy also coached soccer, and with the season now in full swing, his son is playing for another coach. Liddy decided not to reapply to coach soccer, believing he would not be accepted.

“He asks every week why I can’t coach and why I can’t coach him. I tell him I have to wait and see what happens,” Liddy said. “The reality is they’re not punishing me. I’ve got a trial coming up. They’re punishing 7-year-old children.”