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BREAKING NEWS: Gamal Smalley placed on administrative leave (Pasadena Star-News)

FULL STORY: Muir forfeits 20 games, will miss playoffs (Pasadena Star-News)

By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer

Muir High School’s Robert Galvan has temporarily been relieved of his duties as athletic director pending an investigation into what led the boys basketball team to forfeit 20 games and miss the playoffs, district officials said Wednesday.

Pasadena Unified School District spokesman Adam Wolfson said the district will not issue a statement regarding Galvan. Charles Park, an assistant principal in charge of activities, will be the acting athletic director, Wolfson said.

“The hope is that once the investigation is completed into the forfeiting of the Muir basketball games, the district will issue a statement, barring litigation,” Wolfson said.

Muir was forced to forfeit the games because it failed to prove a valid change of address for a key player, thus eliminating the Mustangs from the CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs.

Galvan’s reassignment comes a week after boys basketball coach Gamal Smalley was placed on administrative leave and instructed not to have any contact with players and team parents.

PUSD hired an independent investigator to look into the issues, and Smalley is expected to speak with an investigator later this week.

At the heart of the issue was whether Muir had evidence to prove that Andre Frazier, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, had a valid change of address upon his transfer last year from Fairfax. He initially went to Bellarmine Jefferson, transferred to University High School in Los Angelesand then to Fairfax before coming to Muir. He has since transferred back to Fairfax.
Galvan was in his first season as athletic director, and was the school’s third athletic director in four years. He will continue as a physical-education teacher and baseball coach.

Galvan did not return a message seeking comment.

The investigation is expected to be completed in the next two weeks, Wolfson said.

In addition to the forfeits, Muir missed its chance at an at-large berth after its application was submitted past the deadline set by the CIF-Southern Section. Paperwork was due no later than 11 p.m. on a Friday, but it wasn’t faxed until the next evening.

Muir made three tournament championship appearances, was ranked in the Top 50 in the state and was 24-2 at season’s end, poised to continue its dream season with a strong playoff push in the so-called “Super Division” in which the Mustangs were seeded fifth.

Muir was the only public school in the division’s final Top 10 poll, and it was expected to prove its worth against perennial powerhouses like La Verne Lutheran and L.A. Price, both private schools.

Principal Sheryl Orange has not made a public comment about the forfeits, and her only statement came in a release issued through the district after Muir was ruled ineligible for the playoffs.