Dash: Innocent pawn in adults' game
One year ago David Dash was a gifted little freshman running back for Fontana, full of ability and promise.
Now his existence has figuratively been reduced to a large envelope I keep in my desk drawer. It is nearly an inch thick and it's jammed with newspaper clippings and notes on his unseemly eligibility situation.
Wednesday the CIF-State panel meets to decide Dash's football future. They will either uphold the CIF-SS's severe ruling of a two-year ban for athletics - the rest of Dash's career - or they will lessen it.
Most observers think the state panel will show mercy. I hope so, because a two-year "death penalty" - as some people are calling it - is the harshest punishment imaginable. It is almost unprecedented in its severity.
The really sad thing is, if Dash is shown no compassion, he will have been punished because of the questionable maneuverings of adults.
To review, the sophomore football player lives in the Rialto Unified School District, but enrolled at Fontana in 2006 as a freshman on an inter-district permit.
Dash started as a freshman on varsity for Fontana and then excelled as a sophomore, rushing for 1,211 yards and seven touchdowns. But after his sophomore season, he transferred to intra-district rival Miller.
Rebels' coach Jeff Steinberg said Dash arrived on the Miller campus unexpectedly and was prepared to play junior varsity as a junior, in accordance with CIF-SS rules.
But then the Dashes sought a hardship waiver for their son to become immediately eligible to play sports.
The Dashes said they had been granted guardianship of their two grandchildren from the Department of Children's Services. They said transporting their son cross-town to Fontana had become too difficult. They said they also wanted him to occasionally escort the older of the two grandchildren to elementary school.
The hardship was granted by the CIF-SS. Dash promptly joined the track and field team.
Then things got crazy. The CIF-SS was alerted that Dash has a sister, Courtney, who is a senior at Fontana. She is on the softball team and will graduate soon. Courtney has a car and frequently transports her brother, the story goes. No mention was made of Courtney or her ability to transport her brother in the Dashes' hardship appeal.
David Dash Sr. said he consulted Miller and an assistant commissioner at CIF-SS about Courtney, but was advised not to include her in the hardship process because she would graduate soon.
However, Dash's participation in track also raised red flags for some. How could he act as an escort for his niece or occasionally serve as a babysitter if he was at track practice?
By late February the CIF-SS had reversed itself on the Dash decision, saying the Dashes had not been "forthcoming" - omitting the information on Courtney in their appeal. David Dash was pulled aside by Miller officials as he prepared to run in a track meet.
Eventually the unbelievable news of the two-year ban was broken to him. His mother Lois did not show him the letter from CIF because she thought it too crushing.
The allegations flew. David Sr. said Fontana blew the whistle on his son to CIF-SS.
I asked Fontana coach Lance Ozier and Steelers athletic director Evelyn Vance about that for an article published March 19. They denied turning in Dash. However, a document from CIF-SS dated Feb. 29, released by the Dashes' attorney Christian Anyiam, contradicted their claims.
On May 3, The Sun published its article revealing Fontana's role in the hardship reversal, including their deception to the newspaper.
In researching that article, I asked Ozier about additional claims David Sr. has made about his son's alleged recruitment to Fontana. David Sr. said the recruitment began in the eighth grade. He said the wooing of the Dashes included a tour by Ozier of the Fontana facilities, including the weight room.
But by this point, the Fontana administration had placed a gag order on Ozier. The Steelers coach said he couldn't comment on the alleged recruitment nor Dash's reversed hardship appeal.
I also asked Vance about Fontana's role in the reversal. She was clearly miffed to be questioned. She intimated she would no longer speak to me if I attached her name to even a "no comment."
I won't go on. This thing had become a royal mess. There was mud on everyone's knickers.
My take? I think it's possible Ozier recruited Dash, but there is no proof. It is also apparent Fontana turned the kid in after he bolted for Miller.
As for the Dashes, I have read the CIF-SS document and listened to their explanations. As I told David Sr. and Steinberg, I found the Dashes' maneuverings over the years to be "curious."
Well, if the Dashes manipulated the system, they are not the first to do so. It doesn't make them bad people. Many have gotten away with worse.
And what of Ozier allegedly coaxing Dash to attend Fontana? What of Ozier and Vance's role in the investigation and then they're denying of it? Even if they erred in both instances, it doesn't make them cretins either. Nor is it a violation of section rules to mislead a newspaper reporter.
What is horrible is a 16-year-old becoming a pawn in a game played by adults. I hope the state panel recognizes that and shows David Dash some compassion.
I want to see him carry the ball again. I also want to throw out my thick envelope of all this nonsense.
- John Murphy
www.insidesocal.com/sb/prepdog
Comments
I wish someone would look into Redlands East Valley's athletic department. They steal kids from all the other local high schools.....especialy the Baseball team. They recruit harder than most Division 1 colleges.
Posted by: San G. fan | May 13, 2008 10:34 PM
Something just doesn't smell right. Here's a kid who lives in Rialto and goes to Fontana to play football. Then, when he doesn't like the results at Fontana tries to move again to AB Miller. Why are you criticizing the people at the school for questioning the motives of this transfer? It sounds to me like the father is just trying to pull the old scam of moving his kid to a winning program so he will get more college recognition. It's too bad that this kid may not get to play again in high school. But, it's not the fault of the those who were just asking questions and trying to follow the rules!
Posted by: Michael Sylvester Sr. | May 14, 2008 10:27 AM
Sad thing about it is that Dash WAS getting recognition. He was getting those yards while playing for Fohi. He was getting yards running behind their small line(from what I was told). Two years is still to much. If the family wanted to make the hardship legit, he should have never ran track.
Posted by: Bloomertown | May 14, 2008 9:46 PM
even though dash lives in rialto it is actually closer to miller. everyone knows the boundaries are jacked up. there are kids at etiwanda who live in fontana. from what we heard he never did run track. he had an agreement with the track coach that when time permitted he would workout with the team and then go to meets that he would be able to attend. other days i was told he was going home to help. should not really be a big deal for ozier. not much of a difference between 2-8 & 0-10.
Posted by: rialtoman | May 15, 2008 9:05 AM
Unfortunately, it sounds like the son is going to take the punishment for the father’s sneaky maneuvering. First, the parents’s applied for and were granted a hardship waiver for the older daughter to transfer from Carter to Fontana for softball and were able to include David. Then David becomes a possible college prospect, but the football team stinks, so time for another hardship transfer, but what about the sister who is older and drives.
I have read reports that the father also reached out to area coaches and wanted feedback on whether or not his son could figure into their plans, most declined. Wonder if the coaches at Miller were approached beforehand.
I hope the penalty is cut down to one year; at least he’ll have a year to shine and garner some attention from D1 coaches. I also hope that the father learns a lesson and let’s his son’s career develop on its own. All you have to do is look at Reggie Bush’s stepfather’s involvement with a wannabe sports agent as a cautionary tale of when parents try too soon to cash in on their kid’s athletic prowess.
Posted by: Martin Beltran | May 15, 2008 10:46 AM