Football: Santa Margarita about to get Southern Section scrutiny

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The Southern Section office is not pleased with a letter sent by Santa Margarita Principal Ray Dunne to parents on Friday discussing a violation by the football program. The letter implied that the Southern Section gave approval for a March 31 open house that was later determined to be a rule violation.

Southern Section spokesman Thom Simmons said in an e-mail Saturday, ‘The CIF Southern Section is concerned about an assertion that it gave outright or even tacit approval of the evening event held at Santa Margarita on March 31, 2010, as presented in the letter to the Santa Margarita community and Orange County through media outlets.

‘This office will consider re-opening its investigation to determine if the school was given improper direction by office personnel or if there has been an attempt to misrepresent the events that led to the self-imposed sanction. The office will announce its intentions later this week.’

The Southern Section previously refused to comment on the investigation. Dunne previously declined to disclose specifics other than that the Southern Section determined the March 31 open house was a violation.

Now that people are starting to talk through letters, maybe we’ll find out what the punishment was. If the open house was a violation, I don’t understand why everybody wouldn’t want the specifics to come out to help others avoid a similar violation. Secrecy is not a good policy.

But it appears the Santa Margarita letter has struck a nerve in the Southern Section office, and the ramifications are about to come home.

-- Eric Sondheimer