“I first found out about it Friday when I was approached by Burroughs administrators at our practice,” said Schwer, who served on the Burroughs varsity baseball coaching staff for eight years, two of them as head coach. “We had other coaches and an administrator who were on the trip with us, and they didn’t even know about it.”
Though the decision by the Burroughs administration removes what had been a playoff contender from the league, Schwer’s counterparts reacted with dismay Tuesday.
At Crescenta Valley High School, which has had its share of competitive games with Burroughs over the years, Falcons Coach Phil Torres said the demise of the Indians for the season hurts the entire league.
“Our kids get cheated out of a league game, which is what you work for,” Torres said. “It disrupts the integrity of the league schedule, but more importantly, I feel for the kids [at Burroughs] who didn't do anything wrong; I've got to assume there was at least some.
“I don't know enough of the specifics, but obviously Burroughs did the right thing if they thought something was wrong. It's just a shame because now it affects everyone in the Pacific League, not just Burroughs.”
Urioste confirmed that 11 players who drank have been suspended from school for five days, effective Monday. Seven athletes who were aware of the incident, but who failed to report it, have been given two-day suspensions, the principal said.
He declined to say how he learned about the incident.
