HS football coach refuses to cram cheerleaders onto same crowded bus as players, resigns

Every high school football player’s dream — having his own personal cheerleader sitting on his lap for a long bus ride — is also every high school football coach’s nightmare. And so, when Gardena High School (Los Angeles) administrative officials refused to order an extra bus to transport their contingent on a two-hour away game trip last week, head varsity coach Ed Lalua resigned.

There were supposed to be three buses to transport Gardena’s varsity and junior varsity teams to their season opener at Oceanside. But when Lalua announced that the JV team wouldn’t make the trip, the school canceled one of the buses. That left two buses for the varsity team, the band, drill team, coaches, managers, auxiliary personnel and all the cheerleaders. Impossibly cramped conditions which, as any coach knows, has the potential for all sorts of disaster.

Gardena officials insisted that some of the cheerleaders would have to ride on the varsity squad’s bus, but Lalua refused, saying that there was no room. It appears he had plenty of grounds to refuse to squeeze them in, too.

“Forget about the distraction for the team and potential liability, our bus was already full,” Lalau told the Daily Breeze. “We had players, coaching staff and equipment. I told them I don’t know how they were going to fit. … I told them they needed to order another bus.”

Lalau said administration officials insisted on including the cheerleaders on the bus and gave Lalau an ultimatum.

“They told me I didn’t have an option, and I told them that I did,” Lalau said. “They made the decision very easy for me.”

Lalaou resigned on the spot, and his assistant coaches coached the game at Oceanside. The players may not have understood his decision (in their place, the only words I would have heard were “cheerleaders” and “same bus”), but kudos to you, sir.

Gardena, located in south central LA, has a rather troubled recent past — including an accidental shooting this past January in which two students were seriously injured.

***
Gardena football coach Lalau quits before opener [Daily Breeze]
LA football coach resigns over bus dispute on eve of season [Prep Rally]