A Long Beach Unified School District official announced Wednesday that it has completed an internal investigation into seven athletes who violated CIF Rule 202, which requires all transfers to provide accurate documentation, and has imposed penalties on three football coaches involved in the transfers, including the firing of head coach Justin Utupo.
In a press release, the district said head coach Poly has been released and will not be allowed to coach in the district. One assistant coach who resigned was also banned from coaching. Another assistant was relieved of all coaching duties and reassigned elsewhere to serve as a campus personnel assistant. The district said it concluded that “the three coaches engaged in unethical conduct inconsistent with CIF eligibility rules.”
Utupo said he resigned on Wednesday morning after meeting with his players and was unaware of the county's announcement.
Utupo came from Lakewood this season to become the head coach of a Long Beach Poly program that has won 20 CIF titles. After a 5–5 season, the school announced that it would not allow the team to compete in the Southern Section playoffs.
Moving forward, the district said it will review all athletic programs in its district to ensure “protocols, training and expectations are clearly understood and consistently applied.” The county is also waiting to see if there will be any additional penalties for the South Site. The Southern Section transfer portal states that seven Polytechnic athletes have been ineligible for two years for violating Bylaw 202.
