South Bay School President Steps Down After Scandal Ends Football Season

TORRANCE, CA — The president of a South Bay high school embroiled in a scandal involving its football team has resigned.

Bishop Montgomery High School's President Patrick Lee resigned Wednesday, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in a statement. The organization did not disclose why Lee resigned.

"We thank Mr. Lee for his ministry in Catholic education and pray for God’s divine providence to lead him and his family forward," the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in the statement. "In the coming days, we will be sharing an interim leadership plan with the school community."

Lee stepped down from the position in the middle of internal investigation into whether the high school's football team violated California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) rules governing transfer players, and allegations that a booster bribed parents of athletes to have their kids play for the school.

Earlier this month, high schools officials said they were working with the CIF to correct the issue and that they'd be forfeiting the rest of its season.

"We recognize the gravity of this situation, and we are deeply sorry for the lapses in oversight that resulted in violations of CIF-SS regulations," school officials said in a statement to parents and the Bishop Montgomery community earlier this month. "As the investigation is ongoing, there may be further changes to our varsity football program as needed," according to school officials. "

In the aftermath of the allegations, the high school parted ways with Head Coach Ed Hodgkiss, who told NBC4 that he had plans to retire before his contract was terminated.

He told NBC4 that Lee and two other people who worked for rival St. John Bosco approached him late last year with promises of building up the football program, but ultimately created the issues now plaguing the program.

“They approached me and said we can do the same thing at Bishop Montgomery,” Hodgkiss told NBC4.

His attorney told NBC4 that the high school was trying to use Hodgkiss as a scapegoat."

Brett Steigh, a booster and self-proclaimed gambler, who went on a live podcast to talk about his role in helping some Southland high schools, including Narbonne and Bishop Montgomery, said that coaches didn't know that he was paying players' parents to transfer them to the schools.

“Everything I did, I did it on my own. I had no help," Steigh said during an interview on the FATTAL FACTOR podcast on earlier this month. "I take full responsibility for everything.”

But, Steigh accused Lee of knowing how he was "supporting" the school's program, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Lee denied the accusations, telling the Los Angeles Times that he had no connection to Steigh and that what he was saying was an "outright lie."