West Las Vegas basketball penalized for illegal taping

NMAA hands Dons four losses for filming Robertson, St. Michael’s

One of the top Class 4A boys basketball teams has been handed four losses for games it had not yet played after it was caught in a third-party videotaping incident last week.

West Las Vegas, which has reached the state tournament championship game the previous two seasons before falling to Hope Christian, was given losses for two games each against crosstown rival Robertson and St. Michael’s, said New Mexico Activities Association associate athletic director Dusty Young.

Coaches for the Dons (11-4 before the decision) had been photographed shooting video of the district opener Jan. 17 between the Horsemen and Cardinals, said district chairman and Pojoaque Valley athletic director Matt Martinez.

Martinez informed West Las Vegas officials, who self-reported it to the NMAA.

The school plans to appeal its punishment.

WLV athletic director Richard Tripp released the following statement Monday night:

“At this point we cannot discuss the case. However, we do have a teleconference meeting with the NMAA, as well as members of the Board of Directors Wednesday morning at 8 a.m.”

West Las Vegas Schools Superintendent Chris Gutierrez offered

a little bit more background on the situation, and said district officials hope to lessen or avert the penalties during Wednesday’s teleconference with the NMAA.

“We’ll be seeing what we can do to resolve this situation,” Gutierrez said. “It’s an awful situation that’s happening right now. We have a young (assistant) coach that didn’t know or understand what the bylaws were in this type of situation. It was a mistake by a young coach, fresh out of high school.”

Gutierrez added that with today’s technology and video recorders on virtually every cell phone, it’s particularly difficult to police such matters.

“And it’s the kids that we’re hurting at the end,” Gutierrez said. “It’s an adult error and we’re hurting the kids.”

The four forfeitures represent exactly half of the Dons’ district schedule, which only has eight games total in this five-team league that also includes Taos and Pojoaque.

West Las Vegas head coach David Bustos did not return a phone call Monday.

After seeing the evidence, Young said it was a clear violation of NMAA rules prohibiting videotaping games by anyone unaffiliated with the schools without permission of the teams involved. The punishment also is clearly spelled out in the organization’s handbook, he said.

In last week’s New Mexico Overtime Sports Center rankings released that came out in last Thursday’s Journal, West Las Vegas was ranked third, St. Mike’s fifth and Robertson seventh.

St. Michael’s athletic director Tom Manning did not respond to a call seeking comment Monday.

Said Horsemen boys basketball coach Ron Geyer: “I personally haven’t heard anything from the NMAA. Everything I’ve been told has come from Matt Martinez, district representative, and my athletic director Tom Manning. All I know is we’re just preparing to play Pojoaque on Wednesday.”

Robertson athletic director Juan Carlos Fulgenzi referred questions to district superintendent Kelt Cooper, who did not respond to an email.

The bitter Las Vegas rivals were scheduled to meet for the first time in district play last Friday, but it was cancelled and has been recorded as a 2-0 Robertson victory.