Ladouceur reflects on ‘systemic racism.’
Death of former star Vontoure still weighs heavily on former coach, DLS community
CONCORD >> Legendary former De La Salle football coach Bob Ladouceur took to Twitter to address Black Lives Matter and the loss his program experienced when a former all-state player, who was black, died in the hands of police custody nearly two decades ago.
Anthony Vontoure was 22 when he was apprehended by Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies after his erratic behavior led to a 911 call.
The former University of Washington standout battled mental health issues.
The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, sheriff and five deputies, seeking $25 million. In 2006, four years after Vontoure died, the family accepted a $20,000 settlement.
According to accounts at the time by this news organization, Vontoure struggled to breathe and died minutes after being handcuffed and removed from an apartment he shared with four people. The lawsuit alleged that control holds were used on Vontoure, which the officers denied, this newspaper reported.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office reported that Vontoure died of a heart attack due to “acute cocaine intoxication.” An independent autopsy requested by Vontoure’s parents showed trace amounts of cocaine, this newspaper reported.
As part of the agreement, the money awarded in the settlement was given to De La Salle for academic or athletic scholarship purposes in the family’s name.
In his Tweets late last week, Ladouceur noted that he and his son, Danny, were close to Vontoure, who was a neighbor of theirs.
“Anthony battled depression & anxiety in his college and high school years, but still managed to excel at a high level on the field, and in the classroom,” Ladouceur wrote. “He lived 6 houses down from me & would come over frequently to visit with me and Danny. Aside from his athletic ability, Anthony was a kind, sensitive & loving person.
“Danny & I both loved him very much. His death shook our school, team, and his family to the core. Those who encountered him that fateful night knew nothing
about him. He didn’t threaten them & had no weapon of any kind. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Current De La Salle football coach Justin Alumbaugh was a teammate of Vontoure for two seasons. He said the DLS alumni he has spoken with as racial tension heated up in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis wish they could have done more for Vontoure.
“We had some open and frank conversations about Anthony,” Alumbaugh said. “We were 20 at the time. I wouldn’t say that I had a great world view at the age of 20. But that’s not an excuse. I think we really felt this past week, looking back, like we let Anthony down. We didn’t ask enough questions, and we didn’t demand more answers.
“Based on the events we have been given, yeah, he should have been arrested. But he should not have been killed. Anthony should still be alive today, and he’s not. As his teammate and his friend, a lot of us feel a tremendous amount of guilt that we didn’t press more.”
In another thread of tweets, Ladouceur, who led De La Salle to a national-record 151 consecutive victories, touched on social injustice in a broader form.
The San Jose State graduate wrote that as a teenager he learned from the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s that “systemic racism was an outcome of ignorance, born from the practice of slavery. The laws have changed since that time, however, our country’s heart, and the application of our laws obviously hasn’t.”
Ladouceur, a religious studies instructor, stepped down as head football coach after the 2012 season, finishing with a 399-25-3 record.
“I was blessed to coach for 35 years, teams that were all integrated - black, white, brown. I never focused on winning,” he wrote. “I focused on integration, character, growth & responsibility. I took a page from the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I would not prejudge my student/athletes on what they looked like; such as color, athletic ability, or size, but would judge them by “the content of their character”, their capacity for love, respect, sacrifice, hard work, change & growth.
“I was blessed with a great coaching staff that were men of that character. Winning games was just an outcome of our students’ growth in those areas.”