Lawsuit against St. John Bosco furthers concern over high school football coaches' pressure to recruit, win

Allegations of embezzlement to pay tuition for top college recruits is latest to shed unsavory light on high school football

St. John Bosco has won four state and three mythical national titles since Jason Negro took over in 2010. / Photo by Heston Quan

The high school of one of the nation’s highest-profile football teams and its coach are being sued by three former employees who allege, among other things, embezzlement to pay tuition for top recruits. 

The Los Angeles Times first reported that St. John Bosco, winners of four state and three mythical national championships, and its 15-year coach, Jason Negro, a 1991 graduate of the Southern California school, were named in the suit along with Salesian Society, which oversees and operates the school. 

Former St. John Bosco president Brian Wickstrom, chief financial officer Melanie Marcaurel and vice president of technology Derek Barraza allege, “The Salesian’s Order’s termination of Wickstrom and Marcaurel was motivated by the desire to protect the football program and its head coach Jason Negro from scrutiny or oversight of illegal conduct,” the lawsuit reads. 

Wickstrom, Marcaurel and Bazzaza were all terminated in 2024, the lawsuit claims. 

Negro issued a statement Tuesday night that read: “St. John Bosco High School is aware of claims made against the Salesian Society and myself by former employees of St. John Bosco. An independent investigation has already been conducted and all the facts will come to light in court. The claim has been in the hands of our legal team and our school will defer all questions to them.” 

The lawsuit comes on the heels of Southern California’s other mega national power football team Mater Dei being sued over an alleged culture of hazing in 2021. That suit was dismissed in 2023 as a result of a likely out-of-court settlement.   

The allegations, lawsuits and rulings of general poor behavior of top football programs aren’t nearly confined to Southern California. 

'High school mess'

Most of it centers around winning and the means to get there, which usually requires recruiting top players. 

High School on SI writer Andy Villamarzo, based out of Florida, reported in November an “epidemic” of teams “being slammed with sanctions and forfeits because of some sort of violation of state bylaw. From Alabama to Florida to West Virginia, we’ve been seeing all-time highs in forfeitures just before state associations' playoffs begin, and the sanctions are seemingly becoming more and more severe.” 

Among the more egregious: 

• In South Carolina, Marlboro County (Bennettsville) was banned from the state playoffs for use of eight ineligible players. 

• In Virginia, Hayfield Alexandria) withdrew from the playoffs and was suspended from VHSL competition until 2026 amid massive recruiting improprieties. 

• In Florida, First Academy (Orlando), with the addition of more than 30 transfers, motored to the top of the Class 1A rankings, only to forfeit eight games due to rules violations, and longtime national power Miami Central was knocked out of the playoffs and forfeited nine games for the use of an ineligible player. 

Two other prominent Florida schools, Miami Norland and Western, forfeited games due to using ineligible players. All of it led  Miami Northwestern, coach and NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to rant about the state of the high school game. 

“This high school crap has become the new lil league,” he wrote on Facebook in November, a month before he went back to the NFL to play backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions. “I left the league and became a victim to this mess down here and I catch all the strays because I'm the coach. 

“I didn’t walk away from millions to be associated with this high school drama.” 

Changing, stressful times

Back in California, the coach of one of the nation’s winningest programs De La Salle in Concord says there’s never been a more “pressurized time.” 

Justin Alumbaugh, who replaced the state’s winningest coach Bob Ladouceur in 2013, said the pressure to succeed has always been there. “And I don’t feel it any more than I did when I took the job,” he said. “But is there more stress and is this a more pressurized time? Absolutely.” 

He said it largely centers around the college game and how much more it's monetized with NIL deals and possible future NFL riches. That leads to more urgency for players and parents. 

“I spend more time in meetings with parents about recruiting than ever before and I totally get why,” he said. “It’s more and more challenging for high school kids to be recruited. The landscape and environment and rules have changed.” 

Besides the college portal, which allows collegiate players to move freely year-to-year between schools, there’s a recent junior college ruling that playing there doesn’t count against four-year eligibility. 

“So if you’re a college coach, would you rather take a 20-year-old who is physically and mentally more developed and experienced, or an 18-year-old?” Alumbaugh said. “All of those thoughts and decisions and pressure trickle down.

“There’s more stress than ever before, and that can't possibly be super healthy.” 

De La Salle and St. John Bosco are 400 miles apart yet are no strangers, having faced off for three state championships, with Bosco winning all of them: 2013, 2016 and 2019.  

De La Salle, winners of a state record seven state titles, hasn't won one since 2015. Mater Dei (six) and St. John Bosco (three) have shared all of them since.

“I have no idea what goes on down there,” Alumbaugh said. “I know Jason is a good friend, and he’s been good to us for many years.”