Brett Steigh, a Narbonne High School graduate, claimed he paid money to parents to bring players to Narbonne and also detailed his involvement in the St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery football programs.
Steigh, on the latest episode of the “Fattal Factor,” hosted by reporters Tarek Fattal and Aram Tolegian, took the blame for illegal activities at the schools that resulted in probation or vacated wins and championships.
“It started in 2015,” he said. “I donated the basics — washing machine, ice machine, uniforms and helmets. I would give the money to the coach to buy uniforms.”
“In 2018, the coach didn’t want to do this. I lied to him and the players showed up.”
Why?
“I wanted to compete with the private schools. I felt that it was unfair the public schools get left behind.
“Who would admit to do this but me? Who else could do it but me? All these rumors for all these years, it’s true. I do what I do. All me, 100 percent and I’m happily out of this game.”
Steigh’s initial donations to the Narbonne football program occurred under coach Manuel Douglas, who eventually resigned as the school’s head coach and later took over at St. Bernard.
Those Narbonne teams drew players from out-of-state, which Steigh said was his doing.
“I took it upon myself,” he said. “I was a friend of the program. I never paid a player, I paid a parent. The (coaching) staff never knew about it. At Narbonne, I paid the parents.”
The Narbonne program eventually had to vacate the 2018 City championship and was dealt a two-year playoff ban.
Last year Narbonne’s championship team had to vacate its City title and was dealt a three-year playoff ban.
The opposing coaches in the Marine League forfeited their games against Narbonne due to the influx of transfers last season and what they felt was the impact Steigh was having on the program.
“I take full accountability for what happened at Narbonne last year,” Steigh said. “Malcolm Manuel (last year’s head coach) had no involvement at all. It was me being selfish. All I ever wanted is for kids to be successful.
“I think these parents are looking out for themselves and their futures. I think a lot of these parents don’t come from anything, and if I can provide them rent and security in a house for a year, why not? Why play for free at another high school like Carson, when you can come to Narbonne, at least your rent is paid. You have a roof over your head for your three children.
“I’ve also had children that have been homeless, housed them for three or four years, and they were like third string. So I do a lot of goodness out of my own heart. I think every kid should have a fair shot in life and a lot of these kids from L.A., L.A. City guys, they’re not given the same deck of cards that kids from Orange County are. My whole premise coming in here was to make the playing fields level finally, let us try to win on this side of town.”
Steigh said the most he’s given a family is $50,000.
When asked how much money he paid into last year’s Narbonne team, he didn’t answer.
In between the Narbonne situations, there was a stop at St. Bernard, where Douglas took over in 2020.
“I bought the scoreboard, $600,000, grass $100,000, painted the school. I put one million (dollars) in. Then April 2, 2021, the feds show up.”
Steigh and Douglas were subject of FBI and IRS investigations for money laundering. Steigh claimed that it was determined there was no wrongdoing.
Douglas resigned at St. Bernard and the school closed its program before restarting it last year.
Steigh, who other coaches in the South Bay call the “Money Man,” now finds himself in the Bishop Montgomery saga.
The Knights landed more than 20 transfers ahead of this season. Early on, signs pointed toward Steigh being involved. During his interview, he said that “Bishop is off the table in this conversation.”
He said that the new president at Bishop Montgomery, Patrick Lee, told him “we want to win.” Lee told the L.A. Times on Tuesday that he’s never met Steigh.
Five players for Bishop Montgomery were ruled ineligible last month by the CIF Southern Section for falsifying transfer documents. There was a late-game skirmish in the team’s season opener that led to several players for Bishop Montgomery being suspended. That led Bishop Montgomery to forfeit last week’s game against Mater Dei. And then Saturday, the school fired coach and co-athletic director Ed Hodgkiss.
“Coach Ed is a great human being,” Steigh said. “He had no idea who I was. He was put into a firestorm. He never asked for this.
“He coached Division 12 football, he was content. Then a new president comes in and says ‘we’re winning.’ New coaches are brought in and then they start attracting talent.
“I came on here to clear everybody else’s name. Ed should have never lost his job, that’s a damn shame. That man (Ed) has two children, he’s coached there for 12 years, both those kids have to go to college and he got fired over something he had no involvement in.”
Steigh added that “every move” for the players who transferred into Bishop Montgomery was real.
Bishop Montgomery has forfeited this week’s game against Leuzinger.
Meanwhile, Steigh said he is done.
“I’m retired,” he said. “I’m out. … It was nobody else’s fault but mine. Blame me, I’ll take it.”
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