Editor’s note: the second paragraph was corrected at 5:40 p.m. Dec. 6 to clarify the amount of time Ponciano was head football coach.
A complaint filed with the Superior Court of the State of California by former Owls Head Football Coach Ron Ponciano alleges that Citrus discriminated against him because of his age, created a hostile work environment and caused him emotional distress.
Ponciano stepped down from his position in July after 15 years with the Owls and 11 years as head football coach, a press release from Citrus College Athletics said. Defensive line Coach Brandon Hayashi stepped up to fill his spot.
At its Oct. 5 meeting, the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to reject a $20 million claim against the district submitted by Ponciano on Aug. 30.
Retaliatory behavior from the college started in 2018 when he raised concerns about his salary, Ponciano said in an interview along with his attorney, Paul Mahoney.
“I just wanted to get paid what I was supposed to,” Ponciano said, citing his master’s degree and coaching experience, which he said his salary didn’t reflect.
Director of Human Resources Robert Sammis and former Superintendent/President Geraldine Perri are the only Citrus employees named in the complaint, along with other unknown defendants. Ponciano alleges them of trying to damage his reputation.
Sammis was contacted for an interview, but declined to comment while the case is being litigated.
Among his complaints, Ponciano alleges eight Black players who were enrolled on the football team were denied payment plans, which Ponciano said he hasn’t seen happen anywhere else in college sports.
In addition, Ponciano alleged in the complaint that Perri and Sammis spread rumors that he was going to get fired. He said he heard rumors from others in the athletic community before hearing anything from human resources.
“My hand was shaking I was so angry,” Ponciano said.
Immediately after raising concerns to Perri and human resources in 2018, retaliation started, Ponciano said.
Some of the behaviors Ponciano alleged the college of include the scheduling of his practices in extreme heat, reduction of rental funds for his team and denying him resources.
The complaint said a practice field was taken away from him before a conference championship game, which resulted in Ponciano drawing stripes across an entire softball field so his team could practice.
The reason the college denied the players payment plans, Ponciano said, was because their skill would have reflected too well on him as a coach, making him harder to get rid of.
Under Ponciano, the Owls claimed an 8-3 victory over Saddleback College in the 2013 Beach Bowl, their first bowl victory in 25 years. More recently, they lost in the Western State Bowl to Chaffey College in 2018.
In addition, Ponciano alleged the college of underpaying him in comparison to other coaches, who are “younger and less qualified,” the complaint said, and wrongly reporting his pay on Transparent California, a database of salaries for public employees.
Ponciano’s most recent salary on Transparent California from 2018 is $114,730 regular pay.
Despite that, he said Hayashi was a good choice.
Now that he resigned, Ponciano said, all of his demands were met, including better conditions for players. While he’s glad things are better, he said he is angered that it took his resignation to make changes.
Ponciano said he considers Citrus a special place with a great football team and players, but is now doubting the transparency of the college as a whole.
He was a coach on the team for 15 years, but not the head coach for the entire time. Kevin Emerson was the head coach during that time
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