Sports
St. John Bosco targets ex-CEO, backs coach Jason Negro after lawsuit alleges he embezzled money
St. John Bosco High responded Thursday to a lawsuit filed against the Catholic school, football coach Jason Negro and the Salesian Society religious order with a statement backing Negro and targeting the credibility of one of the three plaintiffs.
The statement from Fr. Mel Trinidad, provincial of the Salesians and interim president of St. John Bosco, said that Brian Wickstrom was fired as the school’s president and chief executive in July because “the school uncovered information that Wickstrom obtained loans without authorization, received excessive compensation and benefits to which he was not entitled, and breached his fiduciary duties.”
Wickstrom’s lawyer, late Thursday, strongly denied the allegations.
The statement is separate from a court filing expected soon from St. John Bosco that will serve as a formal response to the lawsuit. The filing is required within 30 days of the defendants being served with the lawsuit, which occurred the second week of January.
Wickstrom and fellow former administrators Melanie Marcaurel and Derek Barraza allege in the lawsuit first reported by The Times that they were improperly fired last year and seek restitution, reinstatement and unspecified punitive and general damages for emotional distress.
The lawsuit alleges that Negro — a highly regarded coach who led St. John Bosco to the top of national rankings in 2013 and 2022 — embezzled money from the all-boys school for years and had assistant coaches pay the tuition for prized players in cash, saying the payments were from “anonymous donors.”
The filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court also alleges that Negro conducted financial transactions associated with his powerhouse program in cash that he kept in a safe in his office, with no accounting or accountability by the school. The plaintiffs assert that they were impeded by Salesian officials from reining in Negro.
Trinidad did not address those allegations in his statement, other than to stand by Negro by saying that the coach “has, for decades, supported the education, growth and well-being of hundreds of student-athletes in the classroom and on the field. St. John Bosco High School fully intends to vigorously defend this lawsuit and pursue its own legal remedies for the harm caused to the school.”
The statement zeroed in on Wickstrom, who served stints as athletic director at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio and the University of Louisiana Monroe before he was hired by St. John Bosco in July 2020.
“The school gave Plaintiffs’ attorney the opportunity to provide any documents or explanation for the financial improprieties,” the statement said. “No information or explanation was provided. Instead, this lawsuit against the school, the Salesians and Coach Negro was filed.”
Wickstrom responded to Trinidad’s statement through his lawyer, Rob Hennig.
“Father Mel Trinidad fired Brian Wickstrom illegally without any authorization from Bosco’s Board of Directors,” the statement said. “Wickstrom was fired because he dared to try to hold Jason Negro accountable for Negro’s conduct as detailed in a 17-page complaint and with corroborating emails and other evidence.
“At the time of Wickstrom’s termination, Trinidad never raised any claims of financial impropriety or other misconduct by Wickstrom. Indeed, it was only after Wickstrom directly raised his illegal termination with Bosco that Bosco attempted an investigation to come up with a post hoc justification for Wickstrom’s termination.
“Tellingly, Bosco does not refute Wickstrom’s claim that he was fired for trying to hold Negro accountable or that Negro handled large amounts of cash off the books. Wickstrom denies these false allegations and will defend against these smear tactics in Court.”
A financial services company, Itria Ventures, sued St. John Bosco, Wickstrom and the school’s former chief financial officer, Jeff Wacha, in March 2024 for defaulting on a $1 million loan taken out in February 2023. Wacha was replaced by Marcaurel shortly thereafter.
Trinidad said in his statement that the Salesians hired independent financial consultants to investigate but that Wickstrom “threatened to file a lawsuit against the school in an effort to prevent the independent financial consultants from completing their investigation and work.”
Meanwhile, according to the latest lawsuit, Marcaurel and Wickstrom attempted last year to end Negro’s alleged cash-only system and run football revenue and expenses through the school business office, with Marcaurel issuing a “corrective action proposal” that included hiring a certified public accountant.
The Salesian Order instead responded by sending consultants Jay Conner and Cathy Vivian to the school, the lawsuit states, alleging that they “used the audit as a ruse to come and rid the business office of its current staff and squelch the audit that would provide any accountability for the football program.”
Cash payments to Negro and assistant coaches weren’t reported as income to the Internal Revenue Service or the California Franchise Tax Board, the lawsuit states, alleging that “Negro, in pocketing and using for his personal use much of the cash obtained for the football program, engaged in embezzlement and fraud.”
Negro said in a statement Tuesday that “[a]n 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,” the coach said, “and our school will defer all questions to them.”
Shortly after Wickstrom and Marcaurel were fired by Trinidad, St. John Bosco issued a statement announcing an increased leadership role by the Salesians.
“Over the last several months, the Salesian Society has engaged in a period of discernment regarding how to best position SJB for future success,” the statement read. “It became clear to Fr. Mel Trinidad, the Salesian Society’s current Provincial, and SJB’s other corporate members that they should play a larger role in guiding the school’s leadership and shaping its future.”
Negro is represented by high-powered trial lawyer Brian Panish, a St. John Bosco alumnus and the lead donor to the school’s $7.2-million Panish Family Stadium. According to his firm’s website, his courtroom victories include a $4.9-billion verdict in a landmark products liability case against General Motors and six verdicts in excess of $50 million.
The 5,000-seat football stadium opened in 2018, and at the time, Panish expressed gratitude for his St. John Bosco education, telling the Long Beach Press-Telegram, “The lessons I learned helped me be a better person and prepared me for life. … I went there at a time in my life when I didn’t have all my values sorted out, and they helped me develop my moral compass spiritually, academically and athletically.”
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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