Prep Boys Basketball: Rancho Bernardo High’s Choe out as head coach

Jim Choe is out at Rancho Bernardo High.

The Broncos’ varsity boys basketball coach of six years was informed Tuesday that the school will be heading in a different direction.

The move comes after it recently surfaced that an anonymous complaint was made to the NAACP in San Diego last November, accusing Choe of racism, bullying and discrimination. A complaint was also made to the Poway Unified School District last fall.

“This was a site-based administrative decision,” said Rancho Bernardo athletic director Peggy Brose, who added she was not in a position to comment on the accusations against Choe. “We just felt at this particular time we needed to go in a different direction with the boys basketball program at the school.”

Choe did not return a phone call seeking comment. He did release the following statement, according to the

Facebook page, “TeamChoe

,” which was created in support of the coach after the accusations surfaced:

“These past six years have been extremely fulfilling as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Rancho Bernardo High School. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with high character and high quality players who have demonstrated the willingness to learn what it takes to be successful. I have worked hard to foster relationships with these young men on and off the court and earn their respect as a leader and mentor. I hope they have learned as much from me as I have from them. I am proud we were able to take our program to postseason tournaments as well as achieve academic excellence off the court. I sincerely appreciate all of my players and their families who have supported me and defended my integrity in the face of the recent meritless accusations.”

Jessica Wakefield, director of communications for the Poway Unified School District, wrote in an email Tuesday that “there is no official comment” from the district in regards to Choe being out as head coach.

Brose said the decision was not made in just one day.

“We spent a lot of time on this and not just in the last month,” she said.

Brose said as far as she knows Choe will continue as a math teacher at the school and that “this has nothing to do with his teaching position.”

PUSD did its own investigation after receiving the complaint against Choe last fall. In early March, the district said they completed the investigation and took appropriate actions. They did not say what those actions were, if any. Choe was still the coach at that point, but now is out.

Choe was named the 2010 San Diego Section Coach of the Year, when his team won the Division I crown. The Broncos went 8-19 this past season.

Brose said the job opening for varsity boys basketball coach will be officially posted late Thursday or on Friday.

“We will be accepting applications through the 14th of April and then we will have an interview process,” she said. “We plan to have a new coach by the end of April t the very latest and possibly sooner, depending on the interviews. At this time, the position is open to all applicants and there is no teaching position connected with it.”