Las Vegas lawmaker: Ban Bishop Gorman from football playoffs

RENO — A state assemblyman wants to do what no Nevada high school team has been able to do for six years — knock longtime Las Vegas high school football power Bishop Gorman out of the playoffs.

Las Vegas Democrat Harvey Munford has requested a bill be drafted for the upcoming Legislature to ban the private Catholic school from the state football championships.

Munford is a former collegiate basketball star who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and coached preps for 15 years in Clark County. He said Gorman has unfair advantages over public schools it plays, primarily because of scholarships it can offer while recruiting throughout the district.

Gorman capped an undefeated season with a 70-28 victory over Reed High School to claim its sixth straight title earlier this month.

The school’s alums include Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray. UNLV announced earlier this month it is hiring Bishop Gorman coach Tony Sanchez to lead the Rebels next year. In his six seasons at Gorman, Sanchez was 85-5 — with no losses against Nevada schools.

“The best team in the north just got beat in the state championship game by a team that scored 70 points on them,” Munford said about the lopsided title game. “They do the same to the schools in Las Vegas. Come on, Gorman should be a totally independent school, one that does not compete with other high schools,” he said.

Gorman’s legacy dates to the 1960s, when David Humm was quarterback before he led Nebraska to the national championship in 1971 and won two Super Bowl rings with the Oakland Raiders.

Eddie Bonine, the executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, declined to comment on the legislative proposal but said the idea of Gorman being banned from the state playoffs is not a new one.

“Dating long before Eddie Bonine ever came into the state of Nevada, which is over 18 years ago, I guess there were some concerns,” Bonine said about Bishop Gorman High. “There were some concerns three years or four years ago. I approached BGHS with those concerns on behalf of the Clark County School District and it didn’t go real well. And I haven’t revisited the issue.”

The concerns then were similar to Munford’s current concerns, Bonine said.

“It was a recommendation that they change their membership to play more on the national circuit, and it was not well received. And that is all I am going to say about that,” Bonine said.

Bishop Gorman administrators declined to comment on Munford’s proposal. Because the bill itself has not been written, it’s unclear if Munford will call for a state playoff ban only for Bishop Gorman’s football program or for other sports at the school.