A private high school in Southern California has made the surprising decision to forfeit its entire 2025 football season, following a scandal involving alleged illegal player transfers and a controversial booster who has been linked to multiple schools facing penalties.
Bishop Montgomery High School, located in the city of Torrance near Los Angeles, announced Tuesday that it would shut down its football program for the season. The school says it is cooperating with an ongoing investigation alongside the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Department of Catholic Schools.
At the center of the situation is Brett Steigh, a name that’s becoming more and more familiar in California high school football circles — and not for the right reasons. Steigh, a self-described high school sports supporter and gambling entrepreneur, is being accused of paying families to transfer student-athletes to Bishop Montgomery and other schools.
Here’s the official announcement by Bishop Montgomery ending its varsity season but committing to returning in 2026. pic.twitter.com/le4pqUfefS
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) September 3, 2025
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Steigh admitted to offering financial help to parents in order to persuade players to join certain high school football programs. He named Bishop Montgomery, Narbonne High School, and St. Bernard as the schools he’s supported over the years — sometimes contributing as much as a million dollars in donations, equipment, or transfer assistance.
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS), which oversees high school sports in the region, ruled on August 20 that five players transferred to Bishop Montgomery had violated a bylaw related to providing “false, inaccurate, or misleading information.” That decision followed a wave of attention after Bishop Montgomery brought in over 20 transfers during the offseason, sparking rumors and questions within the local sports community.
After the CIF ruling, Bishop Montgomery reportedly self-reported additional violations and chose to cancel its season before further consequences could be handed down.
But the troubles didn’t stop there.
Just three days after the CIF ruling, Bishop Montgomery was involved in an on-field fight during a game against St. Louis High School of Hawaii. The matchup ended in chaos after players and staff from both teams clashed on the sidelines. The fight was serious enough to prompt police involvement, and the Knights were forced to forfeit their next scheduled game as several players were suspended.
This sequence of events put the school’s football program under heavy scrutiny. The decision to cancel the season came shortly after — a rare move that has drawn attention not only in California, but across the national high school sports scene.
Brett Steigh, high school football ‘Money Man’, explains why Bishop Montgomery players were deemed ineligible which eventually led to 2025 season being canceled.
Full interview on FATTAL FACTOR: https://t.co/AjlEHrHiBT
STORY: https://t.co/F4IvbEd3j8 pic.twitter.com/E5u6HyJCLA
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) September 3, 2025
Bishop Montgomery is now the third high school to face consequences related to Steigh’s alleged involvement. Narbonne High School faced penalties in both 2018 and 2024, including postseason bans and vacated titles. Some teams even refused to play Narbonne over transfer violations linked to Steigh’s support.
St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey also faced fallout. After receiving nearly $1 million in funding from Steigh, the school suspended its football program for three seasons, beginning in 2021. That move came after an investigation by both the FBI and IRS.
At Bishop Montgomery, Steigh claims he acted with the knowledge of school president Patrick Lee. However, a school official has denied this claim, calling it an “outright lie.”
While the future of the Bishop Montgomery football program remains unclear, the case has raised questions about how far some schools and individuals are willing to go to build winning teams — and what happens when those lines are crossed.
More details are expected as the investigation continues.
