The president of Bishop Montgomery High School in Torrance, Patrick Lee, has resigned, according to a Sept. 10 letter sent by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ Department of Catholic Schools to the school community. The resignation comes in the wake of the violations the archdiocese and the school has reported over its football program.
“We thank Mr. Lee for his ministry in Catholic education and pray for God's divine providence to lead him and his family forward,” wrote Regional Superintendent Veronica Zozaya.
“Let us keep our school community in prayer as we seek to further Bishop Montgomery's honorable mission.”
Zozaya said the archdiocese would work with the school on an interim leadership plan “in the coming days.”
In a related development, the archdiocese’s general counsel, Margaret Graf, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Brett Steigh, a well-known football booster in the South Bay who has admitted to paying players and their families to play high school football.
In a Sept. 1 “Fattal Factor” podcast, Steigh alleged that he was responsible for the flood of players transferring to Bishop Montgomery, and said he had previously helped football programs at Narbonne High School, his alma mater, and St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey.
The cease-and-desist letter cites a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) rule that deals with “undue influence” and “athletically motivated transfers.”
“Therefore, I am hereby requesting that you cease and desist from undertaking any activities, whether or not covered by Bylaw 510, involving any sports programs at any Catholic school in the Archdiocese,” Graf stated in the letter. “This request is consistent with your statement on the ‘Fattal Factor’ September 1 podcast, that, upon request by the Archdiocese, you would stop engaging in such conduct and ‘follow all the rules.’”
Bishop Montgomery’s president’s resignation and the cease-and-desist letter come after the school forfeited the rest of the 2025-26 season for its varsity football program on Sept. 2 due to CIF violations.
The archdiocese launched an investigation after five students attempting to transfer to Bishop Montgomery were ruled ineligible by the CIF on Aug. 20 for violating a rule “providing incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete or false information” of a student’s eligibility.
As part of that investigation, the archdiocese self-reported additional violations to CIF, leading to the cancellation of the football season.
Bishop Montgomery only played one game to start the football season, a 34-27 loss in Hawaii against Saint Louis High School on Aug. 23. As the game was ending, a skirmish broke out where Bishop Montgomery players rushed the field.
That incident led to some Bishop Montgomery players getting suspended, forcing the school to forfeit its much-anticipated game with Orange County powerhouse, Mater Dei.
On Aug. 30, the school announced it had fired head football coach and co-athletic director Ed Hodgkiss after 15 years.
