An exhibit of texts Superintendent Marian Phelps sent to a softball player (image via court documents), (right) Phelps denies retaliating against softball players who didn’t clap for her daughter at an award banquet. (CBS 8 screengrab)
A California school superintendent “independently concocted the false notion” that high school softball players perpetrated a “conspiracy to not clap” when her daughter received an MVP award at a May banquet, called up one player on the phone later that night to “interrogate her” about it, and subsequently spearheaded an unlawful retaliation campaign against a pitching rival she assumed was to blame, a lawsuit filed Monday in San Diego County court alleged.
The eye-popping lawsuit filed by Jane Doe through her father claimed that Poway Unified School District Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps, Del Norte High School, district employees and board members are the ones “acting in conspiracy, coordination, and concert with [Phelps] with respect to her relentless pursuit of Plaintiff” over “unfounded and false allegations” about softball players “othering” — as Principal Ty Eveleth allegedly put it — J.P., Phelps’ daughter.
The end-of-year award banquet in question took place on May 30. While the lawsuit described the banquet as a “terrific celebration of all the players and an opportunity for all to come together and give a final send off to the departing seniors,” that’s apparently not how Marian Phelps saw the event.
“Not that anyone was required to do so,” the lawsuit said, “there was resounding support from those in attendance who cheered and/or clapped for J.P. as she received her award. Other players received applause and cheers while they accepted other awards.”
But Phelps and J.P. were “seemingly disgruntled” that the star softball pitcher “did not receive loud enough applause compared to other players accepting awards,” the complaint said.
“[Phelps] apparently felt others were obligated to clap more enthusiastically for her daughter,” the suit continued. “J.P. issued a written statement stating the table full of senior softball players and Plaintiff ‘would cheer in a loud and overly exaggerated way for certain players and then not at all for me.’ In her statement, she accuses her teammates of feeling ‘jealousy’ and ‘hate’ towards her.”
“Instead of self-reflection as to why someone may not feel motivated to clap loud for her, she labels those people as jealous and hateful,” court documents added.
Superintendent Phelps, the lawsuit alleged, almost immediately concluded that plaintiff Jane Doe, since she was J.P.’s pitching rival, “must have orchestrated a scheme to influence some or all senior softball players to withhold applause when J.P. received her award.”
Around 11 p.m. on the night of the banquet, two hours after the event ended, Phelps is accused of texting M.A., a graduating senior softball player who was then a minor, if she could talk on the phone “for a few minutes” to ask her something.
That phone call lasted 32 minutes, the lawsuit said, including an exhibit to support the claim.
Marian Phelps lawsuit exhibits: (left) softball player M.A.’s post-phone call texts with Marian Phelps on May 30, (right) a screenshot indicating that Phelps’ post-banquet, late-night phone call with M.A. lasted 32 minutes.
The Jane Doe plaintiff alleged that Phelps proceeded to “interrogate her” varsity softball teammate M.A. during the phone call and then sent a post-call text message to M.A. where the superintendent said, in part: “But it is what it is and we will follow up on our end from an administrative standpoint.”
The lawyers on the case, of the firm Reden | Riddell, said that M.A. informed them that Phelps intimidated and disparaged M.A. on the call; threatened to use her “power” to punish plaintiff Jane Doe; admitted her daughter J.P. had previously been accused of bullying softball player G.B. and abused her authority to make sure her daughter’s name was removed from that complaint threatened to ensure then-junior Jane Doe would have “lonely year” ahead; and, finally, threatened to ensure that graduating senior softball players wouldn’t walk at graduation:
a. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS employed intimidating and manipulative strategies to extract “information” from M.A., clearly aimed to bolster her unfounded conspiracy narrative against Plaintiff.
b. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS shifted to using disparaging and derogatory language directed at Plaintiff. She expressed her belief that Plaintiff did not deserve to be defensive player of the year. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS stated she would use her ‘power’ to prevent Plaintiff from becoming co-captain of the team alongside J.P. She emphasized J.P.’s qualifications for captain and mentioned 30-40 colleges
are recruiting her, while suggesting that Plaintiff doesn’t have anyone recruiting her and if she was asked, Plaintiff could not name one school.c. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS made an admission against her own interest regarding a previous complaint against J.P. for harassing and bullying another softball player, G.B. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS told M.A. that she asserted her influence to have J.P.’s name removed from a complaint by G.B. that J.P. and another student were bullying her.
d. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS conveyed a threat to have Plaintiff transferred from DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL to another school for her senior year, and that regardless of where Plaintiff attended school for the 2023-2024 academic year, SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS would ensure that Plaintiff had a ‘lonely year.’”
e. SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS then made threats aimed at the entire senior softball group that either they admit that they orchestrated a conspiracy to not clap for J.P. at the softball banquet or that SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS would ensure that none of the senior softball players would be allowed to walk at graduation.
The day after the banquet, Phelps allegedly had a 30-minute call with Jane Doe’s mom, again about the purported conspiracy not to clap.
“Leveraging her position of influence over Plaintiff, SUPERINTENDENT MARIAN PHELPS employed more subtle strategies to extract information. She framed the conversation as a casual ‘mom to mom’ chat, insinuating that any concerns would be settled informally between the parents of Plaintiff and J.P., rather than through official PUSD channels,” the complaint said.
Instead, things only escalated from there, plaintiff Jane Doe claimed. The alleged pressure, intimidation, and retaliation campaign spawned a Del Norte High School “investigation” that led her to be “barred from all extracurricular activities for a significant portion of the 2023-2024 academic year.”
“This effectively excluded Plaintiff from the potential to participate on the DEL NORTE HIGH SCHOOL softball team during her senior year, as well as exclusion from attendance at athletic events, dances, field trips, student clubs, activities, and graduation,” the complaint said.
What’s more, plaintiff alleged, she was coerced into signing, “within 16 hours and 30 minutes,” the document “Other Means of Correction Contract” (OMCC), which “mandated signatures from both Plaintiff and her parents, requiring them to admit to and acknowledge acts she did not commit.”
As a result, the lawsuit alleged numerous causes of action, including violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, violations of the California Constitution and California Education Code, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, harassment and retaliation, and violations of school district policy.
Plaintiff sought a jury trial and, in the meantime, a “temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction, and writ of
mandate restraining and preventing” Phelps from “engaging, influencing, participating, or being involved with the Del Norte Softball program to any extent other than a parent.”
Jane Doe also wanted Phelps ordered not to contact her or her family, directly or indirectly, and to be barred from “investigating, harassing, intimidating, threatening, bullying, retaliating, threatening, or disturb[ing] the peace.”
CBS 8 reported that Phelps denied the allegations in a statement two weeks ago.
“Some of you may be aware that during public comments at last week’s Board meeting, a small group of people made allegations that I had threatened students and abused my power following a softball banquet. I was extremely saddened and shocked by the accusations,” Phelps reportedly said. “The commenters made multiple statements that were false yet damaging as they were being spread online, and I appreciate the supportive messages from many of you.”
Phelps said it was “untrue” that she ever “made threats towards any student nor tried to prevent them from graduating,” untrue that she improperly used her power to have Del Norte High School launch an investigation.
“The school conducted a thorough investigation which included interviews with multiple students and witnesses, and appropriate measures were implemented by the school,” Phelps reportedly said.
On camera, Phelps said “It had nothing to do with the clapping or whether or not anybody received claps.”
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