Bad blood surrounds Lehi girls hoops

LEHI — Driving through Lehi toward the growing town's only high school is a serene experience. Mountains tower in the distance, and there's the lake to the south with a lot of green in between. Just enough country charm remains as new homes and new developments dot the still wide-open landscape.

This is a town in transition, a town on the verge of changes. And that high school, well, it's in the heart of the city, surrounded by both old and new, bursting at the seams as Lehi becomes home to hundreds, or thousands, of new residents each year. But that's where the serenity ends. Underneath the seemingly small-town warmth boils a controversy that has turned the high school's girls basketball program into a cauldron of increasingly bitter feelings and bad blood.

Parents at odds with a coach, even a successful coach, are nothing new to prep sports. What is unusual in this case, however, are threats of legal action on both sides and talk of defamation, abuse and mishandling of money as the situation seems to spiral out of control.

The coach at the eye of the storm said that while he once considered resigning he now feels there is more at stake than just his livelihood.

"It's turning into more than just a problem that's about me," said Mike O'Conner, the Pioneers' head coach for the past three seasons. "The things that are being said are untrue. It's about standing up for the other kids, who aren't complaining; it's about standing up for other coaches who deal with situations like this. I just can't turn my back on those other players. It's about a team."

The coach, who's earned two region titles and an overall 52-17 record, said the situation has gone from bad to worse as rumors and untruths are spread through a community he's only lived in for three years. He came to Utah from California, where he'd been a successful head coach for seven years. Lehi was supposed to be his dream job.

"Coming home, with the culture, and parental support, the work ethic, I thought things would be great here," he said. "It turned out to be worse. . . . Now there's a picture painted of me among parents, the administration, the board members . . . that I'm an abuser."

O'Connor was most recently accused in letters to the Alpine School District of verbally abusing his players, discrimination and favoritism, financial missteps, and recruiting. Dozens of parents and even a former player crowded the district's board meeting to express their frustration and growing discomfort with O'Connor.