The boys' high school team was playing in a tournament sponsored by the Midwest Scholastic Lacrosse Coaches Association in Bloomfield Township, Mich. The alleged violations occurred in a hotel room after the game. An assistant coach admitted he was present.

Boys' lacrosse is considered a club sport, and won't be under the purview of the school district until next year. The discipline was meted out by the Mt. Lebanon Lacrosse Association (MLLA), the group which oversees Mt. Lebanon lacrosse players from elementary to high school.

None of the players or the assistant coach were named. It was not disclosed whether alcohol or marijuana was involved in the incident.

"This is gut-wrenching for all the families in the MLLA, but a policy is involved, certain things are prohibited. When you are dealing with young athletes, there are consequences for policy violations," Bedortha said.

Lacrosse head coach Kee Joe Song did not return a call from The Almanac May 22. Mt. Lebanon School Board in passing the budget for 2008-2009 agreed to fund boys' lacrosse as a WPIAL sport.

School Board President Mark Hart said boys' lacrosse is a community club sport this year and not a school team. "As far as I know, the school district is not providing financial support for the team," Hart said. "And the investigation is not complete. As a board member, I am concerned about our students and what they may be exposed to on trips. I am interested in the full story."

The school district released a statement which said in part: "The Mt. Lebanon Lacrosse Association (MLLA) is a community-based organization that is not under the jurisdiction of the Mt. Lebanon School District. As such, the players and coaches are held accountable to the rules and sanctions of the MLLA.

"The district fully supports the actions taken by the MLLA in their handling of this situation and is also extremely disappointed with the actions of the players and coach."

Like Hart, Bedortha said he doesn't have a full reporting of what took place. When he does, he said his first duty will be to present his findings to the coaches and parents of the MLLA.

"The head coach alerted me to this," Bedortha said. "The four boys involved to their credit admitted their involvement. The four players were immediately suspended. On May 21, the assistant coach admitted he was in the room and he was banned from the team.

"In fairness to the families in the program, I want to get the complete chronology of events and report it to them first. We don't want to get between coaches and their players," Bedortha said.