Brett Steigh, the money man whose contributions helped the demise of high school football programs at Narbonne, St. Bernard and Bishop Montgomery, is now paying to sponsor a nine-game television schedule by LA36 despite disapproval from City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos.

Lagos said she has no control over LA36, which is an independent organization, She said she appreciates the exposure given to City Section athletes but doesn’t approve of Steigh’s “past experiences with our high schools.”

During a podcast in August, Steigh insisted he was done with high school sports after Bishop Montgomery was found to have numerous ineligible football players and canceled its varsity season. He admitted paying parents to move their sons to play for Narbonne in 2024, which is on a three-year City Section probation and ineligible for the playoffs. He also said he paid for tuition of students at St. Bernard, which dropped its program for three years. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has told him in a letter from its legal counsel not to have anything to do with archdiocese schools.

The first game LA36 televised was Narbonne vs. Santa Paula at the request of Steigh. Last week, the game was Crenshaw vs. Cleveland. Schools in the City Section control their broadcast rights during the regular season.

Randy Rosenbloom, who is the main broadcaster of the LA36 games, said of Steigh, “He wanted to do something for the kids.”