Longtime Vintage High School boys varsity basketball coach Ben Gongora is taking his firing to court, claiming the Napa Valley Unified School District unfairly ran him out of the gym and branded him with what he calls a “scarlet letter.” The 50-year-old coach, who led the Crushers for six seasons, has filed a wrongful-termination lawsuit and is fighting to clear his name and get his job back.
Gongora’s petition, filed in Napa County Superior Court on Feb. 10, names Vintage principal Jessica Hutchinson and athletic director Maika Watanabe as defendants, according to the Napa Valley Register. The suit says the district removed him from his position on March 21, 2025, and asks that any references to an assault or conviction be wiped from his personnel file. He is seeking reinstatement, back pay and other damages. A case-management hearing in Napa County Superior Court is set for July 31.
At the heart of the complaint is a disputed sideline episode during a Feb. 11, 2025, game at Sonoma Valley. School officials say the video shows Gongora repeatedly trying to talk to referees and calling out to them.
Gongora, who previously helmed the Crushers in earlier seasons, led the 2024-25 team to an 8-18 record, according to MaxPreps. He insists he never struck or hurt anyone during the February game and says court documents show he felt blindsided when district officials informed him of his removal at a Feb. 18 meeting.
What the suit asks
Beyond reinstatement and back pay, Gongora’s petition demands a formal name-clearing hearing and removal of any reference to an assault conviction from his employment record. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and urges the district to correct its records so he is no longer tagged with what he describes as a “scarlet letter.”
District response and next steps
The Napa Valley Unified School District has not publicly laid out its reasoning for firing Gongora. A district spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by the Napa Valley Register. For now, the case moves ahead through routine pretrial scheduling in Napa County Superior Court, with the July 31 hearing as the next date on the docket.
Legal context
Wrongful-termination claims against school districts often turn on whether the dismissal followed board policy, collective-bargaining procedures or statutory protections, and they typically rise or fall on documents and witness accounts. Gongora’s lawsuit zeroes in on his personnel records and the district’s description of the February incident, and the court will determine which version of events the evidence supports.
Filings in Napa County Superior Court are expected to shed more light on both sides’ arguments as the case moves forward. Gongora’s lawsuit is next scheduled for a case-management hearing on July 31.
