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Judge rejects complaint to reinstate Kathleen High football forfeits

Staff file photo by PETER MASA

Joseph Brown, the attorney for a group of parents of Kathleen High School football players called the Touchdown Club, tells the media about a request they filed for an emergency injunction asking to set aside a decision that forces Kathleen High to forfeit 6 football games.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2009

Updated: 11/04/2009 03:34 pm

BARTOW - A circuit judge this afternoon threw out a complaint seeking to reinstate forfeited football games at Kathleen High School, saying he didn't believe the state acted improperly or that the losing season will economically impact the team's players.

Judge Roger Alcott listened to arguments from Lakeland attorney Joseph Brown, who represents the Kathleen Touchdown Club, parents of some of the football players and to Leonard Ireland, who represents the Florida High School Athletic Association.

Alcott granted Ireland's motion to dismiss the complaint that would have overturned the state's forfeiture ruling.

Brown wanted a ruling this week because Kathleen plays Lake Gibson Friday night for what would have been the district championship.

The game will go on, but the stakes have changed.

The court action stemmed from a single player — not even a starter on the Kathleen squad — who was academically ineligible to play.

The state ordered Kathleen to forfeit six of its games this season.

The controversy came to light when coaches and administrators from a rival school inappropriately viewed the grades of a Kathleen senior player's grades and then told the Polk County school district, the complaint said.

But the rival school, identified as Bartow High in the complaint, waited two weeks before reporting it, which resulted in Kathleen having to forfeit two more games, knocking the school out of playoff contention.

Masha Paul, president of the Touchdown Club said after the hearing that he was disappointed, but that "the fight will go on."

"We are going to fight the fight," he said. "We are going to go all the way with this." He didn't say specifically what the next step would be.

Kathleen, which was 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Class 4A-District 8, was ordered last week by the FHSAA to forfeit its wins after the school self-reported the grading problem after being notified by the district.

Kathleen High Principal Cecil McClellan sent a letter of appeal to the FHSAA, but Ireland told the court that there is no basis for appeal.

McClellan said he promised parents and students that he would appeal.

"The door of success is open the widest on the hinges of hope and encouragement," he said. "We have some hope. I see courage every time I see students on our campus."

The player in question had failed an algebra class, but under a Polk County policy, he was eligible to retake the class, which the student did, and got a D. That was sufficient to graduate, but insufficient to allow him to participate in athletics, officials said.

McClellan said the guidance staff misinterpreted the district's forgiveness policy, and it appeared to school administrators and coaches that the student was eligible to play.

Guidance counselors across Polk County have access to grades of all students, and the nine-page complaint filed Tuesday said administrators and guidance counselors at Bartow High accessed grades of all the Kathleen football players to see whether any were ineligible. Accessing student records to look for ineligible players on athletic teams is improper, the complaint said.

Kathleen defeated Bartow 21-0 on Sept. 25. The complaint said that two days later a Bartow High football coach, an administrator and a guidance counselor improperly searched through Kathleen players' grades.

School district officials this week said that an internal investigation is under way into the allegation of improper accessing of grades. Officials would not discuss the matter.

Bartow High Principal Ron Pritchard this week declined to comment until after that probe is completed.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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