Setback for football parents

KATHLEEN - A big defeat took place in Polk County Circuit Court Wednesday for a high school football team once headed for the district championship.

The Kathleen Red Devils had to forfeit several wins because of an ineligible player. Parents took legal action, but it looks like a loss.

Undefeated, the team came within striking distance of the district championship, until it was discovered that a player who didn't have grades good enough to play was on the field.

The Florida High School Athletic Association took away six wins and all hopes for the team getting to the playoffs.

"We have no leeway in a situation of eligibility of this nature. The statutes are very clear, first of all, about the 2.0 GPA," said FHSAA Executive Director Dr. Roger Dearing, following the hearing.

Team parents, who are part of a group called the "The Touchdown Club," took it to court. Their attorney Joe Brown asked Judge Roger Alcott to reinstate the games. Brown argued that scholarships and college football careers are in jeopardy.

"When the playoffs start, that's when you have the opportunity for scouts to come look at the kids. We have a couple of seniors that are going to lose out on that opportunity," The Touchdown Club President Masha Paul told FOX 13.

But Judge Alcott decided the courts had no place to intervene. When making his ruling, he explained that he didn't believe so much as was stake economically. He called the FHSAA's rules and procedures fair and adequate.

Therefore, Alcott said he saw no reason to give Kathleen back its wins.

"The appeal is ... frankly, I don't see how it's going to go anyplace ... so I'm going to grant the motion to dismiss," the judge said.

Brown told Alcott he appealed the forfeitures to the FHSAA, however Dearing says there is no basis for an appeal.

Kathleen parents vow this isn't over.

"We'll look at litigation against the school district, as well as a number of other people or people involved," Paul said.

The Polk County School Board is doing an internal investigation. The parents say Bartow High School staffers inappropriately viewed the players' grades and purposely didn't report the ineligible player for two weeks, during which he continued to play.

But the FHSAA says Bartow's possible role has no bearing on its ruling.