IHSA Rules Players Inelgible

[RedSeaElite1]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...eam&id=8907336

This is happening literally in my own backyard. I grew up about 50 yards from mooseheart property and remember playing them in baseball as a kid. Sounds like there may have been some fishy stuff going on with both sides of this

[Da Coach]

The WLS-TV article doesn't really give many details of what Mooseheart officials allege is "a secret investigation by the IHSA", and "collusion and fraud" that involves the IHSA and Mooseheart's "archrival" Hinckley-Big Rock High School. But the downloadable file of the actual legal filing states that the IHSA declared back in May, 2011 that the African boys would be eligible to participate in interscholastic sports after sitting out 1 academic year. One of them actually did compete in the fall cross country season with no issues.
But then several games into the basketball season, and just before their big game with their rivals from Hinckley-Big Rock, the IHSA announced the African boys were ineligible after a many month "investigation" done under false pretenses.

The downloadable file of the actual court filing states-
As the time the African students would become eligible got closer. In secret, Mooseheart’s archrival Hinckley-Big Rock approached the IHSA essentially requesting that it find a way to prevent the three Africans students who warned to play basketball from competing. Sometime in 2011 or 2012. the IHSA commenced a secret investigation of Mooseheart. Under the guise of gathering information for a nationwide study "of students attending high schools across the country with F-1 Visas.” the IHSA sought information from Mooseheart for use against Mooseheart and the three African students. The IHSA demanded more and more information about Mooseheart and its minor, foreign students over the summer of 2012, falsely representing three times there was no investigation by the IHSA of Mooseheart...

It is interesting to read. Here is the official complaint against the IHSA-

http://dig.abclocal.go.com/wls/documents/VerifiedComplaint12-3-12.pdf

[tornado]

well - I am going to believe a little different version than some of the facts presented..

-first this is NOT about race nor Africa nor any other issue other than whether the school, Mooseheart, follows the rules that THEY agreed to follow when they became members of IHSA..
it's really kinda shameful that their defense is to allege racism rather than stand up for what hey have done and be honest.


-Mooseheart also drags up irrelevant arguments about a cross country student, about the timing of the claims, and arguments about how the information on their students was obtained.
They seem to NEVER ONCE deny that the info IS TRUE and that they specifically used athletic abilities to determine which African kids to "recruit" and bring to the school.

They claim the info was obtained under false pretenses...
but the only false pretenses here are coming from Mooseheart - who never reveal the facts willingly - and now they are mad that someone found out the facts by tricking them into thinking they were giving the facts for a survey.


-since when is Hinckley Mooseheart's "archrival" and why does Mooseheart make that claim as if it thus nullifies Hinckley's desire to see fairness and expect Mooseheart use LEGAL and qualified student-athletes.
the schools are 20 miles apart - about as far apart as Notre Dame & Lowpoint-Washburn, and they only compete in a few sports ......


-so what if Hinckley was partly involved in requesting that IHSA check into the recruited athletes...after all IHSA has NEVER instituted such an investigation on their own and they AL:WAYS enlist the action of member schools to help identify this kind of abuse of the rules.
Virtually every investigation IHSA ever pursues to check on use of ineligible kids is at the request of another school - generally some other competing school.


-and why shouldn't IHSA use evidence such as quotes and facts THAT APPEAR IN NEWSPAPERS? Isn't that how they found out that the head coach of Hales had been illegally recruiting kids from other schools - because he actually said so in an interview?


-is it not quite interesting that the very person cited and quoted as funnelling those kids to Mooseheart and arranging for their tuition to be paid - is also the exact same person that a totally separate athletic organization, NCAA, also found had illegally paid money in behalf of, covered expenses, then funneled top prospects to University of Indiana, Mark Adams?
I am sure Mooseheart WOULD HAVE NEVER USED Mark Adams as a reference and character witness except that this document was from March of 2012 - before the NCAA caught Adams acting illegally as an agent to funnel talent to IU.


-lastly - whether the story about bringing Sudanese kids to America tugs at your heartstrings or now - you have to seriously wonder why every Sudanese kid they seem to bring here JUST HAPPENS to be 6-7 or even 7-feet and play basketball!
If they were just randomly bringing over Sudanese kids unrelated to their athletic ability then using Mark Adams or the fact that all the kids are enormously tall make a mockery out of that claim.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/batavia/ct-met-mooseheart-red-ramblers--1204-20121204,0,5091694.story

Independent of all the tear-jerking stories here - the IHSA found strong evidence to prove that Mooseheart...
"acted "for athletic purposes" and "was seeking out athletes, and basketball players in particular"

[Da Coach]

A judge has upheld Mooseheart's injunction request, and the Sudanese players will be allowed to continue playing until their the formal hearing they asked for can happen.

And if the IHSA thinks Mooseheart was "recruiting" these kids, why not follow the same guidelines they follow in other such cases. They require the students establish residency, and wait 1 year before they can become eligible. And they did that, and the kids sat out 1 year and have establish full residency and followed all the IHSA rules. But for some reason, now that is not enough for the IHSA, and they don't want to allow them any eligibility, ever. That is way farther than they have ever gone with any case involving any tranfers or alleged "recruiting".

[tornado]

Da Coach - that residency rule applies to any transfer student but this is a different issue --
that rule has NOTHING to do with any kid who is specifically targeted as a recruit - and brought to the school for athletic purposes.
Any kid under those circumstances CAN NOT PLAY under IHSA rules no matter how long they sit out - which is why schools like Brehm, Boys to Men, DCS, etc.. had to play outside of IHSA.
Mooseheart can do this if they want but then they can not play within IHSA and IHSA rules - they can take their pick -

-recruit kids and play outside of IHSA .. or
-follow the rules, recruited kids are ineligible, and then OK to stay in IHSA

[RedSeaElite1]

I'm not supporting mooseheart here, but many of the private schools in Chicagoland recruit for sports. I had a cousin attend Montini in Lombard where they have won multiple state championships in football and wrestling and it is pretty obvious that they recruit and give scholarships to athletes yet the IHSA does nothing to combat it. I think this is almost like the NCAA picking on the little guys and letting the big schools get away with things.

[tornado]

the IHSA has instituted many rules that favor public schools/give them advantages, and which are burdens to private schools in order to "level the playing field"...
namely the multipler, the ban on private co-ops, and all transfers to private schools must sit out one full year...none of these rules apply to public schools - giving them advantages..

but if a school IS breaking recruiting rules, then the IHSA can and does catch them - note my prior reference to Hales Franciscan and how the got caught and lost their state championships out of suspicion that the recruited -even tho IHSA never was able to prove it...

As I said elsewhere, though, most every case that does get proven & penalized by IHSA for illegal recruiting - is a PUBLIC SCHOOL - not a private school - and we all know the Chicago schools (Simeon, Whitney Young, Marshall, etc..) have long been know to recruit kids off other schools' rosters..
It's even happened here in Peoria between Richwoods, Central, Manual, Limestone, etc...
Oddly - finding an example of a private school being proven to recruit is really quite rare..the Hales & the Mooseheart examples are about all there is...

[tornado]

well - the game was played last night at Hinckley, with the school gymnasium packed with 1500 people who turned out to watch the controversy unfold...

and despite the 7-footer kid from Mooseheart rolling up 25 points and 19 rebounds - Hinckley prevailed 58-51.

In one interview the Superintendant of Hinckley cleared up the false reports that they had been the ones who initiated the complaints...
He said instead - that his school never filed any complaint but instead simply referred other people who had called with complaints - to the IHSA
"Hinckley-Big Rock superintendent Pete Pasteris said his school never filed a complaint.
They merely relayed a question about the issue to the IHSA last winter."

The Hinckley-Big Rock basketball coach expanded on this and said...
"...head coach and athletic director Bill Sambrookes after the game Wednesday....
“There was so much garbage being said ..so much garbage in the media,” Sambrookes said,
“Not all the facts were true. They were taking things that were said by one side and sensationalizing things on TV.
that’s the only thing people were hearing. They were hearing only one side of the story.”

“I don’t have an issue with the kids,” Sambrookes said. “I don’t have an issue with anything going on with them.
The question I had for the IHSA was that we’re Hinckley and Big Rock. We get our kids from these communities.
We lose a certain percentage to private schools in Aurora. They’re drawing kids from a foreign country.
Explain to me, IHSA, how that’s a level playing field. That’s the only thing I was looking for.
And I never got that answer. I still haven’t gotten that answer. I never had any intent on having anybody ineligible or disqualified.”
“It was nice to win with all of the stuff going on,” Sambrookes said. “I know Mooseheart would have liked to have said the same thing.
I think both teams were in a nerve-wracking situation. I thought all the players on the court, all the players on the bench,
the coaches were all sportsmanship all the way. That’s the way it should have been.”



Here are several stories on the game and issue.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121205/sports/712059595/

http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2012/12/06/jacobson-controversy-draws-sellout-crowd-to-h-br/ak9nxzw/

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8910357

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121205/sports/712059606/photos/

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/sports/16840616-419/h-br-coach-sambrookes-clarifies-role-in-investigation.html

Mooseheart plays Jonathon Wilkins and La Lumiere on Saturday - in La Lumiere's last game against Gary Roosevelt Wilkins had 2 pts.

Mooseheart - which makes no effort to even deny that they recruit and bring in their players from 10,000 miles away just to play basketball - should be expelled from IHSA because
recruiting kids for sports is clearly a violation of the rules.

La Lumiere - another school that hand selects their players and recruits them to play there - should likey hammer Mooseheart but since La Lumiere DOES also recruit their players,
they play as an independent prep school and are NOT members of their stats athletic association (IHSAA), and do not play in their state series in any sport.



In a remotely related article - this USAToday writer says the future stars in basketball will be AFRICANS!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/opinion/masai-ujiri-africa-basketball/index.html

[Da Coach]

Mooseheart's appeal has resulted in a reversal of the ISHA ruling. Their African players will be allowed to play. More evidence the IHSA overreached with their initial ruling.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/12/10/breaking-sudanese-athletes-can-play-at-mooseheart-ihsa-rules/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Da Coach]

Mooseheart's appeal has resulted in a reversal of the IHSA ruling. Their African players will be allowed to play.
Evidence that the IHSA overreached with their initial ruling, or they realize their initial ruling brought them a lot of embarrassment, and they are backtracking to save face.

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/12/10/breaking-sudanese-athletes-can-play-at-mooseheart-ihsa-rules/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[tornado]

... More evidence the IHSA overreached with their initial ruling...

if they "overreached" then why did they put Mooseheart on probation for recruiting all the way 'til the end of the school year, placing even further demands upon them to complete compliance reviews that could keep them from playing next spring in the state tourney, then ...they said any other school that does this same thing will be severely penalized....
"The board warned other schools not to take referrals from A Hope – the
foundation that brought the Sudanese teens here – saying it would make them
ineligible."

clearly the IHSA is saying what Mooseheart did was illegal under IHSA rules, that recruiting did occur and was the general policy of Mooseheart but they will make this a one-time exception and allow the kids to be eligible because they are the innocent victims in all of this.

"..the IHSA also sanctioned the school... placing it on probation and barring it from participating in the 2013 state basketball tournament
until school officials institute training and compliance measures to ensure that the program does not run afoul of recruiting rules in the future,
and severs contact with a placement organization at the center of the controversy, African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education, or AHOPE.

Board President Dan Klett was blunt about the IHSA's view of AHOPE.

When asked what he would say to any other school who might use AHOPE to find basketball players, Klett said, "Don't. We don't believe they are a quality organization."

Klett said AHOPE used the students as pawns, and said Mooseheart didn't do enough to make sure they were complying with IHSA rules.

Mooseheart engaged in recruiting the three basketball players and a fourth Sudanese teen who is a talented cross-country runner for athletic purposes, Hickman had said.
IHSA bylaws prohibit athletic recruitment.

But IHSA attorney David J. Bressler noted that the placement organization specifies that it works with athletes exclusively
and that Mooseheart basketball coach Ron Ahrens deliberately called the organization, African Hoop Opportunities Providing an Education, seeking basketball players."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/batavia/chi-mooseheart-basketball-ihsa-20121210,0,5724452.story

[Da Coach]

From that same article-
After nearly four hours of deliberation, the IHSA board voted unanimously to declare the students eligible.

It is clear that they were totally reversing the earlier IHSA ruling, and removed all restrictions on the players.

If they are so serious about stopping "recruiting", why is so little ever done about it? There is recruiting of athletes at most private schools in Illinois, including some right here in Peoria, and everyone knows it. There is even recruiting at many public schools, including many of the top schools in Chicago. We see it every year with kids jumping schools to play on the better teams. It is exceedingly rare for the IHSA to ever act on these cases of recruiting. But they sure did teach a lesson, and show how powerful they are with tiny little Mooseheart, who isn't a threat to anyone.

[tornado]

IHSA has pretty much agreed completely with all the charges that the kids were recruited for athletic purposes but they don't want the kids penalized because they were taken advantage of...
"The students were taken advantage of by A-Hope Foundation and people related to that organization."

Furthermore - they clearly want this type of activity and recruiting to STOP and have taken bold new steps to prevent it in the future...

Specifically - All A-HOPE students are forever BANNED at all IHSA high schools in the State of Illinois

"The Board has further determined that henceforth any school accepting
referrals of students from A-Hope Foundation or any other organization
having as its purpose the placement of student-athletes in educational
settings, shall be presumptively ineligible."

http://ihsa.org/NewsMedia/Announcements/tabid/93/ID/196/IHSA-Board-Ruling-on-Mooseheart-Appeal.aspx

Plus a new proposal has been made to change the bylaws of IHSA - so this kind of thing never happens again.
We already have rules prohibiting transfer in for athletic purposes as these kids did, but now ALL foreign students & transfers MUST be through LEGITIMATE and "approved" "foreign exchange programs".

"Proposal 7: Limits eligibility of international students to those students in
foreign exchange programs approved by the IHSA and the Council on
Standards for International Education Travel (CSIET), for a maximum of one
school term."