investigation, Indiana High School Athletic Association commissioner Blake Ress
has ruled transfers Lamar Lee and Broderick Lewis ineligible to play basketball
at Lafayette Jefferson.
“When you weigh all
the evidence, there are just too many athletic things that are unexplainable in
any other fashion than they are athletically motivated,” Ress said by
telephone Wednesday night.
Both players are seeking
to play basketball after transferring — Lee from McCutcheon and Lewis from
Lafayette Central Catholic — to Lafayette Jeff in early August. An appeal is
likely by both families.
“I’m just very
surprised with the ruling … with the interlocal agreement and open
enrollment,” said Lewis’s father, Dwight. “It’s just mind-boggling.
With the issues we raised and our concerns … they dealt with none of
that.”
Lewis is referring to an
agreement between the Tippecanoe School Corp. and the Lafayette School Corp.
where any TSC student may attend any LSC school. TSC officials have said the
agreement applies to transfers made for academic, not athletic, reasons.
The Lewises also sent a
letter to Ress outlining several alleged racial incidents that occurred at
Central Catholic during Broderick’s sophomore year.
“We followed all the
rules,” Dwight Lewis said.
Lamar Lee’s mother,
Sherry, refused a request to be interviewed when reached by telephone Wednesday
night.
“I don’t have a
comment right now,” she said.
Ress sent his decision to
the families in a letter that was received Wednesday.
“It was a very brief
statement,” Dwight Lewis said.
The next step for the
families, if they choose, is an appeal to a review committee comprised of IHSAA
executive board members.
If the IHSAA review
committee upholds the commissioner’s decision, then the families can either
elect to have the matter heard by a committee from the Indiana Department of
Education or seek a legal ruling through the courts.
“There were some good
points by the families, but there is enough evidence … that this is a
winnable case,” Ress said. “If I didn’t think it was a winnable case,
I wouldn’t have made the decision I made.”
McCutcheon athletic
director Tim Slauter said the school agrees with the decision.
“We felt like we had
put together a pretty good case based on what we felt were the facts
surrounding the situation,” Slauter said. “Because of that, we felt
confident the IHSAA would rule that it was a transfer for athletic reasons.”
Central Catholic principal
Joe Brettnacher previously agreed to the athletic transfer for Lewis, but then
the IHSAA asked Harrison, the district where
the family resides, for its opinion. After their own investigation, Harrison principal Doug Lesley and athletic director
Jerry Galema believed Lewis selected Lafayette Jeff for athletic reasons.
Galema was unable to
comment because the school had not yet been notified of the ruling.
“We were granted a
release (from LCC), but why would we go back there? We’re sort of stuck,”
Dwight Lewis said. “It’s mind-boggling that IHSAA would make a ruling like
that. They’re giving us no option but to appeal.
“We don’t have a
school to go back to. It’s amazing to me that they would want to hurt a kid
like that. We’re talking to some lawyers.”
Lewis, a junior, is
ineligible for 365 calendar days. If he loses the appeal, he would be eligible
for varsity basketball as a senior. Lee is a senior.
Lafayette Jeff athletic
director Maurie Denney said he was told by Ress that the IHSAA found no
evidence of undue influence by anyone associated with the school.
“Both Broderick and
Lamar are outstanding young men,” Denney said. “Since their
enrollment at Jefferson
High School, we have
wanted what is best for them. That has not changed. We will support whatever
decision they and their families make as far as their future plans are
concerned.”
The next IHSAA review
committee meeting is Oct. 5, but Ress did not believe that was enough time to
get the potential appeals on the agenda.
“But I will schedule
another review meeting in October because this is a winter sports issue, and I
do not want to drag this into November,” he said.
Lee, a 6-foot guard,
played his first three seasons at McCutcheon and was named to the Journal &
Courier’s Big School All-Area First Team after averaging 15 points, 3.2
rebounds, and 3.2 assists as a junior.
The 6-foot-6 Lewis started
all 25 games for Central Catholic last season as a sophomore and averaged 10.2
points and 5.6 rebounds, earning honorable mention on the Journal &
Courier’s Small School All-Area team.
Jim D. Stafford contributed to this report.
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