A Tennessee case to be argued today before the U.S. Supreme Court has implications in the areas of free speech, equality for female athletes and the powers of state athletic associations.
The case began in 1997 and pits Brentwood Academy, a Nashville-area high school, against the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. It began when football coach Carlton Flatt sent letters to a dozen eighth-grade boys, who had already signed up to attend Brentwood, inviting them to spring practice.
The TSSAA, which oversees 374 dues-paying public and private schools, ruled the letters and follow-up calls by Flatt violated its anti-recruiting rule and assesed a $3,000 fine. Brentwood was also banned from post-season play. Brentwood lost two appeals to the TSSAA and sued. The Supreme Court already ruled in Brentwood's favor in 2001 but is now considering an appeals court decision that said the TSSAA violated Brentwood's First Amendment rights.
The TSSAA, which has the support of the Bush Administration, will argue that Brentwood joined voluntarily and
therefore needs to follow the rules. The National School Boards Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations also are siding with the TSSAA on the grounds that the rules prevent children from being exploited and keep schools from building an unfair advantage.
The Supreme Court's first ruling essentially said that though membership was voluntary, the TSSAA was acting as a quasi-governmental entity -- making it subject to more scrutiny through the courts. Nearly two dozen women's rights groups want that interpretation upheld because they believe it creates a way for female athletes to challenge unequal treatment.
Rockville Centre resolution: Newsday reports it took the threatened resignation of three boys lacrosse coaches to get 18 remaining players to come forward and admit violations of the school drinking policy.
In all, 25 of 41 Rockville Centre South Side varsity or JV players who made the early-April trip to California will be punished, but the season will go on. Athletic director Michael Heller had threatened to nuke the season after only seven players initially admitted guilt and head coach Joe Baccarella and two assistants vowed to resign if the remaining guilty players did not come forward by Monday.
Each player was suspended from school for five days and will sit out an unspecified number of games for South Side, which reached the sectional Class B title game in 2006.
South Side returned to action Tuesday with an 11-9 win over Bellmore JFK.
Wacky weather redux: It's going to be quite awhile before many downstate schools are able to resume a normal sports schedule
