Maori Davenport Ruled Ineligible In H.S. Due To Mistake By USA Basketball

[DaBball]

I wish UConn took a look at her. She can play.

 

[Scrutineer]

Ah, DefenseBB, in your haste to find a target worthy of your snarkiness, you went for an apples and oranges reach, when -- in fact -- there was a ND connection to this story in the here and now.

To wit: ND recruit Anaya Peoples also played on that team and also received a check from USA Basketball . According to an ESPNw article":
"Last summer, she (Davenport) was one of three players with remaining high school eligibility selected for the USA Basketball U18 team. All three players were sent checks after the competition, USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller said.
Notre Dame recruit Anaya Peoples of Schlarman Academy (Danville, Illinois) repaid the money to USA Basketball and her eligibility was restored, Miller said."
(Dillon input: BTW, the third player was Aliyah Blackwell of Missouri, who will retain her HS eligibility if and when she returns the check/funds from the check.)

In a Washington Post article on this, Johnny Hardin, president of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board of Control also cited Ms. Peoples.

"Hardin pointed out that another high school student in Illinois, Notre Dame recruit Anaya Peoples, called her high school after receiving the money from USA Basketball and returned it without cashing or depositing the check. She remained eligible."

There are differing opinions between Miller and Hardin as to whether the expense check was cashed, but what is very apparent is that Peoples informed authorities of the check. And, perhaps most importantly, the Illinois High School Athletic Association showed some common sense in diffusing the situation.

Unless of course, you think they called the NCAA transfer review board....

Maybe he was hinting at Shepherd's transfer and approval to play without sitting out a year as most must.

 

[Husky fanatic]

I’ve yet to hear from anyone that agrees with this decision. So unjust

 

[BackBay]

it appears his reason for doing this is not to set precedent for future exceptions...but, in today's day and age of transparency, empathy, and fairness, he's losing all credibility...

 

[Plebe]

Women's Sports Foundation joins battle to reinstate Maori Davenport

 

[Sifaka]

The following is posted for context only, not to excuse the miserable "rules for the sake of rules" mentality which appears to have guided the Davenport decision.

"Mission
The Alabama High School Athletic Association, founded in 1921, is a private agency organized by its member schools to control and promote their athletic programs. The purpose of the AHSAA is to regulate, coordinate and promote the interscholastic athletic programs among its member schools, which include public, private and parochial institutions.

[...]


Function
The AHSAA, providing a vehicle which member schools may write their own rules and regulations, determines that schools are abiding by those standards in such areas as student eligibility, contests and championship programs. "
source:History


Note the total absence of any words regarding students, their well-being, etc.
What does all this mean? In short, it tells us that they are carrying out their mission, which is narrow, rigid, and indifferent to the students their rules govern.

 

[Zinethar]

The obvios result is/should be that players with international abilities have to move out of Alabama. I wish American Football was an Olympic sport just to see if the same decision would be made, I sincerely doubt it. As an over 50 year coach and official I can tell you many upper level rule makers are in it for power not for kids.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I'd like to see high school coaches for the teams her team would play say they will forfeit upcoming games against her team if she is not allowed to play, and then both teams will play an unofficial game, with Davenport, on their own time instead. If every high school team refused to abide by this decision and play games without her, the organization would lose all power overnight. I hope that's the next step, since this turd clearly will not relent on his own.

 

[Blakeon18]

BTW: Our very own Ann Strother was in a similar position during her high school years in Colorado. She played on a USABasketball team in a tourney and each member of the team received a stipend..

The Boston Globe article today says that USABasketball is supposed to check with each state's official high school organization as to whether the player can accept or not the stipend. Ann did play all her years in high school so that would suggest that Colorado either allows its high school players to receive that money...or that Ann never did accept it.

BTW: Back then and right now the money is called a 'stipend'.
Sounds very academic and Ivy-Leaguish...that is nonsense.
It is prize money plain and simple. The players who win the gold get more prize money than the second place team and they get more prize money than the third placeteam.

How is her team doing? The season is passing by....I hope she gets her eligibility restored and there are enough games left for her team to qualify for the state tourney even if a lower seed is their slot due to Maori's absence.

 

[Stinger92860]

The following is posted for context only, not to excuse the miserable "rules for the sake of rules" mentality which appears to have guided the Davenport decision.

"Mission
The Alabama High School Athletic Association, founded in 1921, is a private agency organized by its member schools to control and promote their athletic programs. The purpose of the AHSAA is to regulate, coordinate and promote the interscholastic athletic programs among its member schools, which include public, private and parochial institutions.

[...]


Function
The AHSAA, providing a vehicle which member schools may write their own rules and regulations, determines that schools are abiding by those standards in such areas as student eligibility, contests and championship programs. "
source:History


Note the total absence of any words regarding students, their well-being, etc.
What does all this mean? In short, it tells us that they are carrying out their mission, which is narrow, rigid, and indifferent to the students their rules govern.

If this was Alabama football she would be good to go with a 50K stipend.

 

[CocoHusky]

BTW: Back then and right now the money is called a 'stipend'.
Sounds very academic and Ivy-Leaguish...that is nonsense.
It is prize money plain and simple. The players who win the gold get more prize money than the second place team and they get more prize money than the third place team.

It is not prize money it is truly stipend which include a "per diem" component all administered by USA basketball and consistent with NCAA and rules. Prize money from these FIBA tournaments would make all the UCONN starters and ONO NCAA ineligible. Because the calculations are based on per day basis explains why a player on a second place team would get a bigger stipend than player on the third place team simply because the 2nd place team might be competing for more days. The same is true for a player that goes to Colorado springs and tries out for the team and does make it. They still get a stipend for the days they are at the trials.
There is also a component of the stipend that allows USA basketball to compensate for lost income opportunities for things like not being able to hold down a summer part time job while you are traveling with USA basketball.

 

[Blakeon18]

Coco: I would tend to defer to you on many basketball fronts and I am sure there are legal openings to defend the 'stipend' as opposed to 'prize money'.

Having said that:

If the silver medal and bronze medal teams play games on the same number of days, then the players on both teams would get the same amount of money? If so...that would fit your characterization. But do they get the same amount?



If the stipend 'includes' a per diem aspect, does that imply there is an additional amount based on how the team finishes...which would....imo...more than suggest 'prize money'

The fact that the NCAA views the payments as within the rules is clearly accurate...but I don't for a minute cede 100% infallibilty to that organization....except maybe in self-serving policies.

BTW: in these legal matters my go-to person is Della Street of Perry Mason fame. I will be checking with her to see if I have a 100% chance of winning this case. After all...the only person who wins more than Geno is Perry in the courtroom.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The core culprit here is the ridiculously low stipend limit Alabama has - $250.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

USA Basketball made a mistake. They became aware of the mistake, and took reasonable steps to correct it. Mr. Savarese and the Alabama High School Athletic Assoc. therefore punished the student. This was done to uphold and defend the sanctity of "The Rules". Defending The Rules is clearly the most important thing
the AHSAA can do, for the benefit of Mr. Savarese's job security, regardless of any harm to the student or to high school athletics in Alabama.

One might draw many conclusions from this pitiful chain of events, among which...

1) expletives deleted

2) The Gods were so expletives deleted at AL that they smiled upon a land grant school from SC last night.

3) Mr. Savarese and the entire "leadership" of e AHSAA are auditioning for positions in the former Soviet Union, administering a five year plan to increase the velcro crop in Murmansk.

And this entire controversy is over a tiny amount of money that was paid to help kids defray the costs of going to that tournament and losing out on the ability to make cash during that period.

It is yet another example of the cruelty of this mania with amateurship, while everyone else associated with amateur sports makes big bucks. No problem having college coaches pay big money to tournament organizers so that they can scope out the future college talent.

 

[Orangutan]

Savarese continued, and his tone became more stern. "My charge is to uphold the rules. What if I said 'no'? What if I let her play? If I make an exception to one rule, it opens up a Pandora's box on all of our rules. How could I enforce any rule? If I made an exception here, I would be arbitrary and capricious."​

 

[UConn990411]

it appears his reason for doing this is not to set precedent for future exceptions...but, in today's day and age of transparency, empathy, and fairness, he's losing all credibility...

He has one reason, and one reason only, to continue this suspension: he’s on a power trip.

Maori Davenport already paid everything back. It’s pathetic that the suspension is being upheld.

 

[IWearShoes]

She's playing tonight...

Maori Davenport set to play for Charles Henderson on Friday

 

[Plebe]

She's playing tonight...

Maori Davenport set to play for Charles Henderson on Friday

I was wondering when the courts were gonna step in (in response to a petition, of course). It's about time.

 

[wallman]

Wow, this is great news.

 

[oldude]

It’s good to know there are still people out there with character and common sense.

A little background on Sonny Reagan, the judge who ruled in Davenport’s favor. He is married and the father of four young children. Reagan, a former officer in the U.S. Army, served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom as a Chinook helicopter pilot.

 

[hugefan]

Finally, this was a terrible situation for her.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Wow, this is great news.

Hold on with the celebrating. This was a temporary restraining order, so there has to be at least an injunction hearing where there must be a showing that the player will likely prevail on the merits and she will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted. Of course, thems the rules, but whether they'll be followed....

 

[CocoHusky]

Maori dropped 25 in her return to the court tonight. Good for her.
Maori Davenport scores 25 points for Charles Henderson in triumphant return to court

 

[Bama fan]

USA Basketball made a mistake. They became aware of the mistake, and took reasonable steps to correct it. Mr. Savarese and the Alabama High School Athletic Assoc. therefore punished the student. This was done to uphold and defend the sanctity of "The Rules". Defending The Rules is clearly the most important thing
the AHSAA can do, for the benefit of Mr. Savarese's job security, regardless of any harm to the student or to high school athletics in Alabama.

One might draw many conclusions from this pitiful chain of events, among which...

1) expletives deleted

2) The Gods were so expletives deleted at AL that they smiled upon a land grant school from SC last night.

3) Mr. Savarese and the entire "leadership" of e AHSAA are auditioning for positions in the former Soviet Union, administering a five year plan to increase the velcro crop in Murmansk.

I think that there are several more prominent Americans who have already auditioned for those jobs. And to my knowledge only one of them is from Alabama. I believe that they have the jobs "locked up", so to speak. On a more serious note, this a a terrible decision by an archaic institution in the state in which I live. Women's sports are not highly regarded by the ASHAA. Many years ago, my daughter was fortunate enough to play in the AAU girls basketball national championship tournament. The coach from the eventual champion ,a team from Texas, commented upon the restrictive rules that ASHAA places upon women's sports.

 

[HuskyNan]

The Alabama legislature even urged Savarese to let Maori play.

Is there any rational person NOT rooting for this kid?

Judge Grants Motion To Allow Rutgers Women’s Basketball Commit Maori Davenport To Play Tonight