OSG High: Busy Day In Alabama- Ineligibility And Lawsuits

((HT: MyFoxAL/WBRC, WVTM-TV Birmingham, WHNT-TV Huntsville))

The HQ told you last week about the case of Alabama high school Clay-Chalkville and their discussion over whether or not they're going to be in the playoffs with an ineligibility issue...

They got a court injunction that told the Alabama High School Athletic Association ((AHSAA)) to put them back in the playoffs, leaving Gadsden High School out.

But...

Gadsden got a ruling from an Etowah County judge telling the AHSAA to put them in and leave Clay-Chalkville out. As a result, the AHSAA is asking the state supreme court to step in and sort this out.

If they don't, the AHSAA 's attorney thinks the playoffs for all 6A classification teams would have to be delayed because the AHSAA can't put either team in.

Both teams are practicing as normal this week...

Also, there's another eligibility issue this week with a star player and his playoff game.

Dixie Heights ((KY)) QB, Zeke Pike, and two others have been given a one-game suspension after violating team rules. This comes just days before the first playoff game of the season against Lafayette-Lexington ((KY)).

Pike is considered the star of Auburn's 2012 recruiting class. Pike verbally committed to Auburn in April but will not be able to sign a letter of intent until February.

Zeke Pike is the son of Mark Pike, a former NFL player.

Here's the story from our friends at WBRC...


Dixie Heights High School Coach Tom Spritzky also had "no comment" on the suspension.

An email was sent to parents of Dixie Heights School football players about this incident. In this email, the principal states that using synthetic marijuana is legal, however, it has been banned in Kentucky. Here is a copy of the email:

From: Tibbs, Larry
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2011 12:21 PM
Subject: Please forward to football parents

Dear Football Parents,

There was a concern brought to my attention about an alleged incident in the locker room prior to the football game at Cooper last night.

Mr. Rick Culross, DPP was contacted for guidance on investigating the incident. Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Kim Banta was available and met me at Dixie this morning at 9am to assist. We spoke with the coaches prior to the players arriving and they separated the players in the auditorium and their cell phones were collected to keep them from communicating before they were interviewed so that Dr. Banta and I could speak with the players individually. We called them in one at a time and interviewed 22 total players. After each interview the player's cell phone was returned and the player was free to leave.

Please be aware that there is rumor that students may be using synthetic marijuana that although it is legal (18 years of age) is still very dangerous for their health. Feel free to Google it for more information on its affects.http://www.thestate.com/2011/10/25/2022014/sc-bans.html

The coaches and myself are available to talk if needed. To protect the player's confidentiality we can only discuss the process, not individual comments.

Thank you
Larry Tibbs

Larry Tibbs
Principal
Dixie Heights High School
"Together We Will Make a Difference"

So, whaddya think REALLY happened...???