Mary Montgomery loses appeal, playoff ban remains

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

Mary G. Montgomery had its final appeal to become playoff eligible unanimously rejected Wednesday in a special virtual hearing conducted by the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board.

In what is sure to be a controversial decision given the fact that the AHSAA overturned identical sanctions against Pell City last week, the board voted 9-0 with two abstentions to uphold a one-year restrictive probation and playoff ban AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon had dispatched in May.

At the same time, then-coach Zach Golson was suspended for a year and 20 players dating back to 2023 were declared permanently ineligible for athletics at the school, according to Golson.

As is its custom, the AHSAA offered no comment on the decision but state Sen.-elect Rusty Glover, who taught at MGM for 25 years, said he will support legislation to force the AHSAA to be more transparent.

“It’s extremely disappointing that some schools were treated one way and other schools were treated another way,” Glover said. “There has been a movement in the Legislature over the last two years to bring transparency to the high school athletic association. I cannot see myself not being on board. I think that’s what my constituents absolutely expect of me. And I will definitely be on board with looking into what kind of legislation we may can do to curb some of these inconsistencies.”

Glover said he sent an email to each Central Board member on Tuesday urging them to lift the sanctions and Blount Principal Jerome Woods responded and said he would abstain, Glover said. Alma Bryant coach Bart Sessions also abstained, as is AHSAA policy when a fellow district school is appealing.

“I asked them because it was so important to the young people,” Glover said. “They didn’t do anything wrong. I did not send that email as a senator. I sent it as a teacher and a parent of former students.”

The Legislature set a precedent to successfully exert its power against the AHSAA last September when Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter sued the association over the CHOOSE Act, which allows students to use state funds to transfer to a private school. The AHSAA said that constituted financial aid and those students would have to miss a year before becoming eligible for sports. The lawsuit contended the AHSAA was blocking school choice.

The lawsuit was officially settled in June but the issue was essentially decided in January when, in a watershed moment, the public and private schools were separated and Harmon announced the AHSAA would allow any student who used CHOOSE Act funds to play immediately at their new school if they met all other eligibility requirements.

MGM Principal David Diaz — who as late as last week said the school would not appeal and take its punishment — and Athletic Director Chip Curtis made the case that the sanctions should be overturned because the school has sufficiently addressed the issues that led to what the association ruled were recruiting violations committed by Golson, who lost his job.

“We are not asking the AHSAA to overlook our violation or to minimize our responsibility,” Diaz said in a statement on Monday. “We are respectfully asking the Central Board to consider the specific circumstances of our situation and the significant corrective measures we have implemented to ensure future compliance.”

Golson has publicly protested his treatment by the AHSAA and the Mobile County Public School System, saying he was denied due process and the punishment meted out to him and MGM was excessive. The MCPSS had him removed from his job and escorted off campus two weeks before Harmon announced the sanctions in May. In contrast, Pell City coach Jake Ganus was also suspended for a year but kept his job.

“We are disappointed for our student-athletes, who have continued to work hard, compete and represent their school throughout this process,” MCPSS Communications Director Rena Philips said in a statement to the Call News Wednesday afternoon. “We will continue to support them and encourage them to make the most of the opportunities they have this season, both on and off the field.

“We had hoped for a different outcome from the appeal — one that would have allowed our student-athletes to be eligible for the state playoffs — but we respect the Central Board’s decision,” Philips said.

Golson said in a statement approved by his AEA attorney that Baker High School turned in MGM because two Causey Middle School eight graders zoned for Baker had chosen to enroll at MGM and attended an annual freshman welcoming ceremony there. Golson said any contact with those players was unintentional and that they came to the ceremony on their own. The 20 players ruled ineligible had also attended the annual ceremony going back three years.

Diaz had said last week that MGM would not use its right to a final appeal to the Central Board after the AHSAA’s local district board upheld the school’s sanctions. However, facing community backlash, Diaz changed his mind after Pell City won its appeal to the Central Board last week.

The Central Board is composed of the following members:

• District 1: Bart Sessions (Alma Bryant) and Jerome Woods (Blount).

• District 2: Trent Trawick (Enterprise City) and Marsielena Williams (Carroll-Ozark).

• District 3: Matt Geohagan (Bibb County) and Rosalyn Narcisse-Cousar (Chilton County).

• District 4: Albert Weeden (Loachapoka).

• District 5: President Kim Kiel (Pelham) and Michael Turner (Bessemer).

• District 6: Mike Welsh (Cherokee County).

• District 7: Todd Tittle (Winston County School System) and Roderick Shepard (Florence City Schools).

• District 8: Brian Jett (Fort Payne City Schools) and Holly Sutherland (Hartselle City Schools).

 

(This story will be updated.)