From the Publisher: High school sports hangs in the balance

The only organization that has had a worse November than the Democratic party might be the Virginia High School League.

And if a circuit court judge’s ruling in Fairfax County is allowed to stand, it may be the end of high school sports as we know them.

For those who haven’t been following, here’s the background. After leading Freedom High School in Woodbridge to back-to-back state football championships – in dominating fashion – Darryl Overton was hired by Hayfield High School in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County to be its head football coach.

According to a VHSL report, 14 players transferred from Freedom to Hayfield in time to play football this season. Another five players transferred from private schools, and five pre-ninth grade students enrolled at Hayfield to play football there.

These transfers – added to what was already a solid program – led some parents to cry foul and complain to Fairfax County Public Schools. But in August, the school system determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and all the players were eligible.

The transfers also eviscerated the football program at Freedom, which wound up with barely enough players to field a team and reduced its season to six games, which the Eagles lost by a combined score of 357-0. Let that sink in – 357-0.

But at the end of October, the VHSL, the sanctioning body for high school sports in the state, stepped in, and at the recommendation of executive director Billy Haun, banned Hayfield from the football playoffs – not just this year but also next year.

Hayfield, predictably, appealed that decision to two separate VHSL committees, both of which rejected its appeal. And so, as late as last Thursday, it appeared the Class 6, Region C playoffs would begin without the top-seeded Hawks. But in stepped the courts, and specifically Judge Manuel A. Capsalis. On Friday, shortly before 4 p.m. – or about three hours before playoff games were to have started – he granted an injunction, allowing Hayfield into the playoffs.

Capsalis’ ruling meant that the previous eighth seed, Robinson, which had been practicing for a playoff game all week, wouldn’t get to be in the playoffs. Heartbreaking doesn’t begin to describe how those players must have felt.

His ruling also meant that teams, parents, bands, cheerleaders, officials and concessionaires already en route to games had to turn around because all of the games scheduled Friday evening were postponed until Nov. 21, and all the teams had new opponents, scrambling the entire Class 6 playoff schedule.

Several things are disturbing about all of this, not the least of which is why the VHSL waited until the last minute to act and whether the organization was fully prepared to defend its decision in court.

But what’s most disturbing is that Friday night football is a tradition that all teenagers should be able to enjoy. When your team is being destroyed week after week because its best players transferred to another school, the entire student body is being deprived of part of their high school experience.

Likewise, when a team dominates its league because it snapped up the best players from around the region like some kind of NFL free agency, the other teams not only are at a disadvantage, but they are also being exposed to serious injuries.

In Hayfield’s case, the damage has been done. By the time Judge Capsalis holds another hearing, on Dec. 4, the playoffs will be well underway. Nevertheless, one must hope the VHSL can successfully defend its decision.

We’ve already seen amateurism disappear from college sports; it would be a shame to see it disappear from high school sports as well.

Bruce Potter is the publisher of InsideNoVa. He can be reached at bpotter@insidenova.com.