OSSAA suspends enforcement of link rule, after Attorney General concerns

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Oklahoma Attorney General is taking a firm stand against the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA).

Attorney General Gentner Drummond has ordered the OSSAA to end its enforcement of a new rule that he says goes against state law and harms student-athletes.

This comes after several complaints from parents and even attorneys.

"I think that Rule 24 is an invalid and unconstitutional rule that the OSSAA has implemented," said Kaleb Hennigh, attorney at law.

According to the OSSAA, Rule 24, is intended to discourage students from changing school districts to follow a trainer and/or coach for athletic purposes.

"As the Legislature and other organizations empower students and families by loosening restrictions, the OSSAA strangely takes the opposite approach," said Drummond in a letter sent to the OSSAA.

According to the OSSAA's website, Rule 24 says a student-athlete changing from one school to another, after establishing at the ninth grade or above shall be ruled ineligible for varsity participation for one year if it is proven that:

• A coach of the receiving school coached an out-of-school team on which the athlete played prior to the transfer.
• The coach at the receiving school acted as a private athletic instructor for the athlete changing schools, regardless of whether the coach was paid for his or her service and/or expertise.
• The student participated in a sports camp or clinic run by a member school and/or its coach(es).
• The player who played for a coach at one school (member or non-member) and subsequently (within a 12-month period) followed the coach when he/she moved to a member school or changed schools within the membership.

All of these are considered violations, even in the event of a bona-fide move into a district.

"It ignores the unpredictability of life. It expresses uncompromising indifference to changes in circumstances from job changes to financial struggles to deaths in the family to divorce. All of the above happen outside the student athlete’s control," said Drummond.

Hennigh says he's taken on many of these cases and 95% of the kids have been forced to move schools.

"We sit next to parents who have broken down, who have lost jobs, who have lost a family members, and, you know, which causes them to take a child and move them, you know, during a period of time, you know, during a school session event and to have them sit there and be denied that opportunity, it's it's tough to take," said Hennigh.

Drummond says Oklahoma law allows a student to transfer from one school district to another.

"But Rule 24’s heavy-handedness dissuades student-athletes from moving or transferring, fearing that they may be declared ineligible to participate in varsity sports," said Drummond.

The OSSAA announced late this afternoon that it is working to address these concerns and will meet with the Attorney General.

For now, the OSSAA is suspending the enforcement of Rule 24.

Students who were determined to be ineligible under Rule 24 will have their eligibility reinstated and will receive notice from the OSSAA regarding the status of their eligibility.

While the OSSAA believes Rule 24 addresses important issues in high school athletics, the OSSAA wants to partner with its member schools and student athletes to be sure its rules appropriately address athletic eligibility and help ensure competitive balance in high school sports.