I hope now that her eligibility is restored the media will concentrate on the restoring the eligibility of Juston Johnson of West Seneca West who has done nothing wrong and yet adults of New York State have ruled him ineligible to play his senior year of high school basketball. Clearly, if he was not African American he would be eligible. Come on Billie Jean and Boogie, step up for justice.
1
Well shucks if an amateur summer job opportunity cost for ten weeks at 12 hours per day is only $200 then it appears slavery is alive and well in Alabama. Sounds like Bama needs to join the 21st century.
Paul Hardin former President of SMU once told me that he considered football players "employees" of the university. That was before the death penalty.
Seems plausible that such a draconian sanction for a self-reported miscue was inspired by representatives of schools weary of facing Ms. Davenport on the court. Alabama High School Athletic Association doing its best imitation of the NCAA. Ever vigilant to protect the best interests of youngsters under their authority ....
This is a prime example why young people get turned off with officialdom and government and the like. Their vision is probably " I just got screwed... what else will they do"
Pretty pathetic story with a finally good outcome.
Few things in life are more inspiring than the passion and dedication to detail with which well-paid professionals defend the concept of amateurism ... for others.
2
Kudos, NYT - this'd languished till you all splashed it out there...
You, too - Judge Reagan...
"...Character is always doing the right thing. Courage is having the character to do the right thing even when it's tough...
Your words, not mine...
I doubt this happens if Maori was 1) white, or 2) committed to playing for Alabama or Auburn instead of a Yankee school like Rutgers so far north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Depending of course on whether the folks on the Alabama High School Athletic Association are Crimson Tide graduates versus Auburn Tigers.
1
Update; the studen't parents have sued the AHSAA and a judge has cleared Maori to play pending a hearing.
2
C'mon folks. Cut to the elephant in the room.
This is ALABAMA.
This is an adverse decision against a talented black athlete by an old white guy.
To leave this out of the discussion ignores reality.
6
@ExitAisle
Sorry the claims of racism are false. She’s eligible. By the Order of the State of Alabama.
We teach students that adults know best, so they should listen, learn and abide - but then we punish students for the errors made by adults? That's a confusing, inconsistent life lesson.
It seems obvious that the Alabama administrator, Savarese, wants another school to win the state championship. investigate HIM.
3
@common sense advocate
i think that teaching young people that those who cloak themselves in a mantle of authority backed with rules are really just arbitrary and capricious humans who make decisions based on their perception of their immediate needs is the best lesson a person can learn and the earlier the better.
2
@Ian Walsh - agreed...
1
Hey! What are y'all thinking? This is a black woman, in high school, in Alabama. Don't think color is part of the problem? Convince me otherwise. The ball's in your court.
1
Alabama has a long history of using selective rigidity in enforcing the law to create outrageously unjust outcomes. I have no idea why Maori is being abused in this way, but I do wonder how much of this is that she's a black woman.
2
Based on my experience attending a high school known for football in the ‘burbs of Birmingham (think MTV’s Two A Days),if it had been a football player, it would have been swept under the rug.
But girls basketball needs to be made into an example. Only in AL.
So, the hypocrisy that has long defined the NCAA has infected high school level athletic programs. The actions of the Alabama High School Association in this case are an embarrassment to themselves, and to the state of Alabama
5
If we'd only had our big beautiful border wall already in place, she wouldn't have been able to cross over into Mexico City and get into all this trouble in the first place...
Perhaps she could put her free time to good use – join some country club down there in SweetHome and take up the sport of Presidents...
Unless there's some rule against that...
welcome in the land of the free, seriously, how can an administration so stupid ?
1
Yet another example that our byzantine approach to amateur and scholastic athletics in this country does not benefit the athletes in any way. Petty bureaucrats who, when they are not corrupt as in Youth basketball, refuse to apply common sense and hold youngsters accountable for the sins of adults who go unpunished. The university level is no better when the Urban Meyers of the world are glorified for “success” while they run organizations rife with rules violations and tolerate domestic violence by key staff members. Let’s reform the rules and until we get it right we need to hold the adults accountable and enforce the rules using sound judgment with empathy for the athletes themselves.
2
Sweet home Alabama.
This one has all the earmarks of a setup. Ms. Davenport is clearly a little too good for Alabama high school girls 5A basketball.
Ms. Davenport is doing the right thing: work on that left hand, low post moves, and the three-point shot.
Next up: NCAA women’s basketball final four (most likely with UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford), an Olympic gold medal, a WNBA career, followed by coaching and an athletic directorship.
Your best is ahead of you.
5
@Silver Surfer, per the article she has committed to Rutgers which is not exactly a women's basketball backwater.
@carol goldstein I meant that Ms. Davenport could potentially lead Rutgers to a final four that would include the three other named schools. Rutgers is not ranked in the top 25 in women's basketball, nor has the program won a national championship. Perhaps Ms. Davenport can catapult Rutgers to the next--elite--level. It goes without saying that this task will not be easy as Ms. Davenport will be competing against players who are as tall and athletically gifted as she is.
1
Let me address some of the bad counter arguments/reasonings:
"The Principal didn't go to the High School Athletic Association annual meetings": No he didn't. The have an Athletic Director who went and this rule wasn't discussed. Presumably he knew about the rule, but he didn't know about the check until USA Basketball and Maori self-reported.
"The mother is a certified coach and should have known better." : The mother is an unpaid assistant for the middle school team. So yes, you're technically right but substantially so wrong.
"Rules are rules, the AHSAA had no choice." : The AHSAA waives punishment all the time.
"This is happening because a bunch of racist white guys in Alabama." Steve Savarese is white, you don't know that he's racist. The boards that upheld the ruling have several women and minorities. The votes were unanimous against Maori.
This is yet another sad and tragic example of adults in power ignoring the best interests of young people they hold power over. Very sad that justice is so ignored in allegiance to jusidictional power and procedure without care for the humanity of our young people. Shame.
36
The pervasive triumph of faith over reason through much of the rural south in general and Alabama in particular gives us the pig-headed stubbornness that begets candidates like Roy Moore and decisions to punish innocent players of games for the mistakes of adults. Where norms are strangers, the strange is the norm. Alabama, you'd be entertaining if you weren't so noxious.
2
Once again wealthy administrators believe amateurs should not need money. If you need a summer job don't represent your country. That's the message from Alabama.
1
The Alabama State boards and Charles Henderson High School should reconsider using the prefix "lady" to differentiate their sports teams.
Keep fighting Maori Davenport.
1
@totoro
Now we have entered the Twilight Zone. And people wonder why men are starting to stay as far away as possible from women’s athletics to avoid abuse for using politically incorrect language.
Would this sports association had done the same to a white male athlete with similar talents?
3
Does anyone think her being a black woman has anything to do with this harsh punishment in Alabama?
If it were a white male player, would they have done the same? No way.
1
This is just wrong. Can the NFHS help? This young athlete is penalized for someone else's error, self-reports and then the state's rigidity penalizes her? Heartless; one would think common sense would prevail. Instead? FYI: Repaying what might have seemed a windfall check for some families [issued to college athletes as a standard practice substituting for summer work] might be adding another burden to this family. Lots of people across the state of Alabama have enjoyed her playing; hoping they step up to demand this decision is amended or changed.
15
So they made a mistake, then she voluntarily reported it and returned the money, and now she suffers the consequences?
This is outrageous beyond belief and it all stems from the Byzantine system set up to make sure that all the power and control is held by the various interest groups profiting from young athletes.
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@Pat
I agree. Considering the huge crowds that fill the gymnasiums, arenas, and track and field stadiums for women’s high school sports, can you imagine the millions and millions of profit after all expenses there must be from women’s high school athletics in the State of Alabama? I would like some reporting on the exact amounts of net profit left over after transportation expenses, coaches salaries, assistant coaches salaries, trainers, cost of facilities and equipment, heating and cooling, electricity, insurance, janitorial services, and other expenses I’m sure I’m not aware of. It must be an enormous sum of money that is pocketed by the athletic director and all of the other profiteers of women’s high school athletics. This money should go the female athletes that generate such huge sums of money.
9
Maybe her race and gender have something to do with it. Remember it's not " Sweet Home Alabama" for all.
1
would it be possible to dismiss adults that according to this research evidently have made gross mistakes? Isn’t it time that if people ask to take responsibility that if they have been found wrong to be expelled? it’s about time, isn’t it?
23
Is returning the money a satisfactory option?
@Jim S. It's already been returned. "The next day, Tara Davenport self-reported the violation to the state association and informed Charles Henderson High School officials, and on Nov. 28 she repaid U.S.A. Basketball."
1
1) The "broken time payments" are clearly compensation for playing since they are to replace compensation that supposedly would have been received by working a different job than basketball. Allowing them at all demonstrates the farce that is "amateur" sports.
2) The recipient knew that it was a money payment, the recipient accepted (check cashed) the money payment, and the recipient absolutely knew she was "amateur" status and that amateur means that she should not be paid to play basketball. Therefore, it was her responsibility to determine if the payment was somehow permitted as an exception to the well known prohibition of payments to amateurs. What if the "mistake" check had been for $500,000.00? Should the the "amateur" player be able to accept that money, too, and blame others?
1
@Errol --- your argument seems to be that it is the student who has a responsibility to know the rules inside-out, not the paid professionals who administer those rules.
The idea that an athlete should refuse to accept money because it violates the spirit of the word "amateur" is a nice thought. Perhaps they should refuse college scholarships as well, since those have a very high dollar value and clearly translate into "being paid to play," which is an egregious violation of the spirit of the word "amateur."
Apparently the idea that paid professionals should know how to do their job, and do it properly, is silly --- as is the idea that they should take any responsibility for their mistakes.
If you look at the timeline given in the article, Davenport found out the payment was illegal on Nov. 26, self-reported the error (sorry, I meant crime) on Nov. 27, and repaid the money on Nov. 28. Should such promptness be taken into account when considering whether the athlete was intentionally breaking rules?
Lastly, the $857.20 seems like a reasonable amount to go towards making up for money someone might otherwise have earned at a summer job. The 1/2 million dollars you suggest seems perhaps a little much for a high-school student to earn in one summer. Perhaps that's just my perspective, though --- I don't know what fast-food jobs pay in Alabama these days.
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@Bruce
It is not true that, as you claim, "paid professionals who administer those rules" were the ones who made the mistake. The rules violated were Alabama rules, not USA Basketball rules.
In matters much more important than in this case, we do not allow as excuse that a law violator let someone else, even a supposed expert, decide the legality of an action. Even if a lawyer or judge were to tell you that it is OK to burglarize, if you do it and are caught then their advice will not protect you from responsibility for the burglary.
I think many "amateur" sports are really professional. It is certainly true that strong argument can be made that most of the player-workers in those sports are underpaid considering the revenue they generate for their employers. But the matter of compensation sufficiency is not at issue in this case.
1
@Errol
You omitted two key facts:
First, the player’s coach told the family that the payment was acceptable.
Second, when the specific rule for the player’s state was understood the family retuned the money.
The player and her family did their due diligence and then corrected the error when it was revealed.
41
Hmmm let’s see...
Crusty old white guys displaying unyielding dominance over a young black woman, her family, and amateur sports. In the South of course.
What are the consequences for allowing a hardship or unintended violation exception? High school students run amok with $800 checks? Another state championship for a very successful and deserving black female player?
No. The consequences of a reinstatemt are a chink in white patriarchal rule and some self-effacement by men who have never known the meaning of humility or accountability.
#patriarchyinaction #cantendthisfastenough #reinstatemaori
28
@Shiloh 2012
The Alabama House Republican State Caucus is supporting her.
1
this is the most insane kafka-esque garbage i have ever heard of. this poor girl must be traumatized
7
Funny how English medieval laws prevail in the South. She needs the help of a Lord.
2
It being Alabama one must ask: Does the fact that those who’ve chosen to punish this innocent young black women are white men have anything to do with the story?
22
@Charlie B
State House Republicans in Alabama are supporting the young lady.
1
Just proves the ignorance rampant in Alabama! Davenport should move immediately to an elighted state and enroll in their school and show Alabama by winning big. Her Alabama teammates should refuse to play without her. And those who created this ridiculous mess should all be FIRED!!!
I'm waiting...
5
let me guess. rule makers/enforcers are white, athlete is not.
9
A white guy in Alabama treats a young black woman as if her future doesn't really matter ... has that happened before?
11
@A Hayes
Republican State Reprentatives in Alabama are supporting the young lady.
1
@Shamrock
Sorry. I used the term lady. That’s what I call my 17 year old granddaughter. I should have said woman.
Get rid of rules in women’s athletics. Just let them play. And while we are striving for equality and justice, let’s get rid of the apartheid of sports. Women are just as good as sports as men. Let her play on the boys team.
1
I lived in Alabama for over 25 years; now you, too, know what it's like.
6
Must be that the Alabama High School Athletic Association is using “alternative facts.”
3
Very disturbing story. Reminds of the wrestler in New Jersey that had to cut his hair to compete. The inconsistencies and adult egos are DISGUSTING!
Coach Saban you need to get involved and fix this. PLEASE! Let's not complicate this or try to add on the problems of the world. A clerical error...undo it...fix it now. This is WRONG!
Roll Tide!
4
Anyone want to bet that the handling of this would have been quite different if Ms. Davenport were a white male football player?
12
This happening in Alabama I can't help but wonder if the appeals would have been successful if Ms. Davenport was white.
4
Having dealt with the Texas UIL( It runs the public schools athletic, music, academic contests) you check and double check EVERYTHING. I know before I retired from teaching I had a process of checking everything 6 times. OCD? Yes, but I never had a situation like they have in Alabama, and I often checked 100+ kids a semester.
1
I am sympathetic to Ms. Davenport and I hope authorities will reverse their decision.
However, from the NYT's largely one-sided story it seems likely that substantial blame is due the school principal, who did not attend the state basketball association rules conference for the past 3 years (!); the school athletic director, who did not keep the principal and players and coaches informed of the applicable rule(s); Ms. Davenport's mother, who is a certified basketball coach (!); and the coach of the under-18 team.
As a minor Ms. Davenport is expected to rely on the guidance of and information provided by family members, coaches and other adults (probably even a sports lawyer or two) who are involved in her basketball endeavors, and who surely advised her throughout the extensive and intensive negotiations with competing colleges that led to her (undoubtedly free-ride) slot at Rutgers next fall. It does seem peculiar that none of these presumably savvy and experienced adults thought to check with the state athletics association to see if the payment to Ms. Davenport was allowed.
Despite the error(s) of the state athletic association, and the failures of the many adults who were and are shepherding her basketball career, surely simple justice requires that Ms. Davenport be allowed to play during the remainder of her high school career.
1
@Mon Ray You must have missed the part of the article where it was explained that her mother is a certified middle school coach, and was never required to attend meetings about what was allowed and what wasn't.
1
@DM The article says the mother is "a certified basketball coach". Also, it seems highly likely that the mother has been very closely involved with her daughter's basketball career and the negotiations with the several colleges that wanted to recruit such a talented young woman. I don't understand why the mother and all the other responsible adults involved in this debacle failed to contact the state athletic association for guidance.
1
This is Alabama, and a school sports organization penalizing a minority school athlete for something that is not her fault and has nothing to do with her superior abilities and character. Why am I not surprised?
10
This stinks. I'm sorry for Maori. On one level its one of those "It's not fair that life's not fair" moments ... they happen to most of us some time in our lives, and in Maori's case we can be pretty sure this is not going to affect her future much.
But the sheer institutional rigidity of the Alabama Athletics Assn beating up on a high school kid for a minor mistake she was baited into by mistakes on grown-up's parts? I cannot think of anything like it.
I'm parent, my kid is a few years older than Maori .. and would I punish my kid or anybody else's severely for this mistake, take away a whole season of their high school athletics? Of course not! This is just irrational cruelty.
1
Reminds me of the dreadlocks cutting incident in New Jersey - a young athlete of color does nothing wrong but has to suffer for the mistakes of adults. Adults get off with an apology. Why would not an apology suffice for the kid?
1
As a longtime resident of a western Atlanta suburb and parent of children attending a Catholic boarding school between Birmingham and Huntsville; I am not surprised by this ruling. What DOES shock is this: when is Alabama going to evolve from its ‘reconstruction’ mindset? How a state can continue to exist in such a state of ignorance is beyond comprehension.
3
To say this is outrageous is a gross understatement. Alabama High School Athletic Association needs to reinstate Maori immediately. We're going to deny this talented and hard working young woman the chance to do what she was born to do over an adult's clerical error? Come on folks, show us that you aren't the Alabama of old and do the right thing.
20
I don't know why all of these students are getting so uppity. These institutions making money on their backs are kind enough to take care of room, board, marketing, controlling what they eat and how they sleep, policing their conduct and restricting their business opportunities.
Ungrateful.
1
@sb
Exactly how much net profit do women’s high school athletics generate? I would like to see that number. Who keeps the money?
The inmates are running the asylum. There are way too many people who have lost, or never had, reasonableness and good sense.
Isn't the entire point of high-school sports to teach children and impart qualities that we all admire?
"I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills! What a sham."
Somewhere there is one or a few people who think this is just. They are wrong.
2
Weird fixation on 100% obedience to the rules. There has to be room for "judgment" and "discretion" in the organization of human affairs.
5
Clearly the authorities feel that this powerful, successful, hardworking young woman needs to be put in her place, and have found the most ridiculous excuse to do it. Call me a cynic, but this sounds all too familiar.
6
This is just an outrage. A kid should not pay for an organization's mistake. While she's young enough that the mistake won't be fatal to her, every year in an athlete's short professional life is more valuable than a year, say, for an attorney.
4
I thought how it worked was no harm no foul. If the comments by Mr. Nunes have any credence, Mr. Savarese should be dismissed.
Why is it not surprising that a State organization in Alabama is disqualifying an African-American student for the mistakes of adults. This is a 1950s decision, that needs to be challenged in a Federal court.
3
How can we help this girl? If the facts as presented are true, her whole college prospects and professional career could be altered. Come on, right this wrong!
2
It is unacceptable to expect an 18YO to understand these rules. Kids with wealthy, educated parents will be at an advantage.
Some states have a rule that excuses amateurs who accept payment for working the job of"amateur" basketball if they return the money when they are caught. Some who comment here think also think that is righteous thing to do.
If that is a fine idea, why should the benefit of such a righteous rule be enjoyed only by "amateur" sports employees like these basketball workers? Shouldn't such a return when caught privilege be enjoyed by all of us? We should excuse bank robbers, muggers, burglars, and all others who commit crimes of theft if, when caught, they simply return what they should not have taken in the first place.
@Errol
Dude, she didn't steal anything and didn't know it was wrong. It was the experts that made a mistake. She shouldnt suffer for their error.
8
I did not even have to see a picture of Ms Davenport to realize what this is really all about. It was also interesting to see all the local people, who actually know the young woman and the circumstances, are all very supportive of her. It is a disappointment that this is still going on in this day, but it IS Alabama. The AHSAA needs to get over themselves and do the right thing.
1
This is a situation that requires nothing more than an "oops."
The person making the clerical error goes "oops," money is returned, and it is forgotten.
8
Why are we reading about this now? Her appeals were exhausted in November. The season is more than a month old. They are filing a lawsuit in January? Something more is going on here. It doesn’t make sense for this story to pop up now and not earlier. I would like more reporting if the story is this important.
1
The core problem is the notion of amateur status. Why should young athletes from low income areas be required to play, free, for the entertainment of older, wealthier alums?
8
@Greg
This story is about a high school player. Not college. Where would revenue for high schoolers come from? Ticket sales? High school athletic departments are not self sufficient. You want property taxes to pay high school athletes?
3
Cynical me thinks this ineligibility will help another team, or another player stand out more. Are we sure that the adult behind this determination doesn’t have a younger relative who will be helped by this “mistake?”
32
Everyone wonders why high school athletes are making decisions based on their own priorities and themselves; this is one of the reasons. Adults have once again failed at providing the best and most appropriate environments for high school athletes to succeed in. It is clear that USA Basketball didn't do their due diligence regarding this matter. But USA Basketball has owned up to the mistake and there the ones that should be punished not the athlete.
19
What this coverage omits is that the other two state high school sports associations allowed their athletes to play once they returned the checks. Only Alabama's has chosen to punish a high school senior for the errors of adults.
121
@Not what he said The big difference is that at least one of those two other students *did not cash the check* - sensing that a mistake had been made, they called the relevant authorities, confirmed the error, and returned the check.
2
Which is why the next SCOTUS nominee is more likely to be a judge from Alabama than a judge from Massachusetts...
1
Either a prime example of self-impressed, hangers-on appointed officials who didn't do their homework
OR
someone wanting to throw a brick in the way of one of the state's finest players so that his or her own favorite high school team might have a shot at defeating one of the nation's finest Women's High School teams by disqualifying an unstoppable player who would otherwise likely run all over an official's own home favorite.
This does a disservice to both, might I add. For, a team that deserved a shot at Ms. Davenport's team now won't have a chance to pull off a stunning upset win over what could be the finest women's high school basketball team in the nation.
68