Judge rules against Skaneateles High football suspension will stand
Post on: 2011-11-02 By: admin
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HomeNews from The Post-StandardBreaking News
Judge rules against Skaneateles High football; suspension will stand
Published: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 11:57 AMUpdated: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 12:58 PM
View full sizeJim Commentucci / The Post-StandardSkaneateles linebacker Tyler Russell hits Utica Notre Dame quarterback Colin Pastorella in the second quarter of their Section III Class C semifinal playoff game Saturday at Chittenango.
The suspension leveled against Skaneateles High School's football team will stand and its undefeated season should end immediately, a judge ruled today.
State Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph ruled that delaying the suspension, and letting the team finish its season, would render the penalty and the school district’s admission of wrongdoing meaningless. The decision followed a hearing this morning.
John Rathbun, executive director of Section III, said he would be calling Notre Dame High School in Utica this afternoon, offering it the chance to play for the Class C sectional championship Saturday. If it declines, Herkimer will be crowned the champion, without a championship game.
Skaneateles defeated Notre Dame 46-27 and is scheduled to face Herkimer at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
Informed of the court decision by The Post-Standard, head coach Byron Abraham of Notre Dame said, "Oh my god, that means we’re going to be playing again? Oh my god. I’ve got to have practice tonight."
Head coach Tim Green was not in court, but his lawyers were there to ask the court to let him enter the arguments on the case. The judge denied that, leaving his lawyers as spectators.
Philip D'Angelo, the district superintendent, said he would poll the school board by phone today to decide whether to appeal DeJoseph's ruling to the appellate division. That court could also decide to stay the suspension.
In Tuesday's hearing, the district argued that it was entitled to an appeal of its suspension, handed down Friday by the Athletic Council of Section III, the local ruling body of high school sports.
Section III's lawyers countered that such an appeal, according to the group's rules, isn't allowed during playoffs.
Section III suspended the rest of the undefeated team’s season Friday morning for recruiting violations.
Hours later, lawyers for Green and the school district argued before DeJoseph that the suspension was unfair because Skaneateles couldn’t appeal the decision in time for the school’s playoff game the following day, Saturday.
DeJoseph granted a temporary restraining order that allowed the team to play Saturday.
In ruling against the district and for Section III, DeJoseph decided Skaneateles had little likehood of success in a full legal challenge to the suspension.The judge noted that the district's investigation cited five separate infractions.
Notre Dame athletic director Gene Leuthauser said at 12:37 p.m. today he had not heard from Rathbun and "no idea what we’re going to decide to do." He said he and Rathbun never had any type of conversation about contingency plans involving the Skaneateles case.
Related topics: Skaneateles Football, Tim Green
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November 01, 2011 at 12:28PM
So this information was available before Channel 9 went on the air for the noon news,but they kept viewers waiting until the last minute.
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November 01, 2011 at1:17PM
Please let this be the end of it.Please don't appeal this decision. It is time to move on.
I can't believe all the buzz this meaningless high school sports story generated.It's worse than the attention paid to Paris Hilton or the Kardashians.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:28PM
The saga continues....
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November 01, 2011 at1:08PM
even Battlebots had rules.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:31PM
SO UNFAIR TO THE PLAYERS OF SKANEATELES. IT WAS A WITCH HUNT FROM THE BEGINNING!!!!!!!!
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November 01, 2011 at 12:45PM
Unfair to some of the players perhaps, but these players need to learn right now that you follow the rules. I would say the punishment would be to suspend the "recruited" players and Green,and let the rest play in the championship game. Chances are good though that they would have to forfeit the games in which the "recruited" players played. You don't reward cheating.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:52PM
SO unfair to the TULLY players
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November 01, 2011 at1:00PM
I'm thinking ummm, no.Tully would've lost either way.Tully's got it's own problems to worry about anyhow.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:59PM
yeah but fair to the teams that didn't cheat.kids have to learn a lesson, most of these kids were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, they need to understand that your actions have ramifications regardless of who your daddy is.
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November 01, 2011 at1:22PM
There others (teams)that were not involved that it was unfair to. Yes ,it was also unfair to the Skinny players that maybe didn't play. They could very well have been at the Dome without the nonsense. They have an excellent staff with11 assistants that would have generated effecient team. They could compete at B; moving down to C would have made them very competetive anyway. Try thinking. You can bet Green would be under increased scrutiney just because he is Green. All the more reason to not be so arrogant. This is sad for those involved and not invovled(opponents). However, I do not see any real reason for punishing next years team other than maybe playing back at B if there will be additional (outside) players. Don't tell me its going to another court?
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November 01, 2011 at 12:33PM
Wonder why Coach Green wasn't in court???
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November 01, 2011 at1:10PM
He was helping a crippled girl get her cat out of a tree.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:37PM
Green is a motivational speaker in high schools who travels around making money to speak in front of kids. I dont want him back in my school.Now all they need to do is put CBA, IHC, SkAN and every other recruiting school into thier own league. New York State PUBLIC high school championships not PRIVATE.
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November 01, 2011 at 12:37PM
Because he was home CRYING !!!!
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November 01, 2011 at 12:38PM
Well, Mr. Green, I don't claim to know any of the in's and out's of high school coaching, the rules, regulation's, and what goes on behind the scenes. But one thing is clear, the powers that be sure didn't like something involving your football program. It's time for a talk with your coaching staff. Live and learn as they say.
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