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Maori Davenport, 6’4 forward senior at Alabama’s Charles Henderson High School, should be defending her school’s state championship this year, but instead she is on the sidelines due to an accounting error and many people are crying foul.
Last June, Davenport participated in the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship as part of the USA Basketball team and they took home the gold. USA Basketball sends out payments to players who compete on its behalf, according to SB Nation. Though this is not an issue as far as NCAA regulations for current college students, rules vary by state when it comes to the high school level.
USA Basketball is supposed to check with the relevant state authorities before sending out such payments in order to avoid situations like Davenport’s. However, USA Basketball failed to contact the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA)and sent the $857 payment. Davenport and her parents asked the Henderson High School basketball coach if it was okay to accept the payment and they were told it was fine to cash the check because all the players received payment.
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The AHSSA ruled that Davenport’s acceptance of the check makes her ineligible to play in her senior year because it was a violation of the amateur rule. Even though Davenport has since returned the payment in full, the AHSAA’s executive director, Steve Savarese, is standing by the the association’s ruling. Savarese reportedly has the power to overturn the decision.
In a statement released this week, AHSAA Central Board of Control President Johnny Hardin defended the ruling. “Most eligibility violations are the result of adults failing to follow the rules. Here, the student’s mother as a certified AHSAA Coach should know the rules; the School’s Principal should know the rules, the Head Basketball Coach, as not only a Coach but also as a former Central Board member, should know the rules,” wrote Hardin.
“Another point not mentioned in the public stories being circulated is that creating an exception to this Rule would have provided an avenue to exploit student-athletes by providing an opportunity for students to receive money and prizes for athletic participation and if discovered, state they didn’t know the rule, thus allowing them to return the items and retain eligibility,” he continued.
Hardin pointed out that Davenport is not the only high school student ruled ineligible to play due to USA Basketball’s oversight. Reportedly, high school students in Illinois and Missouri suffered the same fate.
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Superstar Support
Not everyone is on board with the AHSAA ruling. In fact, Davenport has some heavy-hitting support. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas has made it is personal mission to help Davenport out of what he views as an unfair situation. Once he became aware of the circumstances of Davenport’s suspension, he has regularly used his platform to advocate on her behalf.
In a passionate ESPN piece, Bilas specifically called out Savarse.
“After speaking to the AHSAA, I found Savarese’s ruling to be more than just wrong. I found it to be cruel, heartless and more about the interests of the AHSAA than the interests of a young athlete in its charge,” he wrote. ” It wasn’t about Maori Davenport. It was about Steve Savarese blindly asserting authority without regard for whom it may hurt, or the reasonable likelihood of a similar issue recurring in the future.”
Davenport also has support from superstar NBA players like Chris Paul and DeMarcus Cousins.
How is this even fair?? She shouldn’t pay for someone else’s mistake. This is CRAZY!!!! https://t.co/5xvvdi6WHE
— Chris Paul (@CP3) January 4, 2019
What the Alabama High School Athletic Association has done to Maori Davenport is wrong on so many levels that I don’t know where to start. I know what this feels like because I was treated like shit by them too. Being a kid from Alabama, I’m with Maori Davenport. Fix this now!
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) January 5, 2019
Davenport has committed to Rutgers University. The AHSAA ruling does not impact her NCAA eligibility, but does mean she will lose out on the development and accolades that come from playing organized high school basketball for her senior year.
Watch the Good Morning America segment below that features Davenport and her mother:
Growing outrage over high school basketball star’s suspension because she was mistakenly sent a check as a stipend for playing. @tjholmes has the latest. pic.twitter.com/zhoa1hDz2T
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 8, 2019
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