Two breakout athletes who transferred high schools due to their parents’ divorce are no longer allowed to compete due to a ruling by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.
April McGuinn moved her four children to Covenant Christian Academy in March after her divorce. She said it was for her convenience, education and cost. But the move also meant that her two high school sons’ uncle and coach, Jesse Turner, also withdrew from Ellender Memorial High School, leaving Turner for Covenant Christian in February and Jaden Carter and Jahari in March. -This coincided with my transfer to Carter School. With this move, the LHSAA ruled for undue influence and banned the teenager from competing in high school sports for one calendar year.
McGinn said she has hired a lawyer.
“I felt like no one was considering divorce,” she said. “Jesse was their uncle, so they just voiced what they thought.”
Throughout the football season, and even now, the Carters are able to practice with the team, but cannot compete with other schools on the field. The same will be true as basketball season approaches. Both said the experience was discouraging.
“We practice and support our team, but it’s tough not being able to actually get on the field and compete with them,” Jahari Carter said. “We just want to play.”
McGinn said her sons are progressing in their sports careers and coaches at both schools confirmed the teens are being scouted. Because of this decision, both will miss this football season and will likely miss basketball season as well, she said.
She said her children were moved to a new school to get all the children in the same location. She has 4 in total. Before admitting them all to Covenant’s Christian Academy, they were spread out among her three schools: St. Gregory, Grand Caille Middle, and Ellender.
“As a single mom with limited support, I needed all my supporters in one place,” McGinn said. When she asked why she chose Covenant over other schools, she replied: “Honestly, I chose Covenant because it was the cheapest option and I know a private school setting is best for my children.”
Jaden and Jahari attended private school until seventh grade, but wanted to try public school, their mother said. McGinn said the two did well in middle school, but their grades began to decline at Ellender. This further strengthened her decision to send her children back to private school. McGinn said she had intended to move in December, but she didn’t want to rush her children, so she waited until next school year.
If a student transfers, the LHSAA will send a 13-question letter to the school from which the student left. This includes basic information and the final question asks if the principal believes the student is eligible to compete. Marquita E. Grant, principal of Ellender Memorial High School, said the Carters were not eligible, according to documents obtained by the Houma Courier/Thibodaux Daily Comet.
Professor Grant cited LHSAA Rule 2.1.5.3, which states, “A student who transfers from one member school to another may be disqualified for one calendar year from the date of enrollment for ‘undue influence’ if: “If a student transfers to a new school.” Within one calendar year after the coach, including non-teachers, transfers to the school. ”
In explaining why he thought this rule applied, Mr. Grant wrote:
On August 14, 2023, she wrote, “Head football coach Jesse Turner and assistant football coach Jamal Nixon both resigned as coaches at Ellender on February 6 and February 13, 2023. ” he wrote. Jaden has accepted her job at the Covenant Christian Academy and this article was published on February 7, 2023. Jayden left Ellender on March 6, 2023 and enrolled in CCA. ”
The LHSAA is not bound by the principal’s opinion. Associations can conduct their own investigations and draw their own conclusions. He chose to side with Grant. It later reaffirmed that ruling during the appeal process in September.
The Homa Courier has contacted the LHSAA three times, and during a phone conversation with Grant, she said the association said it was preparing a statement for the paper, revealing the reporter’s name. As of this writing, no response has been received.
During the appeals process, Covenant Christian Vice Principal Troy Jackson argued that the cited decision should not apply to the children, citing the unique facts surrounding the children’s living situations. Her parents were getting divorced, and Carter’s father was working offshore hitchwork at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. As a result, the children were sent to live with their mother in her home in the Covenant Christian School District.
“As Ms. McGinn’s new home is on the other side of town, the cost of transporting her children across town would be an impossible burden for what is essentially a single mother,” he said. In his appeal, he argued as follows: “It is well documented that children who are forced into divorce proceedings suffer emotionally, and the fact that these parents choose to place their children in an environment with additional family members Because of their decision to end their marriage, which was based on a plan set before them. ”
The zone determines which areas fall into the school, and Covenant Christian shares its school zone with HL Bourgeois.
Jackson acknowledged in her appeal that the coach is her uncle and is employed by the school, but said that had nothing to do with her mother’s decision to transfer the Carters. She also cited another child in a similar situation as an example, arguing that these rules were not being applied equally.
As evidence, Jackson points to another teenager Grant deemed eligible. The child enrolled at Covenant Christian Academy on August 8th. According to documents obtained by the Houma Courier/Thibodaux Daily Comet and dated Aug. 23, Grant did not address any regulatory issues affecting his eligibility.
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When asked about this difference of opinion, she said their situations were “not the same” and initially thought the third teen was ineligible; He said he decided to transfer because he started the school year in the Covenant Christian Academy zone. Elender, and back again, the rules didn’t apply to him.
Because of a custody ruling by Judge Homa, he was forced to move.
In Grant’s questionnaire about the Carters, she mentioned that they moved between two addresses, but unlike the third teen, she did not mention a specific address. . In response to her question whether any of Carter’s residential addresses were within Covenant Christian Academy’s boundaries, she said she did not know.
In his appeal, Mr. Jackson argued that there was a provision titled “Custody when Parents Are Separated,” which meant that the Carters were subject to a different set of rules because the previous rules did not address custody issues. He continued to argue that it should be done.
“As it stands, we believe the LHSAA has two rules that are in direct contradiction to each other,” he said. “The rules are written with the assumption that they are absolute, but the current issues have not been taken into account when it comes to applying them to student athletes.”