Kentucky High School Athletic Ass'n v. Hopkins County Bd. of Ed.

• Decision Date: 03 June 1977
• Citation: 552 S.W.2d 685
• Parties: KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. HOPKINS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and its Individual Board Members, namely, Walter Prowse, Elbert Rhodes, Richard Harris, Bill Brown, Brandon Nuttall, Robert Edmiston, Oda Inglis, and Patrick L. McNeil, Superintendent, Hopkins County Schools, Floyd Brown, Jr., Principal, Madisonville-North Hopkins High School, and James G. Meyer, Head Football Coach, Madisonville-North Hopkins High School, Lige Erwin Shadowen and Todd Lige Shadowen, Appellees.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

Page 685

552 S.W.2d 685

KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. HOPKINS COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION and its Individual Board Members, namely, Walter Prowse, Elbert Rhodes, Richard Harris, Bill Brown, Brandon Nuttall, Robert Edmiston, Oda Inglis, and Patrick L. McNeil, Superintendent, Hopkins County Schools, Floyd Brown, Jr., Principal Madisonville-North Hopkins High School, and James G. Meyer Head Football Coach, Madisonville-North Hopkins High School Lige Erwin Shadowen and Todd Lige Shadowen, Appellees.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

June 3, 1977.

Phillip D. Scott, Lexington, for appellant.

Jerry P. Rhoads, William R. Thomas, Madisonville, for appellees.

Before MARTIN, C. J., and PARK and VANCE, JJ.

PARK, Judge.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (the Association) appeals from a final judgment of the Hopkins Circuit Court which granted a permanent injunction. This case arose out of a dispute over the eligibility of the appellee, Todd Lige Shadowen, to participate in interscholastic athletic events during the 1976-77 school year as a student at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School (the School). The Association was permanently enjoined from declaring Shadowen ineligible and from imposing any sanctions against the School based upon Shadowen's participation in any interscholastic athletic events at the School. This appeal raises serious questions of substantive and procedural law.

The Association is a voluntary unincorporated association composed of accredited secondary schools in the state of Kentucky. The Association has approximately 350 public, parochial, and private school members, including Madisonville-North Hopkins High School. By its membership in the Association, the School has voluntarily agreed to the constitution, bylaws and rules of the Association. Among the rules adopted by the Association are rules respecting the eligibility of students to compete in interscholastic events. The rule in question in this case, By-law 6, Transfer, provides:

"SEC. 1. TRANSFER OF FIRST TEAM COMPETITOR.

Any student who has represented a secondary school in a first team game in any sport and who changes schools with or without a corresponding change in the residence of his parents shall be ineligible for thirty-six school weeks. If there is a corresponding change in the residence of the parents, the commissioner may waive the penalty in any case where there is evident injustice."

It is the position of the Association that Shadowen is ineligible under this rule.

Shadowen's parents were divorced by a judgment of the Lyon Circuit Court in September 1973. Under the terms of the divorce judgment, legal custody of Todd Lige Shadowen was granted to his mother. Sometime after the divorce, Shadowen accompanied his mother to a new residence in Sturgis, Union County, Kentucky. Shadowen was enrolled in the Union County School System during the 1974-75 and 1975-76 school years. During the 1975-76 school year, Shadowen was a first team performer in sports at the Union County High School.

On or about May 28, 1976, with the agreement of his mother, Shadowen took up residence with his father and step-mother in Hopkins County. By an order of the Lyon Circuit Court entered September 1, 1976, nunc pro tunc as of June 8, 1976, custody of Shadowen was transferred from his mother to his father, and the father became obligated to make monthly support payments directly to young Shadowen. On June 9, 1976, Shadowen enrolled at the School and has sought to compete in interscholastic sports at the School since that date.

On June 23, 1976, the Association's Commissioner informed the principal of the Madisonville-North Hopkins High School by letter that Shadowen was eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics. On August 16, 1976, the Association's Commissioner wrote the school principal a second letter which stated:

"The Commissioner may waive By-Law 6 only in cases where there is a corresponding change of address on the part of the parent. I am now informed that Todd was living with his mother in Sturgis while attending Union County High School and she did not move to Madisonville.

Since there was no change of residence on the part of the mother, I have no authority to declare Todd eligible. Therefore, I must rescind my decision of June 23, 1976, and state that Todd is ineligible to represent Madisonville-North Hopkins High School in athletics until he has been enrolled there for a period of thirty-six weeks."

Following the institution of this action, Shadowen at the trial court's direction petitioned the Association for a rehearing on the question of his eligibility. By a letter dated September 22, 1976, Shadowen was informed that the appeals committee of the board of control had again held Shadowen to be ineligible to compete in athletic events during the current school year.

Shadowen moved his residence from Union County with his mother to Hopkins County with his father for personal reasons unrelated to his participation in interscholastic sports events. Shadowen's transfer was free from any motive related to his athletic ability. Shadowen was not recruited by the School or anyone on its behalf. The record indicates that he wished to move to Hopkins County to live with his father so that he could marry. His mother was opposed to the marriage. Shadowen did marry Nina Simpson on June 12, 1976, but they lived together for only a few weeks in Hopkins County. Since their separation, Shadowen has lived with his father in Hopkins County.

As a general rule, courts will not interfere with the internal affairs of voluntary associations. In the absence of mistake, fraud, collusion or arbitrariness, the decisions of the governing body of an association will be accepted by the courts as conclusive. 6 Am.Jur.2d Associations and Clubs § 27. Voluntary associations may adopt reasonable bylaws and rules which will be deemed valid and binding upon the members of the association unless the bylaw or rule violates some law or public policy. Louisville Board of Fire Underwriters v. Johnson, 133 Ky. 797, 119 S.W. 153 (1909). It is not the responsibility of the courts to inquire into the expediency, practicability or wisdom of the bylaws and regulations of voluntary associations. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co. v. Harris, 260 Ky. 132, 84 S.W.2d 69 (1935). These general principles are equally applicable to cases involving state high school athletic associations. State ex rel. Ohio High School Athletic Association v. Judges of Court of Common Pleas, 173 Ohio St. 239, 181 N.E.2d 261 (1962). Furthermore, the courts will not substitute their interpretation of the bylaws of a voluntary association for the interpretation placed upon those bylaws by the voluntary association itself so long as that interpretation is fair and reasonable. Lang v. International Photo Engravers Union of North America, Ky., 343 S.W.2d 385 (1960); Harrison v. Brotherhood of Ry. and S. S. Clerks, Ky., 271 S.W.2d 852 (1954).

Having these principles in mind, this court must answer two questions. First, is the transfer rule incorporated in By-law 6 a valid rule and regulation? If By-law 6 is valid, is the interpretation placed upon that rule in Shadowen's case a reasonable interpretation? We answer both of these questions in the affirmative.

The transfer rule contained in By-law 6 is a valid regulation intended to eliminate the pernicious practice of recruiting high school athletes. In holding that a similar transfer rule was not arbitrary, the Louisiana appellate court stated in Marino v. Waters, La.App., 220 So.2d 802 at 806 (1969):

"The transfer rule of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association has been in effect since around 1920 when the youthful association moved to eliminate the recruiting of high school athletes. The transfer rule, in emphasizing the residence of the parents of the student, is by no means capricious and arbitrary. While it is a rational rule which has apparently produced good results, it is not for this Court to pass upon the merits of this particular rule. This is a matter to be determined by the members of the Association, and it is beyond the power of this Court to impose its ideas of what the rules of the Association should be."

This holding was expressly approved by the Supreme Court of Louisiana in Chabert v. Louisiana High School Athletic Association, La., 323 So.2d 774 (1975). See also Paschal v. Perdue, 320 F.Supp. 1274 (S.D.Fla.1970); State ex rel. National Junior College Athletic Association v. Luten, Mo.App., 492 S.W.2d 404 (1973), approved in State ex rel. Missouri State High School Activities Association v. Schoenlaub, Mo., 507 S.W.2d 354 (1974).

Shadowen has not argued that the transfer rule set forth in By-law 6 is completely invalid. On behalf of Shadowen, it is argued that the Association has acted arbitrarily in applying the rule to the particular circumstances of his case. The trial court agreed with Shadowen, relying heavily upon the fact that there was no evidence of recruiting or other improper influence upon Shadowen to cause him to transfer to the Madisonville-North Hopkins High School. In Bruce v. South Carolina High School League, 258 S.C. 546, 189 S.E.2d 817 (1972), the Supreme Court of South Carolina upheld the validity of the South Carolina transfer rule against a similar argument. The court stated:

"Respondents further charge that the rule is arbitrary in its application to them, because it was adopted to prevent the recruiting of athletes and no provision is made for review in individual cases, so as to grant relief from its provisions where, as in this case, the transfer is voluntarily made without the prohibited element of inducement.

"We are here concerned with the enforcement of a rule adopted by members of a voluntary association to govern competition among themselves in athletic events. The rule, to which the members agreed to be bound, clearly makes students, such as respondent, who...