Scott v. Kilpatrick

• Decision Date: 18 June 1970
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 765
• Citation: 286 Ala. 129,237 So.2d 652
• Parties: Herman SCOTT, Individually and as Executive Secretary of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, et al. v. Bobby Wayne KILPATRICK, a minor who sues by his father and next friend, James Kilpatrick.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 652

237 So.2d 652

286 Ala. 129

Herman SCOTT, Individually and as Executive Secretary of the Alabama High School Athletic Association, et al. v. Bobby Wayne KILPATRICK, a minor who sues by his father and next friend, James Kilpatrick.

6 Div. 765.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

June 18, 1970.

Oakley Melton, Jr., Montgomery, and Bankhead, Petree & Savage, Jasper, for appellants.

No brief for appellee.

HARWOOD, Justice.

Bobby Wayne Kilpatrick, a minor suing by his father and next friend, obtained a temporary injunction against Herman Scott, individually, and as Executive Secretary of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (hereinafter referred to as AHSAA), and also the three members of the Fifth District Board and certain named members of the Central Board of Control of the AHSAA, individually and as members of the two boards, enjoining them from enforcing a ruling of the Fifth District Board, issued 17 September 1969. This ruling declared Bobby Wayne Kilpatrick ineligible to play football for Cordova High School pending a final determination by the Central Board of Control, and a final hearing on the merits by the court.

The respondents Scott, et al., duly filed a motion to discharge, and a motion to dissolve, the temporary injunction.

A hearing was had upon these motions, the matters being submitted upon the sworn bill, the sworn answers of the respondents, and affidavits and exhibits offered by the respective parties.

Thereafter, the court entered an order in effect denying the motion to discharge and to dissolve the temporary injunction. It was further ordered that the complainant enter into an injunction bond in the amount of $300.00, as provided for in Section 1041, Title 7, Code of Alabama 1940.

The respondents have perfected this appeal from such order.

The pleadings, affidavits, and exhibits, show that in the Fall of 1968, the complainant was living at the home of his parents in the Martin School District and attending the Martin High School.

In the Spring of 1969, on his own accord, he transferred to Parrish High School, which was outside the Martin School District. He commuted to Parrish School each school day.

In August 1969, the complainant and his parents moved to Cordova, and in September the complainant transferred from Parrish High School to Cordova High School.

On 30 August 1969, an Eligibility Enrollment List was furnished the AHSAA by the principal of the Cordova High School and in reference to the complainant, it was indicated:

'This boy went to Martin during the first semester of 1968--69 term. He moved to Parrish in Jan. 1969. In Aug. 1969 his family moved to Cordova.' (Italics ours.)

On the basis of this information, respondent Herman Scott orally informed officials of the Cordova High School that he saw no problem as to complainant's eligibility to play football for Cordova High in 1969.

The complainant did play as a member of the Cordova football team in the first game of the 1969 season, which was against Parrish High School.

After the game, a protest as to the eligibility of the complainant to play for Cordova was lodged with the respondent Herman Scott, by the Parrish High football coach. The basis of the protest was that the complainant had transferred from his home district school (Martin High School) to Parrish High School for the 1969 Spring Semester while his family lived in the Martin High School District.

This was the first information Scott had that complainant had not in fact moved to the Parrish High School District, but had only commuted there from his family home in the Martin High School District.

Investigating the protest, Mr. Scott found the facts to be as set out above. He thereupon, as Executive Secretary of AHSAA declared the complainant ineligible to play on the Cordova High School football team for the year 1969, because of the provisions of Rule 1, Sec. 11, Exception 4, page 99 of the Rules of the AHSAA. In parts pertinent to this review Exception 4 reads:

'A pupil will be ineligible for one year if he transfers to a school where his parents do not reside. If a boy is living at home and commuting to attend a school that does not serve the area in which he lives, he cannot return to his home school and become immediately eligible. It will be necessary for him to attend his home school for one year before becoming eligible.'

The bill recites that 'thereafter the complainant was told he could appeal the ruling (Scott's) to the Fifth District Board as aforesaid and did in fact appeal the same * * *.'

The Board upheld Scott's ruling. So far as the record discloses written notice of the Board's decision was sent only to the Principal of the Cordova High School, and not to the complainant. It must be assumed that the appeal to the Board was processed by Cordova High School since complainant was not a member of AHSAA.

Certainly it is clear from the record that Cordova High School appealed the Board's ruling to the Central Board of Control of the AHSAA. A full hearing was then had by the Central Board, with the Principal and the Football Coach of Cordova High School being present and presenting their contentions as to why the complainant was not ineligible as found by the Executive Secretary (Mr. Scott), and the Fifth District Board.

The AHSAA is a voluntary association of various high schools of this state. Membership is on a school, or institutional basis. There are no individual members. The association has a constitution and by-laws, and representatives of the member schools have promulgated rules, which govern the member schools. Among other things, these rules look toward regulating the athletic programs of the member schools, and to this end have set out standards of eligibility for students who are to play on the athletic teams of the member schools. These standards pertain to age of the students, scholastic requirements, residence of the student, etc.

It is obvious that the purpose of the rule with which we are here concerned, that is the residence requirement of students, is to prevent the transfer of a student athlete from one school to another without regard to the student's home school district, whether such transfer be voluntary on the student's part, or the result of enticement or recruitment. It cannot be argued but that the rule tends to maintain the truly amateur character of high school athletics.

While we have found no Alabama cases in point, the courts of our sister states have considered virtually similar situations to the one here presented, and so far as our research discloses, the conclusions in all of these cases have been of one accord. The principles developed in ...