SCHSL won’t enforce fines against teams that forfeited games against Gray Collegiate
The S.C. High School League won’t enforce fines against the Midlands teams that forfeited spring sports games against Gray Collegiate Academy.
Gray appealed to the league’s executive committee in a hearing held Friday, asking for help in levying and enforcing the Region 4-2A constitution that spells out penalties against region teams that cancel games. Their request was denied by a 15-0 vote. Gray will appeal the committee’s decision and take its argument to the league’s appellate panel Wednesday.
“I think we got a chance to be heard and what we think it is the right thing to do,” Gray principal Brian Newsome told The State. “Now we have a chance to go before the appellate panel and I think they will have an open mind. And they will have an opportunity to hear us. We are excited about the opportunity to present to them.”
The SCHSL doesn’t enforce any fines that are set by a region, commissioner Jerome Singleton said. There were no contracts signed for spring sports in the region, with contracts only in place for non-region football games. The committee recommended that there should be game contracts for all sports — even at the junior varsity level — to avoid future issues.
In the spring, Region 4-2A athletic directors voted 6-1 to eliminate fines for forfeits. Gray was the only school that voted to keep the fines.
Gray Collegiate is a public charter school that competes in the S.C. High School League. Three traditional public schools — Fairfield Central, Keenan and Eau Claire — all forfeited games against the War Eagles in multiple spring sports.
Newsome said those forfeits cost the school more than $2,000 in losses from ticket sales and referee costs, and said some of the War Eagles’ senior nights had to be postponed until the playoffs. Newsome said the school still paid the officials who were scheduled to work those games. At least some of those cancellations came on the days of the scheduled games, Newsome said.
Gray and some of its charter and private school counterparts that are SCHSL members have come under fire in recent years because of concerns over fair play and how those schools build their athletic rosters.
Critics say the charters that are sports-focused build powerful teams and have an advantage with what amounts to a statewide attendance zone. And because they cap enrollment, Gray competes for state championships against the smaller high schools that are in Class 2A.
Newsome was asked Friday by executive committee president Jason Warren on why teams might have forfeited the spring games. After at first declining to speculate, Newsome answered: “They didn’t think they were going to be competitive against us.”
With Fairfield superintendent JR Green’s approval, Fairfield Central teams in the spring elected to not play Gray Collegiate in softball and in boys and girls soccer games, three days after each team was blown out in games by the War Eagles in those sports. Gray was awarded victories in each instance because of the forfeits.
Green, who is a member of the SCHSL executive committee, recused himself of voting Friday but did speak in the discussion, saying that he didn’t instruct coaches to not play and that those decisions were made on a team-by-team basis.
After the meeting, Newsome said that allowing Green to speak despite being recused was a problem because he got the discussion going toward a different aspect, which was talking about competitive balance, charter school dominance and other issues not directly related to Gray’s request about enforcing fines.
Newsome also said Friday’s ruling sent a message that teams can forfeit any time for any reason and not get penalized. At least one executive committee member, Kathy Hipp, agreed with that point during the discussion. Hipp still voted in favor of denying the motion.
It remains to be seen if any of the Region 3-2A teams will forfeit football games this season against the War Eagles.
Fairfield Central, Newberry, Mid-Carolina and Eau Claire high schools all put “TBD” next to Gray on football schedules posted to social media. Newberry and Mid-Carolina are in the region for football only.
Fairfield coach Demetrius Davis suggested after Friday’s Aun & McKay Classic that it’s looking like the Griffins won’t play Gray this year, which would mean forfeiting the game and hurting its chances at a region title and possible home-field advantage in the 2A Upper State playoffs.
Newberry athletic director Chad Cary told The State that as of now that the Bulldogs and Mid-Carolina, another Newberry County school, also are unlikely to play the War Eagles.
“We still haven’t made a decision what we are going to do. But with (Friday’s) decision, you can see the writing on the wall,” Davis said.
If all region opponents decide to forfeit, Gray would only play four games and couldn’t make those games up. All of the War Eagles’ games are on the books and have been officially entered into Arbiter, the league’s scheduling system.
“We don’t know who is going to show up,” Gray football coach and athletic director Adam Holmes said during Friday’s testimony.
Gray Collegiate football schedule
Aug. 18: vs. Christ Church
Aug. 25: vs Crestwood
Sept. 1: at Hammond
Sept. 8 vs. Camden
Sept. 15: at Eau Claire
Sept. 22: at Mid-Carolina
Sept. 29: vs. Columbia
Oct. 6: vs. Fairfield Central
Oct. 13: at Newberry
Oct. 20: at Keenan
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 12:41 PM.
