Gray Collegiate loses appeal on forfeits, fines. What that means for football season
For the second time in less than a week, Gray Collegiate’s push to collect fines for forfeited games from the spring sports season has been denied.
The S.C. High School League’s appellate panel voted 7-0 Wednesday to uphold the decision by the SCHSL’s executive committee to not enforce fines for schools that refused to play sports against Gray Collegiate in the spring.
Wednesday’s final ruling might also pave the way for more schools to forfeit games against Gray in the 2023-24 sports year, including football.
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. Forfeiting games is largely seen as those schools taking a stand against what they say is a competitive imbalance.
During the spring season, a total of nine soccer and softball games were canceled after teams from Keenan, Fairfield Central and Eau Claire chose not to play against Gray Collegiate. The fines, according to the region constitution as it then read, would be $250 per contest.
After the spring season, the league constitution was rewritten and the fine structure eliminated. But Gray Collegiate believes it is still owed the money, but also wanted some consequence for not playing the games.
Gray principal Brian 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.
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.
More forfeits?
There is talk of more forfeits happening against Gray with fall sports.
It remains to be seen if any of the Region 4-2A teams will forfeit any football games. 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.
If all six region opponents forfeit, Gray, ranked No. 2 statewide in Class 2A, would play only four regular-season games this season.
Gray’s first region game is set for Eau Claire on Sept. 15. Of the six scheduled region games, the War Eagles would be at home for two of them and on the road for four, so teams forfeiting would lose potential home-game revenue for their schools.
If the region teams don’t play a game against Gray, the program’s last regular-season contest would be Sept. 8 against Camden — with the playoffs not starting until November. All forfeited games would count as victories for Gray, which would be declared the region champion.
Gray Collegiate wouldn’t be allowed to replace the forfeited games with new opponents.
Richland 1 athletic director Bob Matz and Fairfield Central principal Tracie Swilley told The State after Wednesday’s meeting that the decision of whether to play Gray in the fall would be up to their coaches. Matz said he wants his coaches to make a decision in the next week or so. Newberry AD Chad Cary confirmed to The State that his school and Mid-Carolina also were unlikely to play against the War Eagles.
Fairfield Central coach Demetrius Davis wasn’t committed one way or another to playing but said last week that “you can see the writing on the wall.”
Swilley defended her school’s decision not to play Gray in the spring.
“We have given our coaches and kids an opportunity to take a stand,” Swilley said while speaking during Wednesday’s meeting. “We aren’t teaching our kids to run away from anybody. We don’t do that. What we are teaching is to take a stand for what is right or we know to be right, whether it is popular or unpopular.
“... This is not personal against Gray. I saw Dr. Newsome in the lobby and we exchanged hugs and we are going to speak every time. It’s not personal, but something needs to be done about the competitive advantage.”
Gray Collegiate athletic director Adam Holmes said forfeiting games sends a wrong message, and was passionate in his school’s defense.
“What message are we sending that a school can pick up their ball and go home?” he said. “We’re being discriminated against by every school in our region. The High School League and our commissioner should come to our support. What they’re doing is an unsportsmanlike act.”
Panel member Otis Rawl agreed with Holmes that teams should play the games, but still voted to uphold the ruling. He also said Gray has become a “victim of its own success.”
The competitive balance issue was discussed during the meeting, as well as questions about how Gray and other charter schools build their rosters.
Newsome said the school plans to petition to move up to Class 3A when the SCHSL goes through its 2024-26 realignment process and therefore pit Gray against bigger schools and tougher competition.
Realignment happens every two years, factors in high schools’ updated enrollment numbers, and can adjust classification size and whether teams move up or down in class. It’s the main way the SCHSL currently can address competitive balance.
There’s no imminent plan to address the larger concerns surrounding the league’s private and charter members that are dominating at the Class A and 2A levels. Possible solutions floated in recent years include separate playoffs for the charters and privates; or a “multiplier” where a team moves up in classification based on consistent success or some other factor.
“I think the principals, athletic directors, superintendents, all the people on the executive committee are going to have to step in and fix this problem,” appellate panel member Bob Davis said.
Gray Collegiate statement
After Wednesday’s meeting, Gray principal Brian Newsome told The State in an emailed statement:
“While we are extremely disappointed, we relayed to our coaches today that we can only control what we do each and every day. We can’t control false accusations against our players or coaches. As was mentioned today, ‘You are a victim of your own success.’ I agree with that statement. Success breeds jealousy and finger-pointing. We don’t operate that way or cultivate this in our community.
“We want to compete against the best, and this is the region/classification that the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) has placed us in. Our petition will be filed to move up classifications, and we have created a formula that is fair to all parties. We hope this formula will be a pattern for others to duplicate. We will continue to prepare to play all of the games on our schedule. If a team chooses not to play, we will take the win and prepare for the next game.
“What is happening across the landscape of athletics in SC is surprising; however, we can only control our response. Our response will remain that we will continue to be a positive, respectful, and committed member of the SCHSL. Our students’ academic and athletic successes will continue to be our core focus.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 1:19 PM.
