BUFFALO, N.Y. — Thursday morning, Section VI informed Buffalo Public Schools that the Bennett High School football player who was ruled ineligible last week will now be eligible to play for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.
The athlete was ruled ineligible after he had competed for Sweet Home’s junior varsity team as an eighth-grader but did not complete a state transfer notification ahead of this season.
Even with this reversal, the school district still isn’t satisfied and is now taking it a step further to get the justice they believe they deserve.
“This is like putting somebody who was five miles per hour over the speed limit in jail for 10 years,” said BPS General Counsel Nathanial Kuzma.
The school board believes this is an ongoing systemic issue that they feel they’ve been the target of for quite some time.
“Ordering them to forfeit the first six games of the season was the straw that broke the camel's back,” Kuzma said.
The school board is now tackling this issue head on, as last night it unanimously approved the district filing a human rights complaint against Section VI, pointing to its alleged historical discrimination toward student athletes of color in BPS.
“We don't have a seat at the table, and that's intentional,” Kuzma said. “Their leadership and their boards are handpicked year over a year over a year, and they tend to be white males. And they tend to be from suburban and or rural districts.”
The district is also filing a formal appeal to have the ruling on the six forfeits overturned for the reigning state finalists. It’s a decision BPS Assistant Superintendent for Athletics Mike House says would make it so the kids don’t have to pay for the administration’s clerical error.
“They've worked hard,” House said. “They've earned those statistics on the field. They've made those plays, and that the team has won the game. So to me, it doesn't make sense that children will be penalized for an adult's mistake. I think the accountability needs to go on the adult here, in this case, myself and our district.”
Section VI released this statement today saying they’re not going to comment publicly on this matter at this time.
As for Bennett, the Tigers take the field for their final regular season game this Saturday and are still expected to make the playoffs with current projections having them as the No. 3 seed.