The mother of a high school student in Arkansas is making a court challenge to the time-honored tradition of coaches making roster cuts.
An Arkansas high school coach won’t allow a youngster to dribble a basketball for the team, a move that has the student’s mother in a legal lather.
Teresa Bloodman’s lawsuit came after her freshman son was dropped from the Maumelle High basketball team. She is suing the school, the school district and the state, contending her son was treated unfairly.
The lawsuit was filed in October and there have been months of hearings and motions, but no trial date has been set, according to ArkansasMatters.com
Because her son is a minor, he’s named only as a “John Doe” in the lawsuit, which contends that: ”…the deprivation of the right to a full and complete education which includes competition in sports and consequently athletic scholarships impairs John Doe of a property right guaranteed under both the U.S. and State Constitutions.”
Bloodman also points out her boy was dismissed when an additional tryout was held after football season, to let those players have a chance to make the basketball team. Bloodman says that’s a violation of equal protection rights, because it’s not the way the girl’s team is selected.
She also labels the lack of an appeal process for getting cut as a due process violation.
Jay Bequette, attorney for the Pulaski County Special School District, cited an earlier Arkansas court ruling to ArkansasMatters.com. According to Bequette, the Eighth Circuit court has previously ruled that, “There is no clearly established right of parents to have their children compete in interscholastic athletics.”
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