GCS Completes Athletic Investigation at Northern High

Seven additional athletes in four sports declared ineligible

Contact: Haley Miller (336) 370-3200
Created: 8/3/2009 5:09:13 PM

Seven student-athletes at Northern High School were declared ineligible today by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA). Guilford County Schools (GCS) officials completed their investigation into athletic eligibility issues at the school late last week and reported their findings to the NCHSAA on Thursday. The athletes participated in varsity football, junior varsity football, varsity men’s swimming, varsity and junior varsity baseball, and men’s track.

In each sport except varsity and junior varsity baseball, school officials applied appropriate or “reasonable scrutiny” in determining the students’ athletic eligibility, the NCHSAA found. As a result, the junior varsity team must pay a $500 fine and forfeit any games in which the athlete dressed out. That fine was reduced to $250 for self-reporting. Since the varsity baseball team had already forfeited its season due to an earlier eligibility violation, the team was not punished further.

According to the NCHSAA, entire teams are punished only if school officials – principals, coaches and athletic directors – violate the rules or fail to provide a “reasonable” amount of oversight and due diligence in determining a student’s athletic eligibility. If student-athletes or their parents/legal guardians violate the rules, the student-athletes are penalized by having their athletic eligibility revoked for 365 days. They also have to return any medals, points or awards.

In total, 12 student-athletes in 10 sports at Northern have been found ineligible since the probe by the district began last fall. Last year, 653 student-athletes competed on 37 teams at Northern. The entire school was placed on probation last spring by the NCHSAA for a one-year period, which means Northern teams may still compete but will be monitored closely by the organization for the 2009-10 school year. The findings released today are considered part of the original investigation and do not affect the length of the probationary period.

Principal Will Laine, who moved from Kernodle Middle School to Northern this year, has named a new athletic director, Ronnie Hayes, and has appointed several new coaches. The coaches and their respective sports include: Ryan Freeman, varsity men’s basketball; Chris Shaffer and Donald Ciaravino, assistant coaches for varsity football; Stacey Corne, assistant cheerleading coach; and Cindy Jones, assistant softball coach.

To strengthen oversight regarding athletic eligibility district-wide, GCS is beefing up its policies, strengthening its training for coaches, athletic directors and principals, and launching a new awareness campaign later this week that stresses the importance of honesty, integrity and character development in sports.

“Our athletic programs must be above reproach, especially if we want sports to serve as character-building experiences for our students,” said Maurice “Mo” Green, superintendent. “Students need to learn that demonstrating good character and sportsmanship are just as important as winning, if not more so.”

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About Guilford County Schools

Guilford County Schools is the third largest school district in North Carolina serving more than 71,000 students at 120 schools. With approximately 10,000 employees, the district’s mission is to graduate responsible citizens prepared to succeed in higher education or the career of their choice. 

Guilford County Schools is a national leader in providing specialized schools and instructional programs designed to meet the educational needs of a culturally diverse citizenship.  For more information, visit the district’s Web site at www.gcsnc.com.