A week after a subcommittee unanimously approved a state bill that would regulate the state’s governing body for high school sports, the Florida High School Athletic Association went on the offensive.
FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing said in a teleconference with reporters that the proposed bills would “shatter community spirit” and could create “recruiting-frenzied sports giants” by easing transfer restrictions and limiting the FHSAA’s ability to investigate.
“Unfortunately this legislation opens the door to nefarious people who might want to circumvent the rules…” Dearing said. “These bills undermine our ability to enforce the rules.”
Dearing’s biggest fear over the two main bills – Senate Bill 1164 and House Bill 1279 – is that their passage could lead to free agency in high school sports. Critics made similar complaints last July when HB 1403 became law, easing transfer restrictions and giving more eligibility power to school districts instead of the FHSAA.
These bills would go even further. The FHSAA would lose more of its abilities to make eligibility decisions to school districts. HB 1279 would limit the FHSAA’s investigations to only 90 days, and both bills would give a judge for the Division of Administrative Hearings the final say in eligibility.
Former Buc great and current Northside Christian football coach Mike Alstott said in the teleconference that he didn’t understand all of the bills but was against policies that would make it easier for unhappy students to change schools so easily.
“I understand free agency. It was in the NFL,” Alstott said. “I understand recruiting. That was in college. At the same time, that’s not what high school football is all about.”
FHSAA supporters are also concerned that looser transfer guidelines and the ability for players to follow club coaches to a new school could create havoc. Dearing said the legislation could allow a student to play football at one school, basketball at a second school and baseball at a third school – all in the same season.
One part of HB 1279 allows for the FHSAA to set a deadline for eligibility in a sport. If a player transfers after that, he or she might not be eligible. But a different provision says a student-athlete can compete in sports as long as the school or district approves the transfer.
Dearing said districts or schools could interpret those rules differently. That could give a school with weaker enforcement a competitive advantage over other ones.
“It becomes an unfair, unlevel playing field,” Dearing said.
FHSAA supporters also worried about the extra delay caused by the FHSAA losing its eligibility authority. Instead of the FHSAA ruling on a player’s eligibility, an outside judge would. That extra legal step could take months to resolve and allow an ineligible player to continue participating against schools that are following the rules.
The FHSAA handles more than 2,000 eligibility questions a year, and only about 72 athletes are ruled ineligible.
“It’s not fair to all those other kids,” Dearing said.
At least one FHSAA opponent disagrees with Dearing’s arguments.
“Instead of opening the floodgates for recruiting of high school athletes, as many may claim, this proposal simply establishes that students will be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Jim Hart, the chairman for Floridians for Government Accountability, said in a press release. “This is a basic right of all citizens, so why do we not allow for this to be extended to our high school students as well?”
One of the proposed bills has already cleared a hurdle. HB 1279 – sponsored by Rep. Larry Metz (R-Eustis) – was unanimously approved last week by the House of Representatives’ choice and innovation subcommittee. It’s now in the education appropriations subcommittee but has not been placed on an agenda.