The Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the Indiana High School Athletic Association for the suspensions of two northern Indiana high school basketball teams who were involved in an on-court fight last year.
BREAKING: IN Court of Appeals rules @IHSAA1 has nearly absolute power to determine punishments for schools @rtv6 pic.twitter.com/9OTgqPvQJX
— #IndyThisWeek (@IndyThisWeek) March 11, 2016
The IHSAA had appealed a Lake County court decision that lifted the suspensions of the Hammond and Griffith basketball teams.
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The bench-clearing fight started after a Hammond player fouled a Griffith player. The game was ended and the schools suspended the students involved. The IHSAA canceled each school's remaining regular season games including post season, and placed them on probation.
The schools argued that the suspensions were excessive and successfully sued to stop the IHSAA from enforcing those suspensions.
MORE | Griffith appeals season-ending sanctions following brawl | IHSAA cancels seasons of two schools involved in weekend brawl
Attorneys representing a former Hammond basketball player argued that the IHSAA does not enforce its rules consistently.
"The IHSAA is required to make sure that its rulings are consistent and if you're not going to be consistent, they've got to put schools and students on notice why they aren't going to be consistent," Michael Jasaitis said.
"I don't agree with the notion that the punishments are inconsistent. You take every situation at its face value and merit and make an informed decision based on the evidence presented to you," IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox said at the time.
To read the opinion, click here.
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