Do you have or will you have a son or daughter who participates in high school athletics in Florida? You may want to pay attention.
There is a piece of legislation that, if passed, could send Florida high school sports into an era of free agency.
The legislation — House Bill 1279 — would allow student-athletes “to transfer anytime they want,” according to the Florida High School Athletic Association, a non-profit, non-government-funded organization that has overseen and governed high school sports in Florida for nearly a century.
Introduced by Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, the bill will impact drastically the way the FHSAA operates, including changing funding, adding political appointees to the board of directors and letting the state education commissioner appoint an executive director.
Some predict this could even lead to the end of the FHSAA in a few years.
A similar bill, Senate Bill 1164, introduced by Sen. Kelli Stargel, also revise would criteria for student-athlete eligibility and undermine the FHSAA in its investigation processes.
The FHSAA has prided itself in being an organization dedicated to integrity and fairness for its 798 member schools and student-athletes. The organization, which obviously opposes the bill, released a statement, cautioning “fairness and playing by the rules would be dealt a damaging blow if this proposed bill becomes a dangerous law.”
Stargel, Metz and other supporters say the legislation would add due process to eligibility and transfer scenarios, in which student-athletes and their parents wouldn’t be “pronounced guilty before being proved innocent.”
It is true the FHSAA has built a reputation for coming down hard on violators, including coaches, players and schools that bend or break rules. Most notably, they stripped Armwood of its 2012 football state championship, after players were deemed ineligible for residing outside of the school district and for providing false residency information.
But this legislation will undermine the FHSAA and deregulate high school athletics, making it harder for the FHSAA to monitor and prevent unfair practices when it comes to athlete transfers.
The legislation would allow players to be eligible immediately upon transfer to another school. The current rule states athletes are eligible to play for the school where they started that academic school year.
Seemingly, this legislation would allow athletes to start the year playing football at one school and end it playing baseball at another. This is something former NFL players-turned-high school coaches Mike Alstott and Reidel Anthony strongly oppose.
“There is a place for free agency; it’s called the NFL,” Alstott, a six-time All-Pro running back, stated in a release. “And there is a place for recruiting. It’s called college. There is no place for either of those in high school football.”
The legislation has caused quite the stir in the high school sports world, including media attention and the spawning of two Facebook pages — one in support and one against the bill.
“Florida Parents for Fair Play” has served as a soapbox for parents and athletes against the legislation, while its counterpart, “Access for Student Athletes Coalition,” supports the bill. Access includes mostly charter- and home-school parents, who feel bullied by the FHSAA. The organization says it will continue to be accommodating to those student-athletes. Tim Tebow was home-schooled but was a standout for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra.
There’s no denying there are unfair practices taking place in Florida and across the nation. But this legislation will make it even easier for these things to take place, with little or no consequences.
It is important to note separate school districts can adopt their own rules and regulations regarding transfers. Hillsborough County Public Schools currently has such a rule in place, in which board members rule on eligibility of transfers.
Other counties could follow suit, especially if this legislation passes.
There are loopholes. With school choice and academic programs only offered at certain schools, it can create a gray area.
Strawberry Crest High is a perfect example. With its IB program, there are many students, including athletes, who live in Walden Lake, Valrico or other areas outside the school zone, but attend Strawberry Crest and participate in athletics there.
Academics certainly come first, so there isn’t anything necessarily wrong with this. But this bill could create a situation in which coaches can recruit players purely on an athletic basis. This could be especially dangerous in Hillsborough County, where coaches are allowed to coach at one high school and teach at another.
The FHSAA and similar organizations certainly aren’t perfect, and there isn’t anything wrong with occasional tweaking — even with organizations that are 100 years old. But this legislation isn’t the solution.
House Bill 1279
(pending)
Bill: Revises provisions relating to FHSAA, including bylaws relating to student residence and transfer approvals, student ineligibility to participate in competition, and investigations into ineligibility to participate; revises composition and terms of FHSAA board of directors; provides restrictions on dues and fees and collection of contest receipts; provides authority to levy penalties; provides requirements for financial and compliance audit; revises student eligibility criteria for participation in extracurricular activities.actual-spy.ru