Cold weather arrives
2008 World AIDS Day
Canine Christmas
Clock's ticking on Shaw's case
District meet begins Tuesday; injunction hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Lowell Draffen wants it made clear.
"Trotwood-Madison doesn't have to cheat to win," the school system's superintendent said in the face of an ongoing Ohio High School Athletic Association investigation. "We can win without that. I want us to do what is right, and I want us to follow all the guidelines."
Extras
Whether Trotwood followed guidelines involving transfers, registration and residency — and did it without recruiting — is central to an inquiry that started last fall.
While there are 13 allegations being explored, the centerpiece has become the residency of senior standout sprinter Michael Shaw, who transferred to Trotwood from Alter midway through his junior year.
The OHSAA declared Shaw ineligible earlier this month, though he said he didn't know why he was being held out until last Monday.
"I don't know everything about the situation," Shaw said Friday night, May 16. "It's new to me and my parents. I knew before the Roosevelt (track meet) that (Trotwood-Madison officials) said I couldn't run, and I was upset about that, but they never really told me why.
"On Monday, I got the whole gist of why I couldn't run. It doesn't make any sense to me, but hopefully it will be settled through the court.
"I just want to run."
Court issues
With the clock ticking on Shaw's track career — the district meet begins Tuesday in Troy — his attorney sought, and was granted, a temporary restraining order. That trumped the OHSAA's ruling that Shaw was ineligible.
The order is in effect until Wednesday's 9 a.m. hearing in front of Judge Jeffrey Froelich at the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.
"The court has advised us that the issues concerning the injunction will be ... the unique rules of the OHSAA," said Shaw's attorney, Aaron Durden. "We continue to do our own investigation to see how they came to this conclusion.
"We're learning more about how all this came to be. It began as an investigation against Trotwood and ended up centering on Michael Shaw."
On Wednesday, Froelich will hear testimony and will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction, further keeping the OHSAA from declaring Shaw ineligible.
That would set the stage for a permanent injunction, which would involve a trial. That might not be likely, given that the state track meet is June 6-7.
However, should Froelich issue the preliminary injunction, OHSAA attorneys could appeal that decision to the Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals, offering a quicker option for the OHSAA.
Back on track
Shaw is a triple individual threat in the 100, 200 and 400 meters for a team favored to win the Division I state championship. He also could be part of the Rams' impressive 1,600 relay team.
Tuesday's district meet includes mostly preliminary races, so athletes from other schools could be affected by court rulings. The district meet finishes Friday.
If Shaw ultimately is declared ineligible, his performances could be disqualified and any relays he participates in could be forfeited. Runners and teams from other schools could move up, depending on whether the regional meet has begun.
"If he participates and the court does not rule in his favor, then the relay team would be (disqualified)," said OHSAA Commissioner Dr. Dan Ross, who admitted he's not 100 percent sure of that scenario.
Teams in Troy's district meet have until 5 p.m. Monday to enter athletes. Scratches and subs must be done by noon Tuesday. Running events begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Asked if Trotwood was willing to gamble on Shaw's court battle with regard to relay teams, school principal Gerald Cox said: "I really hadn't even considered (that) until right now. That's a conversation I'll have to have with (athletics director Jim) Ladd as soon as possible."
Theoretically, Shaw could have his name on the six-member relay card and not run until a resolution was reached without endangering his teammates.
13 allegations
OHSAA officials met with Cox and Ladd earlier this month. The state association presented an executive summary of its findings concerning 13 allegations ranging from residency issues to recruiting by football coach Maurice Douglass.
"We want to respond to all 13 of those," Cox said of the school's investigation. "As you can imagine, that takes a little while to do."
The OHSAA is awaiting responses on issues not connected with Shaw's case. Draffen said half of the matters involve students no longer enrolled at the school.
"They've listed kids here from two or three years ago that have already graduated from Trotwood," Draffen said. "That makes it very difficult to even find the people sometimes."
Cox said the school will provide all relevant information and would sit down again with the OHSAA.
"If they want to take a look at information and then decide on what their response is going to be, then that's what we'll do," he said. "We'll kind of follow their lead on that."
Ross said they take new knowledge into consideration and any full official statement could be several weeks away.
"We were working through some of those where there could be some more information," he said. "There have been some decisions made, and some still have some information that's going to be provided."
A complex case
OHSAA Assistant Commissioner Debbie Moore estimated she's seen "about a dozen" cases that included the association hiring a private investigator. That includes Trotwood's case.
"Sometimes it takes months, based on the complexities and the number of witnesses," Moore said. "It may take a month or two. We've had some that take a year.
"We leave a lot of that up to the investigator. We give them a sense of the allegations and the scope of the inquiry. They decide who to interview and work to find facts for evidence to present to us."
Moore said public schools are "required by law" to validate students' residences: "If a student enrolls in your district, you are to ensure they are living in the district if you are to accept that student tuition-free."
Reaching a conclusion
For Trotwood-Madison, a district that has opened impressive new buildings in the past few years and has made strides academically, possible penalties stemming from the OHSAA investigation could cause image problems.
"We're talking about actual students that I'm responsible for here, we're not just talking about names or numbers," Cox said. "So I want to do everything I possibly can to assist."
For Shaw, the court order was his last shot.
"If Michael missed the opportunity to have competed Tuesday, it would all be for naught what ultimately the decision would be," Durden said. "The issue has caused irreparable harm. Had he missed this event, he'd be finished."
Shaw has missed the last couple weeks of competition and was reduced to a timer and cheerleader at the recent conference meet.
"It's pretty hard because of all the stuff he's going through right now," said teammate Roy Roundtree, who plans to room with Shaw when they play football next fall at Michigan. "He's just been upset lately.
"He's probably going to take it out on the track."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951 or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com. Dayton Daily News reporter Lou Grieco contributed to this report.
