A Cook County (Ill.) has declined to issue a restraining order, which would have reversed the outcome of a high school football game, despite the admission that a mistake was made and that the wrong team advanced to the state’s Class 7A championship game.
In so ruling, the court recognized an Illinois High School Association’s bylaw, which states that “the decisions of game officials shall be final; protests against the decision of a game official shall not be reviewed by the Board of Directors.”
The dispute occurred during a playoff game between Fenwick High School and Plainfield North High School. Leading 10-7 in the final seconds, Fenwick’s quarterback sought to run out the clock on 4th down and preserve the victory. As the clock expired, he threw a long incomplete pass down the sideline. The official threw a flag, ruling that the quarterback had intentionally grounded the ball. Furthermore, since the penalty included a loss of down, the official awarded Plainfield North the football for one untimed down. Plainfield North kicked the game-tying field goal and went on to win in overtime. The official made a mistake in that the game can end on a penalty on the offense, as happened in the game in the center of the dispute.
That night, IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson acknowledged “the error” with the following statement:
“Per Rule 3-3-4 in the 2016 NFHS Football Rules Book, the game should have concluded on the final play of regulation and the untimed down should not have been awarded.”
However, “IHSA by-law 6.033 clearly states that ‘the decisions of game officials shall be final; protests against the decision of a game official shall not be reviewed by the Board of Directors.’ Given that rule, the contest result shall remain final with Plainfield North advancing to the Class 7A State Championship.
“On behalf of the IHSA, I express my sincerest apologies to Coach Nudo and his players and coaching staff, as well as to the entire Fenwick administration and community. I understand that it will be difficult to find a silver lining in this particular situation, but I do hope that Fenwick takes pride in all they accomplished today and this season.
“There is no doubt that the crew assigned to officiate this contest by the IHSA should have known this rule and they were forthcoming about the error in conversations after the game. The crew also understands that there will be an assessment of their performance and consequences from the IHSA as a result of this error.”
Fenwick appealed that decision to the IHSA Board, which convened the following Monday and opted not to consider the appeal. Fenwick then sought a temporary restraining order.
Before the court, Greenberg Traurig attorney Peter Rush presented Fenwick’s breach of contract argument, and noted that the IHSA had intervened in two other disputed contests.
David Bressler of Dykema, representing the IHSA, countered that “Illinois and Federal law, as well as the contract Fenwick agreed to when it agreed to and adopted the IHSA’s by-laws, do not permit the decision to be reviewed. And on that basis Fenwick had no legal right to participate.”
In considering the arguments, the judge weighed four factors. While Fenwick satisfied the first two, demonstrating it would suffer “irreparable harm” and that it had no other legal remedy, it fell short on the other two. It could not show that it had a legal right, which must be protected, and that there was a likelihood of success on the merits. The emergency injunction request was thus denied.
Alan Goldberger, the sports law expert who has written many articles for Hackney Publications, told the Chicago Tribune that the litigation was a reflection of the growing “sense of entitlement” from parents and athlete.
“People need to get a grip and a sense of perspective,” he told the paper. “Do you really want the courts and appellate courts to be involved in who decides who wins and loses? Should we have judges on the sidelines? It gets kind of ridiculous after a while.”
Fenwick, meanwhile, issued the following press release about the ruling:
“Fenwick High School is disheartened by the court’s decision to not recall the IHSA ruling regarding the outcome of last Saturday’s class 7A state semi-final game vs. Plainfield North High School,” said Fenwick Principal Peter Groom.
“Our student athletes fought hard all season to win, and we did our best to continue their just fight. We wish Plainfield North High School good luck as they compete against East St. Louis High School in Champaign on Saturday. We applaud the Plainfield North athletes and coaches for a well-played semifinal game, and we thank them for their continued sportsmanship and understanding during this difficult week for everyone involved.”
