The March Madness season in public schools has reached a new height as the New York City high school basketball league has been caught in a cheating scandal that dates back much farther than the education department originally conveyed.
Based on records from the department, a widespread eligibility issue in the league was revealed, which led to the upcoming championship game being cancelled.
The discoveries came as Schools Chancellor David Banks announced this past Saturday that two teams in the highest basketball division had been disqualified for violating age and academic eligibility requirements.
Banks did not elaborate on the violations, but the Public School Athletic League regulations mandate student athletes to pass a certain number of classes in order to participate in high school sports. The rules also clarify that students can only participate up until their 19th birthday.
The two disqualified teams referenced in Banks’ statement include Thomas Jefferson High School, which was disqualified for violations of academic eligibility guidelines before its first playoff game, and South Shore High School, which was taken out of the season ahead of the championships due to an age eligibility violation.
What’s more, since the Chancellor’s announcement, a review of the league’s records show that more disqualifications have occurred since February, which were not previously disclosed.
Additionally, the department still hasn’t officiated a tournament champion even though the season is effectively over. This, along with the lack of details given from officials has incited rumors regarding foul play in public school communities where basketball is a significant part of school life and activities.
“It’s a major stain on the league. I don’t know if stain remover is going to be able to remove the stain. Or if stain remover can remove it, they’re going to have to use a lot of stain remover,” said Ronald Naclerio, who coaches the Benjamin N. Cardozo High School basketball team and has the most wins in PSAL and New York state public school history.
Further review of the PSAL records and information given by basketball coaches in the league revealed that Eagle-Academy Bronx was also disqualified from a semifinals game on March 12 against South Shore, though Chancellor Banks, who was the founding principal of the school in 2005, did not disclose this in the education department’s statement.
While coaches of the disqualified teams have not yet publicly commented on the issue, Naclerio and other coaches say they’re frustrated with the lack of information about the cheating scandal from league administrators and the education department.
The department claims that the investigation is still in process.
