By Staff
EAST LANSING — The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association affirmed today that the organization should continue to move forward on two fronts concurrently – planning for sports seasons changes and pursuing a legal way to allow schools to conduct sports in ways that maximize participation opportunities and the quality of those opportunities.
The Representative Council unanimously acted at a special meeting in response to a July 27 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that some sports seasons of Michigan schools must be changed.
The MHSAA will be requesting an en banc hearing by the Sixth Circuit, an appeal involving all 13 judges. The Association previously had a 3-0 decision in the Sixth Circuit reversed in an en banc hearing in 1996 in a case involving a student seeking eligibility beyond eight semesters under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
In the matter before the Sixth Circuit, briefs opposing season changes were filed by the state associations of coaches, athletic directors, principals and school boards.
Roberts also pointed out that the Association is not being strained financially by the continued litigation; that it is only exercising its legal rights, and that nothing should be read into its work to develop alternative schedules.