kaorder1999
07-21-2007, 06:49 PM
Football future of boy, 9, sparks lawsuit, settlement
By ZIVA BRANSTETTER World Projects Editor
7/21/2007
Lawyers for both sides of the lawsuit huddled in separate rooms at the Tulsa County Courthouse, trying to hammer out a compromise that would defuse the tense legal standoff.
By late Friday afternoon, the case had already taken the time of two federal judges and most of the day for one state court judge. It required the services of three lawyers -- one a former Tulsa mayor -- plus several clerks and a court reporter.
As the clock wound down, both sides announced that they had reached an agreement: Brayden Mathis, age 9, can play third-grade football at Jenks.
Brayden will be entered into a "blind draft" to determine which team he will be on, and his family must move into a house in the Jenks district. The Mathises now live in the Union district, where Brayden has played football for two years.
The deal settled an emergency restraining order requested Thursday by Brayden's father, Tony Mathis. His lawsuit sought to force the Indian Nations Football Conference to allow Brayden to enter the third-grade football draft or to halt the draft until the question of Brayden's residency could be settled.
Yes, there is actually a third-grade football draft, and it is scheduled for Sunday, just days after Friday night's football combine. At the combine, players are put through a series of timed drills to judge their athletic abilities.
Thousands of boys in grades 3 through 8 play football for the conference's teams before the school districts take over in ninth grade.
Before Tulsa County District Judge Gordon McAllister could hold a hearing on the request Friday, the football conference filed a request for a federal judge to hear the case, temporarily halting the state court action.
When one federal judge stepped aside from hearing the case, it was assigned to U.S. Chief District Judge Claire Eagan. She ruled Friday afternoon that the matter should be heard in state court.
The ruling sent both sides scurrying back to McAllister, who urged them to work out an agreement.
Tony Mathis said he filed the suit because he wanted his son to play in Jenks, where the incoming third-grader has friends. The football conference, which includes Union, Jenks and 29 other districts or areas, requires players to live in the districts for which they are playing.
Mathis said that although he enrolled his son in Jenks schools and signed a contract to buy a house in the district, the conference denied his son's request to play.
''It's very difficult when you are a parent to have someone tell you they are not going to give you and your child the same opportunity they are giving other kids,'' Mathis said.
Although his son is only 9, Brayden has worked hard in the sport, Mathis said.
''He's trained at Velocity (Sports Performance) for years, and he takes quarterback lessons," Mathis said, adding, "It's a big deal to us.''
Mathis' attorney, Steven Hjelm, said: ''Whether it would be football or the dance club or anything of that nature, all we're seeking is that this governing body would treat this third-grader like they treat every other third-grader.''
Hjelm was assisted in the case by another attorney, former Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune.
Tom Askew, an attorney for the Indian Nations Football Conference, said the conference initially turned down Mathis' request because ''the rules have to be enforced.''
''Boundary issues come up quite a bit, and a lot of times they are driven by disgruntled, overzealous sports parents,'' he said.
Before the settlement was reached, conference officials believed that Mathis was trying to choose which Jenks team his son would play for, Askew said.
''Mr. Mathis is insistent there are three third-grade football teams he will play for and three he will not,'' Askew said.
Hjelm denied Askew's claim, saying Mathis would be satisfied for his son to be placed in a blind draft, essentially having his name drawn out of a hat by coaches.
''Our only caveat to that was that if the coach doesn't want him or need him that this little boy be traded to another team,'' Hjelm said.
Tom Lott, president of the football conference, said the rules are in place to discourage recruiting.
''We try to enforce that boundary so that parents aren't pulled from one program to another and coaches aren't trying to recruit outside their area,'' he said.
By ZIVA BRANSTETTER World Projects Editor
7/21/2007
Lawyers for both sides of the lawsuit huddled in separate rooms at the Tulsa County Courthouse, trying to hammer out a compromise that would defuse the tense legal standoff.
By late Friday afternoon, the case had already taken the time of two federal judges and most of the day for one state court judge. It required the services of three lawyers -- one a former Tulsa mayor -- plus several clerks and a court reporter.
As the clock wound down, both sides announced that they had reached an agreement: Brayden Mathis, age 9, can play third-grade football at Jenks.
Brayden will be entered into a "blind draft" to determine which team he will be on, and his family must move into a house in the Jenks district. The Mathises now live in the Union district, where Brayden has played football for two years.
The deal settled an emergency restraining order requested Thursday by Brayden's father, Tony Mathis. His lawsuit sought to force the Indian Nations Football Conference to allow Brayden to enter the third-grade football draft or to halt the draft until the question of Brayden's residency could be settled.
Yes, there is actually a third-grade football draft, and it is scheduled for Sunday, just days after Friday night's football combine. At the combine, players are put through a series of timed drills to judge their athletic abilities.
Thousands of boys in grades 3 through 8 play football for the conference's teams before the school districts take over in ninth grade.
Before Tulsa County District Judge Gordon McAllister could hold a hearing on the request Friday, the football conference filed a request for a federal judge to hear the case, temporarily halting the state court action.
When one federal judge stepped aside from hearing the case, it was assigned to U.S. Chief District Judge Claire Eagan. She ruled Friday afternoon that the matter should be heard in state court.
The ruling sent both sides scurrying back to McAllister, who urged them to work out an agreement.
Tony Mathis said he filed the suit because he wanted his son to play in Jenks, where the incoming third-grader has friends. The football conference, which includes Union, Jenks and 29 other districts or areas, requires players to live in the districts for which they are playing.
Mathis said that although he enrolled his son in Jenks schools and signed a contract to buy a house in the district, the conference denied his son's request to play.
''It's very difficult when you are a parent to have someone tell you they are not going to give you and your child the same opportunity they are giving other kids,'' Mathis said.
Although his son is only 9, Brayden has worked hard in the sport, Mathis said.
''He's trained at Velocity (Sports Performance) for years, and he takes quarterback lessons," Mathis said, adding, "It's a big deal to us.''
Mathis' attorney, Steven Hjelm, said: ''Whether it would be football or the dance club or anything of that nature, all we're seeking is that this governing body would treat this third-grader like they treat every other third-grader.''
Hjelm was assisted in the case by another attorney, former Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune.
Tom Askew, an attorney for the Indian Nations Football Conference, said the conference initially turned down Mathis' request because ''the rules have to be enforced.''
''Boundary issues come up quite a bit, and a lot of times they are driven by disgruntled, overzealous sports parents,'' he said.
Before the settlement was reached, conference officials believed that Mathis was trying to choose which Jenks team his son would play for, Askew said.
''Mr. Mathis is insistent there are three third-grade football teams he will play for and three he will not,'' Askew said.
Hjelm denied Askew's claim, saying Mathis would be satisfied for his son to be placed in a blind draft, essentially having his name drawn out of a hat by coaches.
''Our only caveat to that was that if the coach doesn't want him or need him that this little boy be traded to another team,'' Hjelm said.
Tom Lott, president of the football conference, said the rules are in place to discourage recruiting.
''We try to enforce that boundary so that parents aren't pulled from one program to another and coaches aren't trying to recruit outside their area,'' he said.