Missouri judge found evidence of collusion and fraud against student athlete | Opinion

Participating in extracurricular activities is a privilege, attorneys for the Missouri State High School Activities Association argued during legal proceedings in Greene County last month. Student-athletes who break MSHSAA bylaws must pay the price.

We accept that. But what about school district leaders?

What should the punishment be for leaders who act with malice to commit fraud and collude with others to derail a young person’s future?

Should they remain in positions of influence? Absolutely not.

In a recent ruling in Greene County Circuit Court, Judge Derek Ankrom found credible evidence that two athletic administrators in Springfield Public Schools intentionally misled MSHSAA officials about the transfer of Glendale quarterback Kylan Mabins.

As of this week, the two men in question — Josh Scott, athletic director for Springfield Public Schools and Scot Phillips, athletics and activities director at Springfield’s Kickapoo High School — remained in their respective positions.

Mabins ‘robbed of senior year’

Mabins’ saga should resonate with the families of any aspiring student-athlete around the state who is trying to transfer for legitimate reasons and not because he is recruited. MSHSAA has a 365-day transfer policy, which would keep Mabins from playing varsity football at Glendale for a year.

This summer, Mabins’ family sought a preliminary injunction that would allow him to play this season. After a two-day hearing in late August, Ankrom ruled evidence shows Scott colluded with Phillips to challenge Mabins’ transfer last spring from Kickapoo.

Even worse, Scott is also on the board of directors for MSHSAA, the state’s governing body for high school activities. In light of these serious preliminary findings by a judge, we must question Scott’s ability to fairly serve the best interest of Missouri school children. He should consider temporarily stepping aside from his MSHSAA duties until litigation in this case concludes and he is absolved of wrongdoing.

As of this week, Scott was still a board member, according to a MSHSAA spokesman. We reached out to Scott, Phillips and officials with Springfield Public Schools for comment.

In a statement sent to us late Wednesday, a district spokesman wrote: “We dispute the claims and remain confident that our staff have, at all times, acted appropriately, lawfully and consistent with the athletic processes required by Board of Education policies and the Missouri State High School Activities Association.”

At the hearing, Ankrom heard arguments as to why he should allow Mabins to play this season. The evidence Ankrom considered in granting the injunction found no one recruited Mabins to Glendale as alleged, court records indicate.

Ankrom admonished Scott and Phillips, though. The pair worked as “thought partners” to bolster the argument challenging Mabins’ transfer, Ankrom wrote. Both knew MSHSAA investigators were given misleading video evidence of the teen purportedly working out with a Glendale coach two years before the transfer, according to Ankrom’s order. Scott and Phillips knew the adult in the video with Mabins wasn’t a Glendale coach.

By misrepresenting the evidence submitted during Mabins’ appeal, the athletic administrators committed fraud and threatened irreparable harm to Mabins’ future, Ankrom ruled.

“The Court believes that Mr. Phillips and Mr. Scott knew that (Kickapoo High School’s) factual bases for objecting to Mabins’s eligibility was insufficient,” Ankrom wrote in the ruling.

Future hearings will determine whether the injunction will stay in place permanently. At this point, Mabins’ claims have merit, Ankrom wrote. His initial findings were not considered conclusive.

But the order granting Mabins request for relief was telling.

“The Court is deeply troubled by the conduct of SPS and MSHSAA – in particular that of KHS’s athletic director (Phillips) and SPS’s district athletic director (Scott).” Ankrom wrote.

One would think state officials would take steps to address these serious transgressions committed against Mabins. But, nope. Nothing to see here, MSHSAA officials told us. Ankrom got it wrong, according to an email statement sent to us on behalf of executive director Jennifer Rukstad.

“The Missouri State High School Activities Association is not in agreement with the outcome of the preliminary injunction hearing and will be accessing the next steps of due process,” the statement read.

Mabins has potential to play college football, according to one of the family’s attorneys, Jay Kirksey.

But Mabins’ future is “up in the air because of the false statements, malice, fraud and collusion by Springfield Public Schools and MSHSAA,” Kirksey said.

In its challenge, Kickapoo officials claimed Mabins changed schools for athletic reasons and undue influence from an outside party, according to legal documents. Per MSHSAA’s 365-day transfer policy, Mabins was not eligible to play varsity football at Glendale for a year.

After multiple appeals to MSHSAA, Mabins’ request for a hardship waiver was denied. His family sought a preliminary injunction against MSHSAA, its board of directors, Scott, and Springfield Public Schools. And won.

Mabins has played minimal snaps so far this season, according to Kirksey.

“They robbed him of his senior year,” he said.

Judge: SPS officials retaliated against Mabins

What were the facts behind the dispute? Before this season, Mabins was a two-year varsity starter at crosstown rival Kickapoo. In March, Mabins’ family requested a transfer to Glendale. Weeks before, Mabins filed a report with school officials about racial misconduct within the Kickapoo football program, according to court documents.

Citing a toxic environment filled with “racial micro-aggressions,” homophobia and mental health challenges, Mabins’ request was granted three days later by Springfield Public Schools, according to court records. Until it wasn’t.

In granting Mabins’ request, Ankrom wrote: “There is a likelihood that (Kickapoo High School), acting in concert and collusion with SPS and MSHSAA through Mr. Scott, prompted the undertakings of MSHSAA and the ineligibility of Mabins with malice toward Mabins in retaliation for his and his family’s complaints about the (Kickapoo) environment and the conduct of its coaching staff.”

A system set up to provide an even playing field for MSHSAA member schools and their students failed the very athletes it’s designed to protect. As did the actions of Scott and Phillips.

In this case, the lack of accountability from the adults in charge should concern us all.