Marshaun Hainesworth thought his senior year at JFK would be a time he could shine on the football field and win some much needed scholarship dollars, but instead the stand out safety will be watching from the sidelines.
"This year is my time to step it up and play and I was like the quarterback on our defense so it's hard and it's killing our team right now," Hainesworth said.
A judge ruled Friday afternoon against Hainesworth's motion that he should be allowed to play even though the Ohio High School Athletic Association has ruled him ineligible, since he transferred from Warren Christian School to JFK this year.
A judge ruled Friday afternoon against Hainesworth's motion that he should be allowed to play even though the Ohio High School Athletic Association has ruled him ineligible, since he transferred from Warren Christian School to JFK this year.
Hainesworth went to JFK his freshman, sophomore and part of his junior year, but transferred to Warren Christian school the second half of his eleventh grade year. His father, Mario, said his son was having problems outside of the school so he transferred him in January.
"I needed to get my son's attention and so I felt it would be better for him to be at Warren Christian, a more controlled environment," said Mario Hainsworth.
Mario Hainesworth says the principal at JFK assured him, his son would be able to return to JFK and play football but the OHSAA rules say students cannot transfer from a private school to a private school and be eligible to play. Had Marshaun gone to a public school and then returned, he'd be eligible.
"It's good to have organizations that have rules that regulate but there has to be a human component to make a decision when you have someone and the circumstances would seem to dictate it's not just."
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