Coosa Christian, AHSAA to meet in court over motion to dismiss lawsuit over violations
Coosa Christian finally has a date to argue its case against the Alabama High School Athletic Association in front of a judge.
Last week, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge James Anderson set a date for Coosa Christian and the AHSAA to meet in court to hear a motion from the AHSAA on whether to dismiss the lawsuit stemming from AHSAA violations assessed against the Conquerors that knocked them out of the state football playoffs in 2024 and could do the same in 2025.
The hearing is set for March 26 at 11 a.m. at the Montgomery County Courthouse. That's one day after the AHSAA goes to court in a different case stemming from violating a court order in a case involving a student athlete from Marbury High School. Attorney Michael Kidd, the father of the student-athlete at the center of the Marbury case, is counsel opposing the AHSAA in both cases.
The lawsuit was originally filed Nov. 4, with an injunction being denied eight days later. Anderson wrote that Coosa Christian "failed to meet their burden of proof." Anderson also used the precedent that "the law in Alabama is that courts generally should not interfere with the internal operations of the AHSAA unless there is clear and convincing evidence of fraud, collusion or arbitrariness," in his order to deny a temporary restraining order to keep Coosa Christian in the playoffs.
The lawsuit stems from sanctions from the AHSAA brought on to Coosa Christian from a violation of the "Coaching Outside the School Year" rule. The sanctions included putting the Conquerors on restrictive probation, keeping them out of the 2024 and the 2025 playoffs.
The lawsuit alleges that AHSAA executive director Heath Harmon communicated to the school that it might have its 2025 penalties reversed if football coach Mark O'Bryant is not associated with the school in a coaching capacity next year.
According to the lawsuit, Harmon sent a letter to Amanda Justus, headmaster of Coosa Christian Schools, saying "if Coach Mark O'Bryant is not associated with coaching CCS's football program in any level including but not limited to player development," the school could apply for reinstatement to championship play ahead of the 2025 season."
The penalties stem from the AHSAA's belief that the school misrepresented how many games the ineligible student actually played in: Coosa Christian originally reported to the AHSAA that he played in one game and dressed for five others, but did not play in those. An AHSAA investigation found the ineligible student played in five games.
Along with the probation and forfeits, the school was fined $500 for "lack of administrative control and omitting vital information" on top of a $300 fine for playing an ineligible player. Coosa Christian appealed to both the District 6 Board on Nov. 1 and the AHSAA's Central Board on Nov. 2. Both appeals were denied.
The sanctions are not Coosa Christian's first from the AHSAA. The football program had to forfeit four wins in 2023 for violating stemming from the AHSAA's transfer policy. It was still able to make the playoffs and made a run to the state title game before losing to Leroy.
What is the timeline of events in the Coosa Christian case?
The student-athlete in question in the 2024 violations met with Coosa Christian offensive coordinator Alaric Williams to train what the AHSAA described as "athletic development" back in the spring of 2024. At the time, the student-athlete was enrolled at Glencoe Middle School. He transferred to Coosa Christian later that spring.
On Monday, Oct. 28, Coosa Christian responded to the AHSAA and an allegation made by Glencoe High School. The next day, the AHSAA and Harmon responded to Coosa Christian in a letter addressed to Justus. That letter was shared by Coosa Christian in the lawsuit.
In that letter, Harmon wrote that Coosa Christian stated that the student was allowed to play against Cleveland along with three sub-varsity games. The school admitted at that time the student dressed for varsity games against Pell City, Southeastern, Susan Moore, Cold Springs and West End but did not play. The AHSAA ordered Coosa Christian to forfeit the Cleveland win on Oct. 29.
The AHSAA informed the school Oct. 31 that other schools had come forward with evidence that the student played in five total games, ordering Coosa Christian to forfeit those five wins. It also ruled that the student will have to sit out the first five games of the 2025 season.
In that Oct. 31 letter, Harmon informed the school that it was being placed under restrictive probation through the end of the 2025 Alabama high school football season due to violations in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. It informed Coosa Christian that it could appeal to get off probation in July of 2025 if it met conditions laid out by the AHSAA.
The school was also fined $500 for "lack of administrative control and omitting vital information" on top of a $300 fine for playing an ineligible player.
The school's appeals were denied, with the school responding soon after.
On Nov. 4, the school filed its . On Nov. 12th, Judge Anderson denied an injunction. Over the last few months depositions and discovery have been ongoing.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Coosa Christian, AHSAA to meet in court over violations lawsuit
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