Photo by Slowking4
Woodrow Wilson High School’s football team was ejected from D.C.’s Turkey Bowl game scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, after D.C. Public Schools found that the team’s roster included a student who lives in Maryland.
Wilson had been set to play Dunbar High School in the annual game, which pits the two best public high school football teams against each other. It would have been Wilson’s first appearance in the game since 1991. Instead, with Wilson found to be in violation of rules dictating that non-residents are ineligible to play on interscholastic teams.
The Ward 3 school, which had amassed an 8-3 record this season, will also have to give up most or all of those wins, the Post reports:
In the statement, DCPS confirmed that “after reviewing tapes of games, Wilson High School administration and coaches determined this [ineligible] player played in two league games,” and therefore was not eligible for postseason play due to forfeiture of those games. DCPS athletic director Stephanie Evans said Sunday that Wilson will forfeit between “six and eight” games that the player participated in this season, and that its 8-3 record will be adjusted accordingly this week after it is officially determined how many games the player participated in. Wilson was set to make its first Turkey Bowl appearance since 1991. Evans declined further comment, as did Wilson Coach Mark Martin.
One-hundred-ninety-eight students in D.C. Public Schools commute from outside the District, provided their families pay out-of-state tuition that ranges between $6,709 and $11,986 a year. And though Wilson is appealing the ruling, DCPS can be quite firm when it comes to enforcing residency requirements. Last month, D.C. Attorney General filed a suit against a charter school employee who allegedly helped a Maryland student attend DCPS’ McKinley Technology High School without paying tuition.
With Wilson out of the Turkey Bowl, defending champion Dunbar, which also finished 8-3, will face 6-5 Anacostia High School on Thursday at Eastern High School.
