Thursday, October 8, 2009

OSSAA Got Most of Jenks Punishment Right

Nothing like learning what you already knew. In journalism, we call such an act "getting confirmation." In Oklahoma sports, it's called catching Jenks cheating to win football games. Imagine, a high school powerhouse that never seems to lose ... is caught ... recruiting? If such insights continue to surface, we may learn that every team plays'em one game at a time and gives it 110 percent.

You've heard the story: Good out-of-state football player wanted to play at Jenks. Problem No. 1: He lived in Virginia, not Jenks. Easy Fix: Have Jenks football booster Clyde "Red" Smith house good out-of-state football player. Problem No. 2: OSSAA learns of good out-of-state kid playing for Jenks without establishing residence there. Easy Fix: Contest the ruling. We're Jenks, right? We always win. Problem No. 3: They didn't. The OSSAA hires an independent Tulsa law firm to investigate, and the firm not only upholds the suspension, but also finds other rule-breaking at Jenks.

No, you won't find Jenks' recruiting sins listed in the last book of the New Testament. There was no revelation in that news. Other than this: Jenks got caught -- and the OSSAA did something about it. Even more miraculous: The OSSAA got the punishment right. Almost.

The Association decided to:

• Suspend Jenks coach Allan Trimble without pay for the rest of the semester. This was a no-brainer. Even The Association couldn't screw up that. Trimble had already suspended himself. And if a program is caught breaking the rules, the head coach must go away -- at least for a while.

• Keep Jenks off of probation, which would have kept the Trojans out of the Class 6A playoff this season. No need to punish the student-athletes. The good out-of-state football player graduated in May. He's no longer there, so why punish those who remain?

• Review the suspension of Trimble in June. This is The Association saying, "We'll be watching - and it better not be business at usual in Jenks."

• Allow Jenks to keep all of its titles. Well, three of four ain't bad. I don't like this decision. If the Trojans played with ineligible players, and it appears they did as far back as '98, they should be stripped of the titles. One of The Association's top jobs is to maintain a level playing field for all competitors -- and it fails in nearly every attempt to do so.

But this is progress. It's game-changing. Now if we can just get The Association to do something about the private schools. Do you think they recruit? Maybe?

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