Sports
IHSA clears Kenwood boys basketball team for state playoffs after investigation, removes several players and coaches – Hyde Park Herald
(With basketball) Kenwood Academy’s Chris Riddle faces off against a Hyde Park Academy player during a neigborhood varsity boys basketball matchup at Kenwood, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave., on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.
(With basketball) Kenwood Academy’s Chris Riddle faces off against a Hyde Park Academy player during a neigborhood varsity boys basketball matchup at Kenwood, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave., on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.
Several Kenwood Academy players and its head coach were barred from the state playoff game tonight after multiple investigations revealed residency fraud.
On Thursday afternoon, the Illinois High School Association announced it would lift its suspension and allow Kenwood to participate in the playoffs that night pending the removal of five student-athletes who violated residency requirements to attend the school, head coach Mike Irvin and two assistant coaches.
According to a Thursday evening release from the IHSA, the association suspended Kenwood boys from the 2024 state series yesterday after multiple investigations revealed cases of student-athlete residency fraud. Kenwood Academy appealed the decision to the IHSA’s board of directors that afternoon, who postponed the Broncos regional basketball game scheduled for that evening, so the school could make its case.
At 2 p.m. on Feb. 22, the IHSA ruled Kenwood could participate in the playoffs after the removal of the student-athletes and coaches in violation of IHSA residency rules.
According to the IHSA release, that ruling was then appealed via a Temporary Restraining Order request in Cook County Circuit Court at 3:30 p.m, where the judge ruled in favor of the IHSA.
The Class 4A regional semifinal game against Morton High School was rescheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 22.
“This is a very unfortunate situation, and we take no solace in delivering a ruling like this,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “It is the job of the IHSA to enforce the rules its member schools have put into place in order to provide equity for all of the high schools competing in IHSA State Series tournaments.”
In the release, the IHSA said that enrollment fraud allegations against student-athletes at Kenwood have been the subject of an ongoing Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of the Inspector General (OIF) investigation.
On Jan. 25, the OIG presented evidence and documents from its investigation to the IHSA.
“The CPS OIG investigation provided evidence that multiple current student-athletes on the Kenwood Academy varsity boys basketball team used falsified items (such as utility bills) in order to meet the residence requirements to attend Kenwood Academy,” reads the release. “Others provided home addresses that were inaccurate to meet the residence requirements to attend Kenwood Academy.”
After presenting this evidence to Kenwood Academy and CPS administrators, the IHSA conducted its own investigation. The state association presented evidence from its investigation to Kenwood Academy administrators on Feb. 12.
“The school had not refuted any of the evidence obtained by the CPS Office of the Inspector General or the IHSA,” the release reads.
Administrators from Kenwood Academy could not be reached as of press time.
According to the release, the CPS OIG investigation is ongoing. The evidence was presented to the IHSA before the investigation concluded to “proactively prevent a situation where Kenwood’s participation would impact other teams in contests that would likely have to be forfeited once the investigation was complete,” the IHSA wrote in the release.
The agency conducted its own investigation because it “became clear that the CPS timeline for bringing resolution to this matter would not occur until after the IHSA Boys Basketball State Series,” the release reads.
Noting that Kenwood has one of the top basketball programs in the city, Anderson stressed that the IHSA’s investigation was not the result of targeted scrutiny.
“Given the sheer size and diversity of the Chicago Public School system, this news is likely to produce ‘whataboutisms’ with allegations about other teams and programs,” he said. “It will also spark topical conversations about educational and athletic access in one of the largest cities in the country.”
The story is developing.
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Mostly clear this evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..
Mostly clear this evening then becoming mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 73F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: June 21, 2024 @ 5:58 pm
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