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Lawyer's courtroom Hail Mary could get Amite football back into playoffs
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BATON ROUGE - A lawyer for the Tangipahoa Parish School System will argue the Louisiana High School Athletic Association is unfairly enforcing its rule dealing with fights during football games Friday morning.
This week, the LHSAA banned Amite High School from participating in its playoff game against St. James. The game is set for Friday night at the Superdome. Amite won its last semifinal game against Bogalusa but is facing a season-ending punishment for a fight that happened during the game a week ago.
Following a touchdown by Amite last Friday, football players gathered on the field in what was reported as a "bench-clearing brawl." The LHSAA did not find out about the altercation until Sunday and announced Amite could not participate in the playoffs.
But, the lawyer representing the school system believes the fight was exaggerated and said Amite High School players never struck opposing players. Chris Moody will argue these and other items, including his belief that not enough Amite players are identifiable to determine the full team's involvement in the fight.
Moody also said while LHSAA's sportsmanship rules require an automatic suspension from the next game, the rule has not been enforced with other schools this season.
"We have asked the [LHSAA] director to give equal and fair punishment," Moody said in an email to WBRZ Thursday.
All sides appear in court Friday morning. Should the judge rule in Amite's favor, the team could play in its scheduled playoff game Friday night in New Orleans.
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