Clinton High School Appeals TSSAA Decision on Ineligible Player Forfeiture

Clinton High School has appealed a decision by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) that required the school to forfeit all varsity football games in which an allegedly ineligible player participated during the 2023 season.

On May 17, 2024, Clinton High School self-reported that a student had only earned five credits during the previous school year, making him ineligible to participate. However, upon further review, the school discovered that an additional credit for government and economics had been incorrectly recorded under the 2022 school year instead of 2023. This error led to the student’s ineligibility report.

In a letter to TSSAA’s Executive Director, Mark Reeves, Clinton High School provided the corrected transcript showing that the student had indeed earned six credits for the 2023 school year. The school also included Odysseyware Student Progress Reports, confirming that the student completed the necessary credit recovery courses by May 15, 2023.

Clinton High School is requesting that the TSSAA reconsider its decision, stating that the student was, in fact, eligible to participate in the games, and the forfeitures should be revoked based on the corrected academic records.

Additionally, Coach Darell Keith’s contract was not renewed due to the playing of an ineligible player. However, the school system has not made any public statements regarding Coach Keith. We contacted, Coach Keith and asked if the school system had reached out to him about his contract status following the appeal.

Coach Keith text and said, “YES! He was eligible. I’m a man of character, I would not cheat with my son watching every move. The opinon of my son on my character means everything to me.”

We also contacted Ryan Sutton of the Anderson County School System and asked if the TSSAA reverses their decision, what would this mean for Coach Keith’s status on his contract renewal. Sutton responded by saying, “The Anderson County School District will not be commenting on theoretical verdicts before they have made a decision.”

So, stay tuned as we will continue to follow this story closely.