State leaders on Governor Kay Ivey’s lawsuit against AHSAA

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Friday, a judge in Montgomery issued a temporary restraining order against the Alabama High School Athletic Association. That’s after Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter filed a motion pushing back on the association’s rule concerning CHOOSE Act recipients.

State leaders say they are in full support of the Governor’s actions. The association states the CHOOSE Act is a form of financial aid, and students receiving any tuition assistance can’t play for a year.

“Honestly, this has turned into a giant waste of time,” said Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine).

Sen. Elliott said the association is playing politics.

“Here’s the Alabama High School Athletic Association trying to ‘mansplain’ to some legislators what they meant when they passed the law, and what the legislative intent was. I mean, the legislative intent was clear as a bell,” Elliott added.

Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) said that intent was to give students a chance to excel and attend a school that works for them.

“Honestly, it’s a slap in the face to taxpayers, to parents, to students…” she said.

DuBose said there are about 24,000 students who have utilized the $7,000 tax credit under the CHOOSE Act. She explained her colleagues are considering all possibilities about how to enforce the AHSAA.

“So, we clearly stated in the law that a students’ eligibility to participate in school sports shall not be impacted by a transfer via the CHOOSE Act. You cannot get any clearer than that,” said DuBose.

Representative Kelvin Datcher (D-Birmingham) said, “I guarantee you that members of both the House and Senate will not appreciate student athletes being deprived of these incredible, lifechanging opportunities.”

Rush Propst, head football coach at Coosa Christian Academy, said he hates to see students lose eligibility. He hopes the association and state leaders can find common ground.

“If the state legislators believe this CHOOSE Act can get people on the field, then we gotta find out a way to make it work,” said Propst. “But, at the same time, it can’t be a tool used to just create eligibility for a certain group of people.”

On ‘X,’ Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth said he will offer legislation to strip the AHSAA of its power and give it to an entity that will follow the law.