Court Grants Restraining Order Against OSSAA

The restraining order will allow Idabel football player K.J. Rucker to play in the team's first game.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 5:44 pm

By: News On 6

Court Grants Restraining Order Against OSSAA

Originally Published: Aug 27, 2010 6:48 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY –The McCurtain County Court granted a restraining order against the OSSAA filed by Idabel football player K.J. Rucker Friday, which will allow Rucker to play in the Warriors’ first game of the season.

View the full restraining order

The OSSAA had previously ruled Rucker ineligible for the first seven games because of residency rules violations in 2008, when he transferred from Edmond Santa Fe to Tulsa Central.

Rucker played in seven games for Central during his sophomore year, but he was later ruled ineligible for that period because the school had not applied for a hardship waiver. Rucker transferred again at the end of last year after his father became the new assistant coach at Idabel.

The OSSAA previously ruled that because Rucker played in seven games while ineligible as a sophomore, he must sit out the first seven games of this season to make up for it. The Rucker family filed an injunction against the OSSAA to fight that ruling, an injunction that was upheld Friday.

The McCurtain County Court ruled that forcing Rucker to sit out the first seven games of his senior season would cause him to be “irreparably damaged,” and that “no monetary compensation can ever restore to him the right and privilege to enjoy participation in high school athletic contests.”

The court filed a temporary restraining order against the OSSAA, which prohibits the governing body from enforcing its previous punishment. Rucker will now be able to play in Idabel’s first game on Sept. 3.

Court documents also stated that the OSSAA is allowed to appeal the decision at a Sept. 8 court date.