'Everybody does it'
A frequently repeated complaint among some parents at Northern High School, which has been forced to forfeit a state basketball title for using ineligible players, is that “everyone does it.”
That’s a poor excuse and a poor moral example to set for students.
Northern's baseball team also was forced from the state playoffs, and ineligible athletes were found in other sports as well.
Wrong is wrong and using ineligible players is clearly against the rules.
That said, it is important for school officials to investigate and sanction other schools that are found to violate the rules.
Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green has said he intends to do precisely that.
“If that’s what our community wants to do, that’s what we’ll do,” Green said Thursday night during a meeting at Northern.
Good. Enforcement should be fair and consistent throughout the school system.
Meanwhile, parents should give the flimsy excuses a rest.
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