Kennedy Catholic Banned from Playing Section 1 Teams: The Journal News

Written by Lanning Taliaferro

According to The Journal News/lohud.com, sports teams at Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers are forbidden to play any Section 1 teams in the 2013-14 school year. 

The ban by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association was based largely on charges of improper recruitment,Nancy Haggerty said writing for lohud.com.

The post on lohud.com includes many of the documents in the case, including the Section 1 decision, appeal, and letters of support.

In the appeals decision the Section 1 officials say they had received three complaints, from Mamaroneck, Bedford and Hendrick Hudson. 

The appeal hearing transcript includes a statement from Kennedy's principal, the Rev. Mark Vaillancourt, that the ban is not only unfair but particularly punitive toward the girls teams at Kennedy, which have never been accused of any misconduct.  

One of the letters is from Bob Maher, a former Section One President and current CEO of St. Christopher's in the Greenburgh/North Castle special district. And also the parent of a Kennedy HS bball alum.

He called the Section 1 decision arbitrary and capricious, and said Section 1 officials had acted poorly in the process.

He also gave the controversy some context:

"Let me offer my perspective as to the scope and sequence of how this travesty all began," he said in his letter. "It dates back to the days when Our Lady of Lourdes and Ursuline Academy girls basketball dominated most, if NOT ALL, Section 1 opponents winning countless Section 1 and NYSPHSAA titles. There was always an uproar and suspicion that both schools "recruited" students from the local public schools. Whether it was true or not -- the suspicion left an unsavory flavor in most Section 1 Athletic Directors' mouths."