CIF Appeals Court Decision Allowing Jones to Play Sports at Calabasas

The California Interscholastic Federation has appealed a Van Nuys Superior Court ruling that allowed Demetrius Jones of Calabasas High to participate in sports despite having used up his athletic eligibility.

The appeal, filed with the 2nd Appellate District Court in Los Angeles, asks that the Nov. 7, 1986, ruling by Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Martha Goldin be overturned. Goldin issued a preliminary injunction against the CIF and Calabasas High, ordering them to allow Jones--who had been recruited by USC, UCLA, Nebraska and Notre Dame--to rejoin the school’s football team.

Goldin’s decision was handed down one day before Calabasas’ final game of the season. But Jones was ineligible to play because of a CIF rule that requires athletes to practice with the team for at least 10 days before participating in a game.

Jones has taken advantage of the court ruling to join the Calabasas basketball team. After a preseason ankle injury that required surgery, Jones is again practicing with the team and could play in Friday night’s game, according to Coach Bill Bellatty.

Jones, a 17-year-old senior, was ruled ineligible by the CIF at the end of the 1985-86 school year at Calabasas. CIF laws allow a student only eight consecutive semesters of eligibility in grades 9 through 12. Jones, who was forced to repeat the 11th grade, had reached the limit, the CIF ruled.

Jones, however, never attended fifth grade, jumping from the fourth grade to the sixth in a Chicago elementary school because, according to his father, school officials determined that Jones was too large. Jones is now 6-6 and weighs 220 pounds.

“They told us simply that Demetrius was too big for fifth grade, that he was so much bigger than his classmates they felt he’d be better off in the sixth grade,” his father, Gregory Jones, said.

As a result, Jones lagged behind his classmates academically when he left Chicago to join his father, who had moved to Calabasas, and had to repeat his junior year. Despite being just 16 years old, he had used up eligibility under CIF rules.

When the CIF refused to grant him another year of eligibility, Gregory Jones filed suit against the CIF and Calabasas High. Late last year, Goldin agreed with Jones’ attorney, Keith M. Gregory of Newport Beach, and ordered the CIF and Calabasas High to allow Jones to play sports.

The CIF petitioned the 2nd Appellate District Court on Nov. 12 to void Goldin’s ruling. That request was denied on Dec. 15, and the CIF filed an official appeal of Goldin’s ruling on Jan. 2 with the appellate court. No hearing date on the appeal has been set, and Jones’ attorney said he does not anticipate such a hearing soon.

“Frankly, there is little chance that hearing date will even be set before Demetrius has graduated from Calabasas,” Gregory said. “The CIF’s concern is that the ruling by Judge Goldin will open the floodgates against its eight-semester rule and more and more student-athletes will litigate against the rule.”

Stan Thomas, CIF Southern Section commissioner of athletics, said the CIF does not anticipate a flurry of challenges against its eligibility rule.

“I don’t feel the ruling was that important,” Thomas said. “Every case would have to be judged on its own merit. I don’t feel that one ruling will overwhelm us. But we welcome the opportunity to do this again, with another judge.

“We are very disappointed in the judge’s ruling. I think the judge just decided to let the kid play football rather than following the rule. We just want the ruling overturned. We think the appeal is the right thing to do. We feel the judge erred in making the decision. His attorney made a strong presentation based on the humanistic factors, not on the law, and I think she bought it.”