City Appeals Panel Ruling Allows Burwell to Play for Cleveland

Twenty-four hours after a City Section subcommittee voted unanimously to deny Cleveland High running back Sean Burwell varsity eligibility for the 1987 season, the ruling was overturned on appeal.

A three-member appeals panel chaired by Dick Browning, an administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District, ruled Burwell eligible at noon Friday.

Three hours after the judgment, Burwell played in Cleveland’s 27-6 loss to Taft, rushing for 55 yards and 1 touchdown on 7 carries.

Burwell said after the game that he never gave up hope. Neither did the Cleveland coaches.

“As a coach, you can’t give up on a player,” Cleveland Coach Steve Landress said. “That’s what we teach them, not to give up in a game.”

City Director Hal Harkness declined to comment on the decision other than to say that the system is designed to ensure that athletes get a second opinion through the checks and balances of multiple hearings.

“The process is this way so the kids have a chance,” Harkness said. “That’s why we have a system of appeals.”

Said Browning: “We felt there was hardship as defined in Rules 224 and 214. The committee was satisfied that emotional hardship was documented.”

CIF Rules 224 and 214 deal with hardship and transfers, respectively. The appeals committee heard testimony Friday from Don Burwell, who is Sean’s uncle, and Bernice Floyd, Sean’s grandmother. Sean’s mother Sharon is out of town. The committee also reviewed hardship documentation submitted earlier by the Burwells.

Browning, who declined to reveal the panel vote, said the meeting was convened Friday so Burwell would not miss another game if ruled eligible.

The decision ends Burwell’s seven-week battle with City administrators to gain athletic eligibility. Burwell transferred to Cleveland in late August after a fight with another player while attending Chaminade. The transfer was approved--Burwell lives in Cleveland’s attendance area--but his varsity eligibility hinged on proof of hardship, which is required when an athlete does not change residence.

Burwell first sought eligibility through a financial-hardship petition, but the rules subcommittee recommended to deny the request Sept. 24.

Burwell then filed an emotional-hardship petition, citing racial tension at Chaminade, a private parochial school of 950 students in Canoga Park. Rather than face penalties set forth after the fight, Burwell transferred. The first hearing on emotional hardship was postponed by the Oct. 1 earthquake. The rules subcommittee ruled on the matter Thursday.

Burwell had been practicing with the Cleveland team. The 6-0, 178-pound tailback rushed for 1,211 yards as a sophomore last season, the fourth-highest total among Valley-area running backs.

Said Burwell: “It will be a lot more worthwhile to go to practice.”

Staff writer David Wharton contributed to this story.