Campbell Hall Drops Appeal, Won’t Defend Section Title : Boys’ basketball: School sanctioned for using ineligible player ends its bid for a temporary restraining order.

Campbell Hall High on Tuesday pulled the plug on a legal appeal of Southern Section sanctions levied against its boys’ basketball team, ending the team’s chances of earning a playoff berth and defending its section title.

The school notified the section office Tuesday afternoon that it would not seek a temporary restraining order, marking an about-face from its position a few hours earlier.

The school said in a press release that it decided not to pursue legal action, in part, because it could “displace another team and undermine the hopes of other student athletes.

“Campbell Hall refuses to jeopardize the standing of a fellow school and its players.”

The section last week ordered Campbell Hall to forfeit eight games for using an ineligible player. The school appealed to the state level, but the ruling was upheld. Campbell Hall’s record fell to 6-18, eliminating the Vikings from postseason consideration.

However, the school last Friday declared its intention to seek a temporary restraining order that would have forced section officials to include the team in the playoffs, which begin Friday. Playoff brackets were issued Sunday, and had Campbell Hall gained entrance through the courts, another team probably would have been bumped from the postseason field.

Campbell Hall, the defending Division V-AA champion, had a court date for Tuesday afternoon. The bid for a restraining order stalled, however, when the school filed paperwork in the wrong courthouse.

The school sought the restraining order at Van Nuys Superior Court, while Burbank Superior Court has jurisdiction over the North Hollywood area in which the school is located, according to a Burbank court clerk.

Kenneth Wright, a Campbell Hall attorney and member of the school’s board of directors, refused comment at the Van Nuys courthouse.

Section Commissioner Stan Thomas welcomed the news that the case was put to rest.

“I hope they learned their lesson on this one,” Thomas said. “This is all too negative for me.

“The CIF doesn’t like to be seen as the enforcer, but when the integrity of a rule is at stake, we will be.”

C.J. Thompkins, a senior guard, said the team practiced Tuesday and that he was on campus until 4:30. Thompkins said he was told in the afternoon that the school would probably be seeking a court date Thursday in Burbank.

“This is all a little weird,” Thompkins said.

Staff writer Eric Shepard contributed to this story.