It’s been a turbulent week for freshman Memphis center James Wise man; first, his eligibility for the upcoming NCAA season is up in the air, and now Wiseman’s ineligibility can retroactively cost his high school Memphis East their state title.
According to ESPN the 2017-2018, East Memphis high school basketball team which Wiseman played on and Penny Hardaway coached is in danger of getting their state title striped because Wiseman and another player were ruled ineligible.
Shelby County Chancery Court Judge Jim Kyle ruled on Oct. 3 that the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s decision to rule Wiseman and Ryan Boyce ineligible in November 2017 did not violate the student’s property rights.
TSSAA Director Matthew Gillespie told ESPN that Memphis East will be forced to forfeit games in which Wiseman and Boyce played and vacate the 2017-18 state championship if the association’s initial ruling regarding Wiseman’s and Boyce’s eligibility is upheld by the court.
Gillespie said that the TSSAA wasn’t aware that Hardaway provided Wiseman’s family with $11,500 to help them move. If the allegations ring true, then that might cost East Memphis High additional penalties, including probation and monetary fines.
In a 2018 deposition, Wiseman stated that he and his mother moved to Memphis to be closer to a family member who was suffering through mental health issues.
The Shelby County Board of Education, Memphis East principal Marilyn Hilliard, Wiseman’s mother, and Boyce and his mother are appealing the ruling.
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