LAWRENCE — A student athlete who transferred from Peabody High to St. Mary’s, hoping to join the Spartans’ boys basketball team has been told he will be allowed to do so after taking his case to court.
Chibuikem Onwuogu was one of two student athletes who were denied waivers last week to play basketball at St. Mary’s by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council (MIAC).
Wednesday morning, the Onwuogu family took the matter to Lawrence Superior Court where a judge ruled in favor of allowing the 17-year-old junior to join the Spartans. He was told he can do so immediately.
Attorney Leo Fama represented the Onwuogu family in court.
“The last week or so has been really tough for him,” Fama said. “He’s been really distraught and upset the last few times I had interaction with him. He didn’t understand a lot about what was going on at the hearing, but when the judge said he could play, he was very excited and how could he not be.”
Athletes who have seen varsity action in a particular sport and who transfer are automatically deemed ineligible to participate in that sport for the next year unless the schools agree among themselves to allow the athlete to play.
Sammy Battista, a 15-year-old freshman, who also transferred to St. Mary’s from Peabody and hoped to play basketball, was also denied a waiver. It’s unclear as to whether the Battista family will pursue further action.
Peabody did not sign off on requests that either Onwuogu or Battista be allowed to play. The next step was a waiver hearing before the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), which was also denied. The MIAC likewise turned St. Mary’s down, which was the final step in the process before the family took the matter to court.
The Onwuogu family moved to Lynn from Nigeria in 2001, according to Fama. The family joined the St. Mary’s parish and have been parishioners of the church since. They currently reside in Peabody.
“This is a kid that transferred from Peabody High to St. Mary’s. He testified to leaving Peabody for three reasons: academics, religion, and basketball,” Fama said. “The first two were the more important reasons. He sat down with his father and talked about this. They’ve been parishioners at St. Mary’s since the early 2000s.
“I’m excited for him,” Fama said. “I’m excited for his teammates. It helps to vindicate the idea that he was recruited from one school to another. That’s a tough tag to have on you when you know you did nothing wrong.”
St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall released a statement on behalf of the school.
“We respect the waiver and appeal process conducted by the MIAA. While we disagree with the final ruling, which was based on unsubstantiated claims by the sending school, St. Mary’s ended attempts to procure a waiver for the student-athlete upon the MIAA’s denial of the final appeal.
“We also understand and respect the fact that the student-athlete and his family had the right to pursue further recourse, though they did so independent of the school. St. Mary’s values its role as a member of the MIAA and takes pride in that fact that we operate in compliance with the rules and regulations set forth in the MIAA Handbook. The court’s ruling reinforces that.”
