Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Media / Sports City Paper Sues TSSAA to Produce Records in Court
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 3:11 PM
Today in Davidson County Chancery Court, The City Paper filed suit against the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, the organization that governs high school athletics in the state, in an attempt to obtain public records. The suit stems from the City Paper's ongoing investigation of financial irregularities involving payments either directly or indirectly to high-school athletes.
As part of its reporting, the paper — which is owned by SouthComm, also the parent company of the Nashville Scene — asked the TSSAA for records that it believes to be public. The organization refused. In a notice posted minutes ago on the paper's site, City Paper editor Steve Cavendish explained the impetus for the suit:
... We would like to see inside [the TSSAA's] investigatory process and learn exactly how the organization functions as it applies its rules on financial aid and student athlete eligibility.The TSSAA is the regulatory body for high school athletics in the state of Tennessee. Though nominally a private organization, it is largely funded by public tax dollars in the form of membership fees and its Board of Control is filled with public officials. It is so intertwined with public resources that the U.S. Supreme Court declared it a state actor in the course of its landmark case against Brentwood Academy.
But even more important than its public status is the power it wields over the lives of students. Simply, it is the only game in town if you are an athlete or school in Tennessee. We believe that a little sunshine on the TSSAA might be beneficial for everyone.
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