Legal Victory: "Hasty decision-making" results in legal reversal

Brady Hargraves is a young man who transferred from Natick High School to Xaverian Brothers High School to repeat his freshman year after the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on both his mental health and academic performance.

A dual-sports athlete, Hargraves wished to continue to play both baseball and football to round out his senior year, however strict guidelines surrounding athletics framed by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) created a serious hiccup in his plans. Given his age and credits earned, the MIAA believed Hargraves ineligible to play, sparking legal action from his family against the MIAA.

Hargraves was initially denied fifth year eligibility to play football and baseball by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA), which also denied his right to appeal the original denial.

Justice Law Collaborative's Paula Bliss and Kelly Guagenty reviewed the circumstances surrounding the denial and filed legal action against the MIAA suggesting that the supervisorial organization unfairly deprived Hargraves of due process rights by denying an appeal of his rejected waiver application.

In a rare turn of events, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Salim Radriguez Tabit ruled in favor of Hargraves, stating that the MIAA acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it denied Hargraves' fifth year of eligibility and his right to appeal the denial. In an eight-page order, the judge also called the MIAA’s treatment of Hargraves “prejudicial.”

Bob Holer, investigative sports reporter at the Boston Globe, reported that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association abruptly changed course, informing the court it would drop its refusal to grant an appeal to Hargrave.

Regardless of the case’s outcome, the family’s legal challenge is likely to spur the MIAA to amend its regulations for appealing waiver denials so the organization does not find itself again responding to a judge’s reprimand.

Source: Boston Globe (October 18,2024)