Mater Dei’s Hunt wins appeal for eligibility
October 6th, 2010, 5:40 pm · · posted by Steve Fryer
Todd Hunt, a linebacker who moved from Connecticut to Southern California and is enrolled at Mater Dei, was declared athletically eligible today at a CIF State appeals hearing.
Hunt is immediately eligible to play for Mater Dei, which plays Gardena on Saturday at Santa Ana Stadium. It is unknown if Hunt will play in the Gardena game.
Hunt had been declared ineligible by the CIF-Southern Section and his appeal to the CIF-SS afterward also was denied.
The Diocese of Orange, representing Mater Dei, filed a legal complaint against the CIF-SS alleging the section has been biased against Mater Dei in rulings and practices.
Related posts and stories:
- Diocese of Orange files suit against Southern Section
- CIF-SS responds to Diocese of Orange lawsuit
- CIF, Mater Dei rift a sad situation
- Todd Hunt eligibility hearing Wednesday
- LB Todd Hunt seeking TRO
- MD football transfer request turned down
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Hmmm….Hunt was deemed eligible after being denied twice before? Gee, I guess the CIF was wrong in their initial rulings after all. Thank, God, the Diocese helped them see the error of their ways. Did you actually think the CIF would rule differently after the threat of lawsuit? LOL. Greeeeat.
Warrior,
The C.I.F. got their fangs filed down by the strong arm of the private instituiton.
More like the long arm of the Pope!
read article…State overruled Southern Section, what does that tell you
why was Hunt not eligiblein the first place?with al the carpetbagging that occurs in high School Athleticskids transfering to schools just miles apart not having eligibility problems. this kid and his family left the East Coast for California. why shuld he not have been eligible to play immediately. I’ve got no ties to Mater Dei but it sems like any one opposed to this kid playing is just a Mater Dei hater. what is the difference between him and Chase Favreau who left Mater Dei for Edison and was cleared to play this season?
Money gets you many things … wish my mother would of taught me that at an early age!!!!!
CIF you are pathetic!!!! (for multiple reasons)
money gets you a rental in huntington beach when you own a mansion in cdm.
Just a Fan…nice… you are so right, but I guess it is OK because it was not “atheletically motivated” move from CIF perspective.
Why does every post you make Truth deal with your opinion of private schools?
Because actions like this only solidify our thoughts on private schools and their power in this state. This is an absolute joke.
Arent you happy for Todd! Seems like you have a bad attitude all the time about everybody.. Maybe you should check your BP. Anyway Im “Glad” for Mr.Todd Hunt…Partake on DUDE!
No my bad attitude comes from the fact that the private schools in the SS operate at a different level and dont play by the rules the public schools do. It’d be nice to have a multi milion dollar organization go to bat for every high school player at a public school who gets his eligibility taken away too but it doesnt happen.
no… joke is that there is no consistency with public either…Favruea to Edison is OK with you…kid LaDarde (sp?) from LB Poly to Los Al is OK with you?
Should I keep going
Look at your basketball program is that okay with you? Or how about about 10 years ago milhouse from fountain valley leaving FV the DAY before school starts for Mater dei…. fishy oh yeah forgot to mention MD’s best wideout was ruled ineligble that year before milhouse showed.
Just ask yourself…why do these kids want to go to MD? The kids(and parents) have a choose to play for top BB coach in Cal history, get national exposure and college opportunity. That is MD fault for developing top notch program?
Do honestly believe these kids get something that the CIF would allow?
I feel sorry for you and your bitterness….let it go and look at your program and distain for their own failures not that of others.
Just think of all the Newspapers that would have been sold off this story if it had really ended up in a O C Court. A investigative piece on how this final CIFSS ruling came to be, would be nice.
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
cheater dei. hope the kids is worth the fight
OH Yeah! By the way did you ever see “Eddie George”….Picture That, my little man!
Ignorance fb…. pure ignorance think before we speak
America is the land of opportunity.Hunt was finally given his,thank God.
He is worth all of that and good manners to say the least.Can we all just get along?
I am not familiar with the case, but why would the kid not be eligible in the first place? Would a kid come all the way from Connecticut to play for Mater Dei? Does anyone know the particulars of the case?
i think this decision is more about what is right than todd hunt and mater dei …… there have been lots of transfers approved this season ……… mission viejo got an LB from St Margaret’s who previously transferred from J Serra AND an LB from Trabuco Hills who got a HARDSHIP transfer approved without appeal ………..and then let’s not overlook the chase favreau transfer which is the biggest joke of all …….. I guess because these are all public schools ……..different rules should apply??? …………. I don’t know if this kid will even make a difference for mater dei but he deserves the same opportunity that other kids have been granted. Get over the MD resentment and be objective for a minute.
Just understand “just a fan”, that these fringe element types are driven by discriminatory feelings, and are not subject to reasoning. There are no mirrors in their presence.
perfectly put….fairness and for kids sake an opportunity now that whole story is out and reason behind the move,,,for family and safety
Why MD, because his best friend from Conn years ago was Max Wittek
That simple….
shame on MD these kids arent catholic and could care less about the spirit of MD ….they are just using it as a stepping stone to USC. Way to teach those catholic values…win at any cost. Bishop tod you should be ashamed!!
” those catholic values”
The very meaning of “Catholic” is” universal” or “of the whole” and one of the leading principles and values of that faith, is to be “inclusive’. Some remarks here, from good intending folk of the Catholic faith, are misrepresenting the larger body and though not meant as an insult, are by their nature, ignorant.
Isn’t this supposed to be about a kid who got taken in by a nice family who put him into a nice school to save his life? Why is everyone so angry about that? Kid gets nothing by leaving his school for his senior year — he was doing great there and was a shoe-in for a college scholarship. But he was going to get killed by the gang who killed his brother there. Don’t forget what this is about. A kid. Let the kid play his sport.
If thats the case he’s in the wrong school, cause MD is in the middle of a bunch of Santa ana gangs”! ups I forgot none of the kids that play for MD live in santa ana,most of them live in Newport beach or elsewhere where people have money.
so true…..and so sad
lil gag as in GAG ME…ignorance is bliss , obviously who have no knowledge and like many, bitter about your failures and misgivings.
I look at this whole situation differently. Yes, Hunt got his athletic eligibility reinstated. Maybe his hard-ship was legitimate, maybe not. It is kinda strange it took him two years after his brother was killed to determine that his neighborhood was bad and that he should move to CA. and play football for arguably the most storied HS program in the country?)
Isn’t there any other HS’s with good football programs between Connecticut and Santa Ana, that he could have moved to? I’m sure he wasn’t recruited. Whatever…..
The way I see it, is that this escapade clearly shows the CIF’s bark is worse than it’s bite. They enforce rules that typically everyone follows. However, if they are challenged, especially with litigation, they roll over. They just don’t have the stomach (or the money) to try and enforce their own rules. They should call their rules and regulations about transfers “GUIDELINES”, they would like you to follow them but you don’t have to. And that goes for public and private transfers.
Good luck to Mater Dei, I picked them them to win the PAC-5!!
Free Davonte!
I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure — Clarence Darroiw
The CIF has the spine of a jellyfish
and most of the bloggers here have the intellect of a jellyfish
Last I heard this is a free country. A student should be able to attend any school they want to whether for athletic ambitions or shcolastic; as long as their parents or guardians are willing to pay taxes and or fees and or tuition in the case of a private school. As long as the transfer isn’t in season, it should be allowed.
CIF transfer rules are a farce and seem to be applied with irregularity. How does a wealthy kid from CDM get to play at Edison? Just by moving to an apartment in HB? Because CDM is not academically rigorous enough? Come on! But this is America and good for him and for Todd Hunt.
I’m no MD fan but ithink a lot of people resent their success and it might creep into CIF decisions too. Personally I’d rather play their best, so win or lose you know you played the best. Why were the transfers to MV and to Villa Park and St J B and Los Al different? All benefited the respective football programs they transferred to.
This is not a communist country (yet) and this idea that every school deserves parity at the expense of individual rights is un-American.
Public or private, the best athletes and scholars will seek the best schools. If you want the best students/athletes then guess what ???? GET BETTER, that’s how we do it in America, and no family or student should be prevented from seeking what they think is best for them.
very well said and i totally agree!!
if the kid new in calif cant he pick a school let davonte play this year be fair seems like all the white kid got what they wanted
careful ol frankie…check your facts before you go race card. Mr Hunt is African-American.
Agreed – Let Devonte play? Wait a minute, Did he pick a school yet? Maybe we should wait until he settles in on what school he wants to play for?
DaVonte already picked a school.
He lives in Lakewood & has been attending classes at St. John Bosco since the start of the school year.
And Davonte is in uniform……………
If Davonte what of filed a lawsuit against CIF, he would be going to trial on his case, but in this particular case MD is envolved so CIF chickens out, that is pathetic!!shame on you CIF.
Wow, I guess “no” means maybe especially if you bring your BIG Brother to the fight! CIF you look bad!
If I remember from summer passing play, Todd Hunt is a very large boy with a wonderful tan and hair of a poly. scmidt and he will be tough.
Hair is cut …and he wont be playing LB…looks like Def end or tackle.
hahaha the flood gated are open people, let the transfers begin, what rules – obviously there are no rules any more so go for it, every ruled ineligible player alert the media LOL
Haters gonna hate…
Simply put transfer rules if evenly applied to all would have made this a non issue. Howver with MV, Los Al, Edison, et al it makes sense that Hunt is allowed to play.
Hey CIF,
athletically motivated!?
THAT WHY MOST OF THOSE STUDENT/ATHLETE GO TO MATER DEI and other high profile school.
I have 3 little boys and plan on sending them to O Lu or maybe M.D. in the future!
Why? because they have winning atthletic programs like football, basketball, baseball etc.
Ops!
I let the cat out of the bag……………………
go monarchs!
Ditto That! Bully for you, Get Real, tell it like it is!
If your kids ain’t good studs they won’t see the field, they’ ll just be on the bench.
Good for MD for fighting! If this was my son I would do the same thing. Why is this even a discussion? He moved from out of state – nobody’s business why~ He is here and he has to go to school so he picked MD and good for him!! CIF needs understand that they have no right to say if the reason they moved is for one or another no matter what school~ All parents should have the right to move to put their kids in a better school for academics or sports – a move is a move! Again, I am not a MD fan but I support this 100% and so should everyone else because now CIF is going to have to think about it before they deny someone (private or public) in the future!!! I hope CIF gets off their high horse and stay to the black and white and don’t create any grey stuff to confuse situations…. I hope he has a great season as I do for all the kids this football season.
To make it fair, I hope CIF denies everyone…….
Glad to see the state finally set the CIF Southern Section straight. Hopefully after that decision and the lawsuit, the Southern Section will stop their ridiculous rulings and making up their own rules. Their decisions in the Hunt and Walters case that were rubberstamped by the CIF-SS appeals panel afterwards were insane. No unbiased panel applying the actual rules could have possibly found either one ineligible.
Money talks my friends. My senior year we had a student who left Los Al and so he went to Pacifica. He was denied Varsity action. He fought the case and was still denied. Same goes with Hunt, he fought it and was still denied but once the Roman Catholic stepped in, all of a sudden CIF crumbles. Why? cause money talks..
It’s pretty clear the CIF needs to revamp their rules regarding sports related transfers. On one hand they initially deny a student, then on the other hand they grant eligibility based on appeal. Because the process is private we really don’t know the reason the student was initially denied, or the reason for the appeal. It could be for anything from failing to file on time, to an incomplete transfer application. And those might be legitimate reasons to file an appeal.
But we don’t know. Because we don’t know, it appears the CIF looked at the case at hand and made a conscientous decision based on all the facts, then changed their minds later because they didn’t want to deal with a controversy based on their initial decision. If that is truly the case, the CIF needs to reexamine their duties and responsiblities and determine what they are there for.
The CIF has to face the fact that public opinion questions their ability to be a rule enforcing body. It’s the same FAMILIAR RHETORIC we hear time and time again “student denied, then reinstated after appeals”. In the court of public opinion familiarity breeds contempt. Just read the blogs.
Grow up people,time to move on and enjoy life. Thank the good Lord for another day. This is America The land of the free home of the brave.We do believe in chances.Mr.Hunt was rightfully given his,thank you God.He shall make the most of this. Go Mater Dei
Yea let you tell it, cause your a MD fan, but if you were neutral you would’nt be saying that,the bottom line is MD buys players, and every body knows it.
prove it , CIF cant , nobody can. Bitterness is sad
Pure ignorance. Shame on you
Let’s face it Hunt is looking for a ticket to USC. The sad part is USC is on the downward slide. This looks fishy simply because CIF caved the minute MD threatened to step in with the lawyers. CIF needs to either grow a pair or rubber stamp every application.
Gary–
You have no idea what you are talking about, and your reference to “BIG Brother” shows that. If you knew the facts, I can’t imagine you would be so insensitive as to make that comment. Todd Hunt had to get out of town because his big brother was murdered, and the same gang was targeting Todd. And Todd’s long-time family friends had the generosity to take him in. (Have you taken in any kids who were displaced because they were a murder target?) There is a letter from the chief of police that confirms all of this. The decision of the CIF State Appeals panel had nothing todo with the Diosoces’ lawsuit. Nothing. Indeed, that lawsuit continues. The appeal panel’s decision was made because they actually looked at the facts — not like the Southern Section that just assumed the worst without looking at the facts.
It’s not just you Gary — most of the posters here are insensitive to a child’s life and they have no idea what they are talking about. To all of them: speaking about things when you don’t know the facts is just plane wrong. And to the authors like Fryer and Sondhemier — stop stoking the fire of these people. You are like Fox News. Why don’t you make an effort to report the real facts.
To watcher, stop being a hypocrit, remember free country well Fryer et al can give an opinion when they want to, BTW, report the real facts acc to who u, hehe yeah and pigs will be flyin at your games. Fact is kids go to MD for athletics, no other reason, not sayin it doesn’t happen any where else, but if you really cared about whats fair, hav ur money fight for equality for all not just athletes to make your teams better, argue for different competition fairness for those teams that hav money and recruit and those that don’t, these are the real issues, schools r supposed to be about education, why not separate and call it club ball, then maybe all those kids who want an education first get money spent on them. Lots of issues here not really about getting 1 top player cleared to play on your team, I bet if he gets injured next week, he’d be forgotten about.
Yes, Todd Hunt was clearly recruited away from Connecticut. Yes, someone enticed him with dollar signs and is paying his tuition. Yes he was recuited first and someone latched on the true story of his personal situation as a good rationale. Yes Mater Dei could be a better boost for Todd’s career then Bridgeport Harding although Div 1 schools like UCONN were already hot on his trail. Yes, there were big issues surrounding his situation that could have placed him in harm’s way had he stayed. Yes most of all Todd is basicly a good kid, but his handlers are shady. There is no right answer to this story.
Someone who knows
I wish one of these negative “Posters” would have the opportunity to meet this young man. He moved here for a better opportunity. That is the bottom line. He could have been here 2 years ago, but felt guilty about leaving his mom. He is a wonderful young man, who deserves this chance.
If A CHILD NEEDS A FIGHTING CHANCE WHO ARE WE TO DENIE HIM THE POPURTUNITIY OF A POSITIVE LIFE EXSPERINCE.
Dictionary.com works wonders. Try it.
all this is true, It is great for the young man…the joke is that MDacts like they are doing it for the kid…really they are doing it for the glory but with no honor and not for the love.
Oh and also for USC and Max Wittick
I disagree with you that MD wasn’t in it for the kid. I will say it again, if any of you meet this young man, you would understand why MD worked so hard. Yes, he is a real good football player. Makes them better right away, but the kid is SPECIAL.
No doubt he’s a wonderful young man. The Friars will introduce themselves Oct 29th.
sorry other way around Poor the friar, friars have a bigger problem starting with attitude.
Cant accept success. Learn how to act with class before we CREDO some more.
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.
Mike I dont think the problem was about this young man personally. I think a lot of this has to do with what started last year with Keala King transferring to MD. He left Dominguez because of basketball, and wanted to be on a top flight team. Had nothing to do with any of the other things in his life, as his not well known siblings didnt come to MD with him.
CIF took some flack for that that and maybe they decided they needed to look at some of these transfers a little bit more. If hunt was not a 6’3″ 225 lbs LB/RB do you really think that MD and the Church would have gotten so involved?
There are a lot of kids who get refused transfers that the Church does not get involved with, and there area lot of kids who dont get into MD who have stories or situations that are worse but there is no one picking up their tab and saying come to MD. Unless they can play Football or Basketball at a high level no really cares, so it is not so much about the young man personally, it is just the perception that MD will go the extra mile for top athletes.( what ever their story is)