FHSAA finds football program guilty of rules violations
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has found that The First Academy of Orlando has committed rules violations in an ongoing investigation, according to reports from The Orlando Sentinel.
The alleged rule violations include eligibility issues for players and potential transfer violations.
The First Academy is currently 3-0 after finishing last season 6-4. The program added a new head coach, bringing seven players with him while nearly 30 others transferred from nearby schools for the 2024 season.
FHSAA public relations administrator Kelvin Richardson gave a statement on the violations committed by The First Academy football program.
A recent story from SI.com detailed the Orlando Sentinel’s reporting. Below is an excerpt of the SI.com story.
“Regarding sanctions against The First Academy, our Eligibility and Compliance Department sent out a self-report sanction letter to the school on September 11th. However, that letter is not final as our office is waiting for information regarding what football contests the named student-athletes and coach participated in.
“We did receive an allegation against TFA. We sent the allegation to the school along with pointed questions about what could be a violation. TFA was asked to report back to our office with their findings and self-report if any violations were discovered. After receiving the response from TFA, we informed them that they would need to self-report.”
The First Academy is being represented by attorney Frank Kruppenbacher and per the Sentinels’ report, said the FHSAA had good intentions but misinterpreted key facts in the ruling of unnamed players being eligible/ineligible for the 2024-25 school year based on receiving free lunches and also an unnamed player who had received a ride to school.
Also per the Orlando Sentinel report, Kruppenbacher provided a response regarding the FHSAA’s findings of The First Academy.
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“At [the FHSAA] request, we will appeal the ruling that implies athletes without lunch at school cannot receive nourishment provided by the school, and that athletes stranded at school cannot accept a ride home provided by the school.
“The First Academy’s highest value is the health, safety, and welfare of its students. To that end, when the school learned there was an unexpected closure of a students’ dining room, students in a study hall were asked who needed lunches. Also, a student/athlete called the school and needed a ride.”
To read the full story from SI.com, click here.
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