Davenport played in Friday night’s game.
Maori Davenport’s family sued the Alabama High School Athletic Association and its director Steve Savarese on Thursday after the organization stripped the player of her eligibility for depositing a check from USA Basketball.
According to AL.com, an Alabama judge granted an emergency motion—ruling in Davenport’s favor. She competed Friday night.
BREAKING: A judge has ruled in Maori Davenport’s favor and she can play tonight https://t.co/eBiPCC4Rec pic.twitter.com/SwmsWupvpN
— AL.com (@aldotcom) January 11, 2019
Davenport, a senior at Charles Henderson High School in Troy, Ala., participated with USA Basketball in the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Americas Championship last summer and helped the United States earn a gold medal.
As a result, USA Basketball sent her a stipend check for the amount of $857.20, which was meant to cover expenses.
Davenport’s family was unaware of the consequences of depositing the check until November inciting them to return the money.
As result of the cashed check, the AHSAA ruled Davenport ineligible. This series of events sparked a public response, including ESPN’s college basketball analyst Jay Bilas.
Finally. The AHSAA should not contest this, spending the players’ money to keep an innocent athlete down. You can save face. Move on, let her play. Do the right thing, AHSAA! pic.twitter.com/4ePpJ9GJQF
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 11, 2019
The AHSAA states that the moment Davenport cashed the check, it violated the state’s amateurism rules.
Johnny Hardin, AHSAA central board of control justified their ruling in a statement saying:
“Neither USA Basketball, the student’s parents, the student’s coach, nor CHHS administration reported the student had received the check until three months later, [specifically 91 days].”
An appeal of the ruling has been rejected twice.
Davenport is rated as the No. 15 high school women’s basketball player in the nation and is committed to Rutgers.
