Krop High Booted From Playoffs After Judge Is Reversed On Appeal

Krop High's boys basketball squad-- already a district champion and a favorite to win state-- has been booted from the playoffs. This time, it appears, for good. An appeals court today reversed a judge's earlier decision to allow the team to play. Dr. Michael Krop High was barreling through the...

By Gus Garcia-Roberts

February 16, 2011

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Krop High's boys basketball squad-- already a district champion and a favorite to win state-- has been booted from the playoffs. This time, it appears, for good.

An appeals court today reversed a judge's earlier decision to allow the team to play. Dr. Michael Krop High was barreling through the playoffs despite the Florida High School Athletic Association's ruling that a player on the team, Brian Delancy, was ineligible due to a failure to file immigration paperwork.

Today's court ruling is another chapter in a week-long story that has included revelations of shady recruiters, bogus addresses, and an arrest warrant for the team's star point guard.

The school's spot in the 6A bracket will be vacated, and Miami Senior High will get a first-round bye. The appeals court's decision saves Miami-Dade from another stripped championship. "This is a good day for coaches and student-athletes who play by the rules," FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing wrote in a statement. "Doing what's right pays off."

But the saga isn't over yet. Krop High could face six-figure fines if it's revealed that its administrators knowingly broke the rules. And we have evidence that they did, which we'll be publishing tomorrow.

We've embedded today's court ruling below.

Dr. Krop

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