Redding to appeal 5-game suspension
From the Globe's High School Sports Editor Bob Holmes:
(Update - May 7, 2009 - The meeting has been postponed as the two sides have reached a preliminary agreement. Read more HERE.)
The long dispute between the MIAA and Mansfield High School should come to an end Thursday at 1:30 p.m. when football coach Mike Redding's appeal will be heard by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council (MIAC).
Mansfield is appealing the MIAA Board of Directors' January vote to suspend Redding for the first five games of the 2009 football season, as well as the MIAA ruling that Mansfield must reimburse the association for all legal expenses.
Mansfield admitted to using an ineligible player for two games last fall and forfeited those games, as well as the Hockomock League title. The MIAA Board of Directors ordered Mansfield to punish Redding because it took him five days to report the violation. But Mansfield has refused and the school will state its case Thursday.
The MIAC, which meets twice a year, is the final rule-making and appeals body of the MIAA. They are expected to issue a decision Thursday afternoon, although they could delay their decision.
