Steve GannThe Blind Side 2 or Blindsided?
March 31st 2010 14:38
Many have seen the award winning movie or read the book, The Blind Side. It tells the story of Michael Oher, who after been left on his own is taken in by a wealthy Chistian family in Memphis. The story has a happy ending with Oher eventually graduating from college and becoming a first round NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens.
Another story with a similar storyline is taking place in Knoxville this month. A poor inner city student whose father abandoned home over twenty years ago tragically saw his mother killed in a car wreck. He had no other family other than his grandparents who lived out of state. They agreed to move to Tennessee to help care for him. A friend, who attended Grace Christian Academy, told the congregation that he would like to help him get back in touch with God by having him transfer to the religious school. The church leaders were able to take up a fund to pay for his tuition.
End feel good story here/
The problem is that the student played football and basketball and any help with tuition is considered a violation of rules by the high school regulatory board.
The TSSAA ruled that the school must forfeit all games that the student played in and pay up to a 27,000 dollar fine. They also not only punished to sports that the student played but all boys and girls sports could not play in any post-season games for the next three years. The executive director, who admitted that it was "the harshest punishment handed down since I have been on the job, cited "lack of administrative control" for the strict ruling.
The school has argued that the church and the school are two separate institutions and should not be held to the same standard as other schools. Grace has promised to appeal the ruling and has public support behind them so maybe this awful ruling will be overturned soon.
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