Carlos Robertson reached out this afternoon by email to give his side of the story on the decision Tuesday by the Georgia High School Association to once again deny eligibility to his brother, Demetris Robertson, who transferred to Savannah Christian from Savannah Country Day this summer. Here is the email, followed by more thoughts from Carlos Robertson and Savannah Christian head coach and athletic director, Donald Chumley. I reached out to GHSA Executive Director Gary Phillips this afternoon, but he had probably already left for the day. I will continue to reach out to him to get his thoughts.
Good afternoon Mr. Coleman,
First I want to start off by saying thanks to all the coverage you are giving on this matter. By the way, my name is Carlos Robertson, Sr. I am Demetris' older brother and legal guardian. Demetris has been with me since he was nine years old. I just wanted to email you and let you know my side of the story.
First, I'm gonna give you a little background on the situation. This transfer has nothing to do with Demetris' football abilities, we moved from one residence in Savannah out to Garden City so that I could be closer to my job, which is [at] Groves High School. Savannah Christian Prep is right around the corner from my new residence and my job is 3-4 minutes from there. Why would I drive 25-30 minutes every morning to Savannah Country Day through Savannah traffic, then turn right back around and drive another 25-30 minutes back to work. That is insane!!! Especially when you have a school of the same caliber around the corner.
You can even throw out (now-defunct GHSA bylaw) 1.62B even if it wasn't suspended. I moved to be closer to my job and thats a hardship within itself. Demetris' football ability is not going to get me to work conveniently on a daily basis. People move on a daily basis to be closer to their places of employment in order to make that transition as smooth as possible. What is very puzzling is that the bylaw gets suspended midstream in order to keep him from playing. You gotta look at it Mr. Coleman, why would two public school reps call this bylaw onto the floor, but its a private to private issue. They don't have a dog in the fight!
What gets me is that these are the same people that work in an arena which deals with kids. Why would you cut the legs underneath a kid? Why would you impede a kid, especially if they are on the right track and trying hard to do good things.
As for the hearing, they could not give us a reason as to why we are being denied. Anytime it gets like that, you know its personal Mr. Coleman ... I want everyone to know how the GHSA is screwing over my brother. Its not just about Demetris, what if they decide to do this to another kid and the kid after that down the road. This situation needs to be known and stuff like this has to stop.
Thanks Carlos Robertson
I spoke with Carlos Robertson, a special education teacher at Groves, and Coach Chumley after reading the email. Robertson said if Demetris is not granted eligibility at his appearance before the GHSA Appeals Board on Oct. 21, he will seek a remedy through the courts.
"Yes, definitely," said Robertson, who added that he is researching attorneys who have experience dealing with matters such as this. "That will be our next step, immediately. We're tired of playing games. This has nothing to do with Demetris and his football ability. This was and still is about what is best for our family. I think this has gotten to a personal level and Demetris is being targeted."
Robertson said after the Tuesday hearing ended about 11:30 a.m., at the GHSA office in Thomaston, he was told by GHSA officials that he should call them at 3:30 p.m. to get the ruling of the four-member committee. But on the way back to Savannah, Robertson said he received a call from a friend around 1:30 p.m., informing him that the GHSA had already posted a press release announcing the denial of Demetris' eligibility.
"They didn't even have the decency to call us first," Carlos Robertson said. "It didn't have to be handled that way. Little things like that tell me this has gotten personal, that it is the GHSA good ol' boy network, the ones who have the power, doing this. "
Chumley said he believes the GHSA is being guided by perception, not by the facts.
"I understand the perception is that Chumley is recruiting kids. I'm willing to deal with that because that's just the way things are," Chumley said. "But [over the summer, Carlos Robertson] called and said he was moving to be closer to his job. I told him and our principal told him that we didn't think there would be a [eligibility] problem, but there are no guarantees.
"We did everything the GHSA asked us to do and this kid is still not getting a fair shake, and that's wrong," Chumley said. "I know for a fact that there are kids playing at other schools right now with much less [proof of legitimate moves] than Demetris Robertson."
Chumley said Demetris Robertson has been practicing with the scout team each week, hoping the GHSA will eventually rule in his favor.
"This is such a good kid who has done everything the right way. His brother has done a super job with him and this is a family and a kid that is making it in spite of some terrible odds," Chumley said. "Demetris even said he was going to stay away from practice this week because he didn't want to be a distraction while the team is getting ready for a big game (at No. 4 Calvary Day, Friday). If you can't fight for this kid, you wouldn't fight for anything. I surely would not want you in my foxhole.
"The GHSA should forget about perception and deal with the facts here," Chumbley said. "I realize that life is not fair. But what should always be fair is how are we treating our young people. The system should protect those who can't protect themselves.
"Look I know people think this is about winning and losing football games, and yes, I love to win. I won't apologize for that," said Chumley, who has guided the Raider program to three appearances in the state finals (2009-11), two region titles (2009 and 2011) and an undefeated season and state championship in 2011. "But if the only thing our kids learn from me is how to play football, then I've failed them. This is not about wining and losing. This is about the GHSA following the rules they had in place at the time this all started. This is about a man [Carlos Robertson] doing the best thing for his family."
As for Demetris, Carlos Robertson said his younger brother is "doing better than me."
"He's been keeping his head up, looking for the silver lining, but I think [Tuesday] got to him a little bit," Carlos Robertson said. "I think he thought, 'OK, this is it.' And then when it didn't happen, I think that hurt him. But it didn't take long for him to bounce back."
Carlos Robertson said Alabama, specifically Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, and the other schools recruiting him have voiced their support as well.
"Coach Smart has told us that they know this is not because Demetris has done something wrong," Robertson said. "They know the deal and they are supportive, but they can't get involved and we know that. There's nothing they can do. The other schools too -- USC [Southern California], Florida State, Auburn -- all of them have been supportive. He's getting support from around the country. People know this isn't right."
Again, as soon as I hear from Gary Phillips and the GHSA, I will update the blog with their comments.
STC
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