Gainesville High School takes legal action to overturn player suspensions

Gainesville City Schools filed for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order in Hall County Superior Court on Wednesday to stop the Georgia High School Association from enforcing suspensions of 34 players ahead of Friday night’s Class 5A football playoff game between Gainesville and Hughes.

Gainesville High athletic director Adam Lindsey deferred comments to school attorneys until there was a ruling, which he hoped would be Wednesday afternoon.

The request was made to Clint G. Bearden, superior court judge for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit, he said.

The GHSA on Monday suspended 39 Gainesville players and 41 Brunswick players after an altercation in a playoff game Friday night in Brunswick.

Gainesville on Tuesday appealed to have 35 of the 39 players reinstated. The GHSA reinstated four of those 35. Gainesville’s online roster shows 91 players.

Lindsey spoke after Tuesday’s decision by the GHSA’s board of trustees to uphold the suspensions of all but four players.

“Obviously we’re disappointed,” he said. “We really felt like this was a great opportunity for that group (the board) to take a commonsense approach to the ruling and to the bylaw they’re trying to invoke. We pointed out that nowhere in the bylaws does it say that if you step on the field that you’re immediately ejected.”

According to GHSA bylaws, “All players who are involved in a fight and any substitutes who leave the bench area during a fight or potential fight and are ejected from the current contest, will be subject to the sit-out rule.”

Game officials did not eject any Gainesville players. Lindsey argued Tuesday that since none were ejected, they should not automatically be subject to the sit-out rule and should be considered for reinstatement.

Video showed that a Brunswick player initiated the altercation by pulling the helmets off two Gainesville players and striking one of them.

All players who left the bench area and seven of the 11 Gainesville players who were on the field when the altercation began are suspended. The four who were reinstated were on the field, including the two whose helmets were ripped off.

Gainesville coach Josh Niblett defended his players during Tuesday’s appeal, saying those who threw punches should be suspended but not those who tried only to help and did not engage in fighting.