Texas Third Court of Appeals (Austin)
Divided State Appellate Panel Refuses to Lift
Temporary Order Regarding Star UIL Athlete
Ruling: A temporary injunction that prohibits the UIL from enforcing an order that would have banned a nationally ranked high school basketball athlete from participating in UIL sports this school year won’t be dissolved (for now). [Individual members of the UIL State Executive Committee] v. Jennifer Black, et al., No. 03-21-00671-CV. Issued May 6.
A Third Court panel, in a 2-1 majority opinion, denied the UIL’s appeal seeking to lift a temporary injunction — that a Travis County judge had granted last year pending trial — that prevented the league from enforcing a ruling that Duncanville (ISD) High School 12th grade basketball athlete Anthony Black was ineligible to participate in UIL sports, essentially for the entire basketball season.
Limited Purpose
The majority opinion sent the dispute back to the trial judge for the limited purpose of deciding whether the UIL State Executive Committee (SEC) gave the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed by Black’s mother (Jennifer Black) on behalf of her son, an adequate opportunity to present their arguments as to why they did not believe that Black’s transfer from Coppell ISD to Duncanville ISD at the beginning of this school year did not violate the UIL rule prohibiting student athletes from transferring to a new school for athletic purposes.
- Note: Jennifer Black claimed that the move to Duncanville was prompted by a domestic violence issue involving her ex-husband and had nothing to do with the long-term romantic relationship she had entered into with a Duncanville High School coach.
The majority panel dismissed several subsidiary claims made by the plaintiffs — including claims that their constitutional rights had been violated.
The dissenting Third Court justice said the lawsuit should be dismissed in its entirety because the Legislature did not create a pathway for judicial reviews of UIL rules.
UIL Contest Forfeiture Rule
The dissenting justice (in this “concurring and dissenting” opinion) predicted that prolonging the litigation could “do more harm than good” because if the UIL ultimately wins a final court decision in its favor, then a league rule could be triggered that could lead to Duncanville High School having to forfeit all competitions in which Black participated as a team member this school year.
- Note: Duncanville High School, with Black participating, won the UIL 6A State Basketball Tournament on March 12, and Black was named by members of the sports media as one of the tournament’s most valuable players.
A “Moot” Dispute?
The record also reflects that shortly after the state basketball tournament ended, an attorney for the UIL informed the panel (in this letter) that the dispute is now “moot” because Black’s high school basketball career ended with the end of the basketball season.
However, the majority — in this decision — declined to dismiss the dispute as “moot” because the league has not formally asked for the dispute to be declared “moot,” and by noting there could be issues remaining involving Black’s eligibility should he choose to participate in a late-season UIL athletic activity, such as track, this school year.
The majority opinion notes that the order sending the dispute back to the trial court judge could be modified based on future action by the litigants or by the Texas Supreme Court (TSC). The TSC, earlier this year, declined to get involved in the dispute.