COOLIDGE, AZ — A judge cleared the way for the Coolidge High School boys’ basketball team to continue its quest for a state championship after the school’s athletic program was put on probation by the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
A Pinal County judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order to reinstate the team into the 3A tournament.
On Wednesday, the AIA put the school’s entire athletic program on probation, ruling all teams ineligible for postseason play for a year amid reports of racist behavior during a Feb. 20 playoff win over a visiting team from the Navajo Nation. Chinle High School players allegedly were spit on and subjected to racial slurs and taunts at the game.
The AIA Executive Board voted to uphold the probation at an emergency appeals hearing, but Coolidge successfully petitioned the court to keep the boys’ basketball team in the playoffs.
