All gas and no brakes.
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Little did I realize back in June, when I saw those words on East St. Louis workout shirts, that maybe it was more than just a slogan down there.
We are the “All Gas and No Brakes” generation, after all.
The Flyers were booted from the state playoffs Tuesday by the Illinois High School Association for using ineligible players, only to be readmitted Thursday when they were granted a temporary restraining order by a St. Clair County 20th Judicial Court judge.
If East St. Louis violated the rules, it should suffer the consequences.
One player, Charles Tigue, has been found by the IHSA to be in violation of its residency rules, only after it was discovered that the electronic monitoring device Tigue wore after his arrest on felony armed robbery charges was registered to a Belleville address. A second player, Anthony Pierson, was ruled ineligible by the IHSA before Week 9. That investigation is ongoing.
Don’t be surprised if East St. Louis appeals the IHSA’s ruling and seeks a court injuction.
So far we’ve heardone side of this story.
But does anyone believe East St. Louis is the only school in the state that has issues with kids and residency?
From affluent suburbs to the city and between, many schools have kids and parents playing the residency game. Doesn’t make it right. Makes it reality.
Before Thursday’s developments, some people complained that the IHSA’s decision came after the playoff pairings were set, that leaving out another team wasn’t fair. But the IHSA made the quickest and easiest fix.
All gas and no brakes.
The brackets should have been redone. A nightmare? Sure. All gas and no brakes? No way.
And what of the kids who played by the rules in East St. Louis? What of the teams that lost to East St. Louis over the past year or so, kids whose seasons were ended by a team playing with ineligible kids?
It’s almost impossible to measure the real impact of all of this. But there’s no doubt it’s all part of the “All Gas and No Brakes” system.