[Hoot Gibson]

My first reaction was to think that it was a commendable act for Ashland to self-report the recruiting violation to the KHSAA. After giving the matter some more thought, my reaction is, "What choice did the school have after learning that the phone call was recorded?"

It would be interesting to know how the recording of the call reached the school.

I would have no problem with all of the transfers of players, which seems to be getting more common every year, if there were no rules governing the transfers. As a matter of principle, I think parents should have the right to send kids to the school of their choice. However, I also think that it is pretty obvious that there is widespread recruiting being done by some schools, which has resulted in a boom in the number of transfers. It would be far better to eliminate the rules governing transfers than to allow schools to disregard the rules that are in effect.

Also, I do not believe that many coaching staffs engage in direct contacts with players to recruit them. My sons were recruited by a "friend of the program" of a local high school team during a game involving the two teams. We declined to switch schools because sports was not our top priority for selecting the school that they attended. 

One of my sons was also approached immediately following an away game by players from the opposing school. Recruiting happens, it has always happend, and the KHSAA should remove the rules against it if they cannot fairly enforce the rules. 

Actually, the KHSAA should remove any rules that they cannot fairly enforce and rules that prevent parents from sending their children to the school of their choice should be eliminated because it is the right thing to do.

Until then, schools should follow the rules and be punished when they are caught cheating. If the Ashland coach attempted to recruit a player, then he should be fired. Period.