A judge has postponed for the second time a hearing in the Maori Davenport case against the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) and extended the order that allows the senior basketball star to play. A hearing had been scheduled for Friday.
On Nov. 30, Davenport, a senior at Charles Henderson in Troy, Alabama, was ruled ineligible by Steve Savarese and the AHSAA for depositing an $857.20 stipend check from USA Basketball after playing for the U-18 national team in August. The money was mistakenly sent by the organization, and USA Basketball has acknowledged it was at fault. The AHSAA says Davenport violated Alabama's amateurism rules when she deposited the check. Davenport repaid USA Basketball in full as soon as she was made aware of the mistake by USA Basketball in November. Still, the AHSAA ruled that she was ineligible and has twice upheld that ruling on appeal.
The Davenports filed a lawsuit on Jan. 11 against the AHSAA and Savarese asking that Davenport's suspension be lifted. Circuit Court Judge Sonny Reagan granted an emergency motion that allowed the senior to play that night. The Rutgers recruit scored 25 points after missing 16 games. A hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 22, but it was then postponed until Friday.
In his Wednesday order to postpone it again, Reagan wrote that one day "is not a sufficient allocation of time to dispose of the motions and the underlying case."
The AHSAA has asked that the hearing be moved to Montgomery County, where the AHSAA headquarters are located. A new hearing date has not been set.
Charles Henderson is scheduled to open its postseason tournament on Monday against Greenville (Alabama). Davenport and Charles Henderson are the defending state champions.
