(12-15-17) Malik Onyeali was ruled ineligible to play basketball after transferring from Marist (a Chicago Catholic school) to Hyde Park Academy (a Chicago Public School). Onyeali’s reason for transferring was for financial reasons and that his family was unable to continue to pay the Marist tuition fees.
CPS made the decision on his eligibility after Marist, his former school, objected because he was attending a school outside of his neighborhood attendance boundary. His home is located in the Harlan High School boundary. According to a Chicago Tribune story, no reason was given for the sudden reversal that has cleared Onyeali to play now for Hyde Park.
The reversal comes just weeks after a proposed bylaw change, that would have put the IHSA in the lead in making those rulings, was not passed on to the membership for a vote.
CPS is suppose to follow the rules set of the Illinois High School Association, which say athletes are eligible if the transfer is due to a change in family finances. But the bylaw also says eligibility depends on students enrolling at the high school within their attendance boundary. According to an earlier Chicago Tribune story, 52 percent of all CPS students do not attend their neighborhood school.
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