Greater Beckley has been a buzz saw in Class A for most of the year.
Now the eligibility of four players threatens to derail a special season.
The Crusaders are appealing the eligibility of four players who have been ruled ineligible after violating the WVSSAC’s rules on participation.
The question of their eligibility stems from JV games that they participated in last year. The four students are Sherlock Padrmore, Azel Carmichael, Miko Robinson and Latarj Chase.
Rumors circulated online that Carmichael’s eligibility was in question because he was at Greater Beckley on a scholarship, something Greater Beckley coach Justin Arvon noted wasn’t true, telling Lootpress the school is able to provide documentation proving otherwise.
“The difference with Azel is that it started with him,” Arvon said. “Someone had sent a news article from Guayana saying that he was on scholarship here, which isn’t true. He pays double what our local students pay. That’s where it all started. Somebody was prying into it and that started off someone looking into their eligibility.
“They found he had played in JV games last year therefore he wasn’t eligible. In that they found Sherlock, Latarj and Miko also lost their eligibility for the same reason – which was that they played in eight JV games last year and didn’t sit out their 365 and what not. That’s why they’re ineligible.”
While there are claims the aforementioned students were brought in to help build a basketball power, Arvon refutes them, using the situation itself as an example. Neither he nor the administration were aware the ineligible students would ever be eligible to play varsity basketball given their visa status. As such they were never in the team’s plans at the varsity level.
It wasn’t until checking on a pair of former players in April of 2021 that Arvon and Co. were made aware that the now ineligible kids would be able to play even with their F1 status.
“We had an international program the last several years with basketball and academics,” Arvon said. “We have never thought that any of those kids would be eligible to play varsity basketball unless they came through a foreign exchange program. We had two kids that did and they were eligible to play for a year. The other kids were not eligible to play to our knowledge at all. They came on F1 visas. It never crossed our minds that they’d be eligible because we had two kids we took to the SSAC for a hearing on their eligibility. When we did that, preemptively we didn’t play them last year. We just asked if they were eligible which we knew they weren’t, but we asked anyway.
“Through that process we were made aware that students on an F1 visa were eligible for varsity sports when they sit out for 365 (days). We didn’t even know that existed, so here we are on April 14. Our last JV game was there as well. That week we had our final JV game and found out about the F1 visas. This rule is not in the handbook, so it’s not there to read. We just assumed the only international students that could play would have to come through an international program or be adopted. April 15 was our last JV games so at that point they already played the games. We didn’t know it was a rule but I trust the SSAC. I don’t think they’re out to get us. There’s a residence transfer rule that if you come to the school and you choose to not sit out 365 and play JV, you’re not eligible for varsity. They did play JV without the knowledge they wouldn’t be eligible for varsity which they didn’t think they would be anyway. All of that happened before we knew they had the option to sit out JV. Had we known they would be eligible to play, they wouldn’t have played JV. There was an ignorance on the JV rule but there’s not a written rule on the F1 visa status.”
When reached for comment on the matter the WVSSAC, the governing body of high school sports in West Virginia, politely declined to comment citing a precedence for never doing so in student appeal matters.
With the four players currently ineligible, all contests in which they played are deemed forfeits. The only exception may be games against schools not apart of the SSAC such as Mercer Christian and Teays Valley but Arvon is still waiting for clarification on that ruling as well.
Since the four students were ruled ineligible, the criticism of Arvon’s players and program on social media hasn’t gone unnoticed. He’s done his best to shield them from it and take the blame upon himself, even going as far as to suggest he be reprimanded instead of the kids.
“All I’m asking is for respect for the kids,” Arvon said. “Our school and our program – there’s nothing nefarious here. We’re not going out here trying to do this and that. We have a mission that not everybody agrees with but it’s bigger than basketball and all of this. We’re not out here recruiting kids and I really want our school’s testimony to be upheld. I know it looks bad but we’re not out here doing stuff to wrong anyone. The appeal is about these boys and I want the best for them.
“I’ve even offered myself up to the SSAC just to say I don’t have to coach anymore. Please suspend me, revoke my card and all that stuff.”
Greater Beckley’s appeal is set to be heard at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
