(Memphis) A school spokeswoman confirmed an adult man used a fake transcript to enroll at Ridgeway High School.
Sources tell us the man had a GED and enrolled at the school to play basketball.
It’s the third major shock for the Ridgeway High School Basketball team.
A married man was on the court, living out his dream playing high school basketball with these underage students.
The man has been identified at McKenzie Sewell, who wore number 22 on the court.
The state found out and disqualified the team just as they rose to number three in the state.
“There was a 22-year old who falsified his documents and they got disqualified from everything and a lot of players getting scouted got screwed over”, said student Carlos Delgado.
Last week their assistant coach was found dead, killed in his home.
The week before, a fight sent almost all the team to the bench, now this.
Sources said the man was a former gang member in New Orleans and his wife signed papers saying she was his guardian.
“It’s absurd the administration has failed. They’re not keeping the kids safe. They’re not doing checks and balances” said Adrian Jones, a parent of a child at Ridgeway.
It’s against M.C.S. policy for an adult to attend school with underage teens.
Students and parents, both said somehow that happened here with no one the wiser.
In a statement, MCS commented: “It has come to our attention that an ineligible player played in the closing minutes of the Region 8-AAA semi-finals against Whitehaven High School. Ridgeway High School reported this information to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). Ridgeway
HS has forfeited that game and has been removed from the tournament playoffs.”
Whoever dropped the ball, the students are paying the price. They were forced from their tournament and ending the season in a way they shouldn’t.
“They worked hard, they’ve done nothing to deserve this, fire those responsible”, said Jones.