Camas football coach Jon Eagle and one of his assistants will not face suspensions during the upcoming season after Camas High School won its appeal Thursday.
The district directors of the WIAA, upon hearing new information, ruled Thursday that Eagle did not recruit an athlete from another school and that Camas did not violate WIAA rules.
Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, said the grandfather of the athlete provided the latest information, which “factored into the decision” by the district directors.
Eagle and assistant coach Dan Kielty were penalized by the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League after it was learned that Eagle met with the athlete at an off-campus business. According to Camas’ self-report, eligibility and football were discussed at the meeting.
Camas officials always held that Eagle did not recruit the athlete. The district directors agreed with that argument after hearing from the grandfather of the athlete, who was there when Eagle and his grandson met.
“There was a believable witness who corroborated what Coach Eagle had said,” Colbrese said.
According to Colbrese, the grandfather said Eagle told his grandson: “You’re (going to be) a senior. You need to stay at Evergreen High School.”
After the 4A GSHL made its initial ruling, Camas appealed to the WIAA’s District 4. That board amended the penalties, giving both Eagle and Kielty three-game suspensions for the 2015 season as well as fined the school and put the Camas athletic department on probation.
Camas officials went to the next step, appealing to the district directors.
The grandfather’s statement “wasn’t provided to the league or the district,” Colbrese said.
All penalties have now been lifted.
Eagle released a statement Thursday after the decision:
“I appreciated the opportunity to share with the WIAA District Directors the details relating to the situation in question. I also want to thank the Camas community for their support. We look forward to playing Papermaker Football this fall.”
Eagle then made it back to Camas before Thursday’s spring football drills ended. He was greeted by cheers from his players and assistant coaches.
“A heaviness lifted from my heart,” he said. “That’s it.”
Kielty said he never felt that any coach at Camas recruited anyone to come to Camas.
“The main thing, I’m glad it’s over and we can concentrate on football,” Kielty said.
Actually, it might not be over yet.
District 4 has the opportunity to appeal the district directors’ decision to the executive board of the WIAA. A District 4 official said that option likely will be discussed Friday.
The WIAA’s release regarding Thursday’s appeal noted that the district directors requested that the Camas School District work with the WIAA staff in developing proper procedures for contact between students, family members, and coaches.
“The first thing a coach should do is tell the student or family member to talk to the administration,” Colbrese said, referring to any athlete from another school who makes an inquiry into moving to the coach’s school.
The WIAA will work on the language for the proper protocol, to “try to make it more clear,” Colbrese said.
Rory Oster, Camas’ athletic director, also released a statement Thursday night:
“We are pleased with the decision made today and grateful that the WIAA District Directors took the time to listen to all the facts of this specific situation and ask questions to clarify what did and did not happen. We (Camas Athletic Department) will continue to educate our coaches in an effort to prevent coaches from finding themselves in a similar situation in the future.
“Camas High School, the CHS Football program, and the Camas community are very proud of Coach Eagle and grateful to have a coach of such high integrity here to mentor our community’s youth. While we are sorry he and his family had to go through a very difficult couple of weeks, we definitely feel good about the final outcome.”
As far as Eagle’s meeting with the athlete, Colbrese said in this case the athlete had already told the coach he was going to move to Camas prior to the meeting.
“According to the grandfather, Coach Eagle said to stay at Evergreen. If he did still want to come to Camas, his whole family would have to move or go through the (eligibility) process,” Colbrese said.
The athlete, who The Columbian is not naming, remains enrolled at Evergreen and is practicing with the Plainsmen.
Cale Piland, the athletic director for Evergreen Public Schools — which includes Evergreen High School — released a statement Thursday evening.
“In Evergreen Public Schools, we do not condone coaches interacting with athletes outside of their school’s attendance area. We believe this is not a prudent practice, and that it is not in the best interest of the student-athlete. Regardless of the decision rendered by the WIAA’s District Directors, we will continue to work with our coaches in this fashion.”
