CAMAS — Camas football coach Jon Eagle has been suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season by the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League for a what is being described as a recruiting violation.
Camas athletic director Rory Oster disagreed with the ruling and said the school plans to appeal.
“I wholeheartedly believe there was absolutely no attempt to recruit an athlete from another school,” Oster said.
Eagle had no comment when reached Wednesday.
Dan Kielty, an assistant coach with the program, has been suspended for one game. Kielty also declined to comment.
The Papermakers are not banned from participating in the 2015 postseason.
Leta Meyer, Heritage’s athletic director and the president of the 4A GSHL, said that Camas self-reported a violation and the league made its ruling at a meeting Wednesday.
Oster said in a statement released Wednesday evening that he self-reported a “concern” to the president and the 4A GSHL athletic directors.
In the statement, Oster said he was made aware of a student’s interest in moving to Camas for the purpose of playing football in the fall.
Oster then reached out to the student’s current athletic director. Later, after learning the student’s current school believed the athlete was being recruited by Eagle, Oster reported the concern to league officials.
Meyer, though, called it a violation.
The league athletic directors then voted to suspend Eagle for four games and Kielty for one game.
“I believe the decision made by the league doesn’t fit the circumstances,” Oster said. “The fact that this was reported to the media today not only does a disservice to Coach Eagle, but also to due process. We intend to appeal this decision to the highest level.”
Oster said the incident is related to the manner in which questions from the student were answered.
Oster noted Eagle’s history of integrity and professionalism on and off the field and that Eagle had never been accused of a WIAA violation in his 30 years of coaching.
Officials from District 4 of Washington Interscholastic Activities Association will meet in two weeks and can approve or amend the ruling. Camas can appeal all the way to the WIAA Executive Board.
Eagle has been the head coach at Camas for seven seasons. The Papermakers have gone 57-6 the past five years, including a berth in the 2013 Class 4A state championship game.
