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Defensive standout Gabe King may practice, but status not perfect

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
(Updated 11:46 am)
By Robert Bell
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Even after taking on the N.C. High School Athletic Association and getting some relief from a court, Gabe King's eligibility remains as much a mystery this week as it has all summer long.

But King's murky future could come into focus when lawyers for the football player and the NCHSAA return to court Thursday to argue whether one of the state's top defensive recruits will be able to play his senior year.

King received a judge's blessing Friday to practice with the Northern Guilford High School football team. Absolution came in the form of a temporary restraining order from Guilford County District Court judge Angela Foster, who momentarily freed the defensive end from the NCHSAA's ruling that banned King from playing sports his senior year until a preliminary hearing Sept. 9.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the NCHSAA filed a motion of their own seeking to have Foster's ruling dissolved. A judge is scheduled to hear the case Thursday.

If the NCHSAA's request is granted, King, who began practicing with Northern this week, will be ineligible again until his original restraining order case is heard Sept. 9.

Lawyers from both sides offered contrasting strategies Tuesday. At issue is whether or not King, who transferred from Page to Northern in April, submitted false information when he filled out a Guilford County Schools athletics participation form in July 2008.

King attended Page for two years before his parents, Robert and Patricia Hughes, moved to Winston-Salem in 2008. Instead of moving with them, King moved into his adult sister's apartment within Page's school district.

In July 2008, King listed his sister's address as his residence on a participation form. Chris Justice, King's attorney, said the form is ambiguous.

"He was not falsifying an address," said Justice. "He put the address where he was living. (The form is) certainly ambiguous enough that a reasonable person could interpret it the way (King) did."

Justice also said one of the eligibility rules listed on the participation form states that a student athlete "must live with your parents or legal custodian ..."

"A legal custodian isn't the same as a legal guardian," said Justice.

King has admitted forging his mother's signature on the participation form. Justice said that's not fraud because Hughes has since said the information in the form is true.

The NCHSAA stripped King of his eligibility last spring after Page officials said his legal residence was in doubt.

Jim Maxwell, the Durham attorney representing the NCHSAA, said Tuesday both sides agree King was not living with his parents nor did a court grant custody of King to anyone.

"Either of those is grounds to make him ineligible at any school in the state," Maxwell said. "I don't think this is very confusing."

King's suit also raises a question as to whether Page's coaching staff was aware he was living with his sister in Greensboro during the 2008 season. According to court documents, Page coach Kevin Gillespie and Norman Weeks told King on July 29 he needed to fill out the form in their presence and leave it with them. Justice stopped short Tuesday of saying Gillespie and Weeks pressured King into filling out the form the way he did.

"I'm not suggesting the coaches told Gabe to sign anything," Justice said. "But the fact remains they handed him a blank form and the form was filled out without Gabe or the coaches ever leaving the room. It seems a bit of willful blindness on (the coaches') part to suggest they didn't know what was happening."

Gillespie declined to comment.

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

Photo Caption: Former Page High School defensive end Gabriel King.

Comments

This article has been closed to new comments. Comments are generally closed after 14 days. However, comments may be closed earlier at the discretion of the News & Record.

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DaveW

September 2, 2009 - 8:45 am EDT

If attorneys start to control athletic eligibility then the NCHSAA will have to be totally reorganized. It would not be a good thing.

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 10:11 am EDT

"If attorneys start to control athletic eligibility then the NCHSAA will have to be totally reorganized. It would not be a good thing."

1) Attorneys don't but courts protect your rights.

2) This kid told the truth.

3) Page coaches sacraficed him

"King's suit also raises a question as to whether Page's coaching staff was aware he was living with his sister in Greensboro during the 2008 season. According to court documents, Page coach Kevin Gillespie and Norman Weeks told King on July 29 he needed to fill out the form in their presence and leave it with them. Justice stopped short Tuesday of saying Gillespie and Weeks pressured King into filling out the form the way he did."

DaveW

Maybe all coaches don't meet your high standards.
What do you think?

He was living with his "sister". Where he said.
High school kid who simply wanted to stay in his school.

This is hardly the crime or deception of the century.

"I'm not suggesting the coaches told Gabe to sign anything," Justice said. "But the fact remains they handed him a blank form and the form was filled out without Gabe or the coaches ever leaving the room. It seems a bit of willful blindness on (the coaches') part to suggest they didn't know what was happening."

Gillespie declined to comment

DaveW

September 2, 2009 - 9:28 pm EDT

dcolin
You made one good point and another I cannot agree with.
I agree with you when you said "he is a kid and he should have fun playing sports and he will only be a kid once."
( I may not have quoted you exactly but I think that is the jist of it.) I also could not have said it better my self.
I have to disagree however about attorney's protecting our rights. They do protect our rights but in this case a right has not been violated. Athletic participation is not a right. Athletic participation is a PRIVILEGE. If the parent deceived the Page football staff in any way Gabe King should be ineligible.Since I do agree with you on the fact that he is a kid and wants to have fun being a kid and play ball, my suggestion earlier about going to private school and playing would satisfy both the rules of public school athletics and the kid could still play. The NCHSAA member schools would not play against him. As for his family's economic situation(which I have no idea about)they could take out a loan for a year of education if that was necessary. He will go to college later for free.He is a highly rated football recruit.He will have his choice of several schools to attend.

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 11:55 pm EDT

"Athletic participation is a PRIVILEGE"

I have no idea what you mean.

It's a public school program and he has the same rights to participate as any other student
It is not a Privilege.

chosenone

September 2, 2009 - 12:17 pm EDT

dcolin, how do you know he told the truth? Just a hunch? I am surprised that you made a post and didn't mention Manny Bloom and his resume. Have you finally moved on from that?

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 6:10 pm EDT

The article says he listed his sisters adress.
Nobody is questioning that he listed that and that he lived there.

They are upset about his sister not being his "legal guardian"

How do you feel about Manny?
Your kind of coach/mentor for kids

How do you feel about this kid?

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 9:08 pm EDT

chosenone

How about a reply.

chosenone

September 2, 2009 - 10:29 pm EDT

sorry for the late response, I typically don't surf the news-record website 50 times a day. If the NG story from this past week doesn't show the lengths parents will go to put their kid in the situation they want, I don't know what else will. Knowing some of the details of the story, there is no way you can say that the kid was used by the Page coaches. There are simply no facts to back that up. If Page was so concerned with the kid playing at Page, and coaxing him to stay, then why would they have the balls to suspend him multiple times as well as kick him off the team? Not exactly the way most coaches would treat a stud football player that they are having cheat the system so they will stay at their school. Wouldn't you agree?

As far as Manny Bloom, I don't know him and don't care about his situation. I just don't understand why you have listed his resume as well as job description no less than 15 times when none of the articles apply to him. Did you apply for his job or something?

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 11:57 pm EDT

If the article is correct. He lived where he stated and with his older sister.
As they say that ought to be "closes enough for government work"
He met the spirit of the rules.
He did not want to leave his high school
Page simply got pissed off at him and was worried they would also be dragged into the Northern thing

Manny.

It's the school system Bull SH%#.

They say coaches must be faculty( to me faculty means you teach ).
But they create a BS position.
In School Suspension Teacher.

He is only licensed to teach through elementry school.
He lied to get the job.
He was under investigation for serious issues at his last job.
He gets a silly reprimand. However 16yr old kids get shafted.
They talk about honor codes. The system has none.

They ought to have the balls to say we hired him simply to coach baketball.
Nothing else. I can understand that.

He cannot even teach PE at the high school level.

The NW WEB site went a full year without listing him as a faculty position.
A full year.

No I did not want his job.

I am no more qualified than him to work with behavioral problem kids.
And I was probably the worlds worst basketball player.

Bang201

September 2, 2009 - 8:06 pm EDT

dcolin That's a very strong statement to say the Page coaches sacrificed him. Remember he only played in a few games last year. Got suspended for 2 games for leaving the sidelines and getting in a fight in the first game of the season. Was removed from the team early in conference play. They were 5-1 without him. Want to know how I feel about him? He's a tremendous athletic talent, he has a good heart, he did some very immature things, and he got some real bad advice from people away from school. I hope he does get to play and goes on to a successful college career. I wish some people in Guilford County that use kids to promote themselves would move. How could you possibly know he's telling the truth? Were you there? Didn't think so.

dcolin

September 2, 2009 - 9:05 pm EDT

"The article says he listed his sisters adress.
Nobody is questioning that he listed that and that he lived there.

They are upset about his sister not being his "legal guardian"

If above is true he told the truth.

The fact they did not like his attitude is irrelevant. By sacrifice I mean:

When the Northern investigation started they got worried ( my opinion)
Turned him in so they would look good.( might get caught)
He meets the spirit of the rule.

They obviously waited.
Why?

These are 16yr old kids.
Remember high school
It only happens once

Look, take away the wins and championships when inelegible players are caught.
Send the kids back to the correct school.
But don't take their fun away.
Remember being a kid.

As I have said if all coaches were real teachers the problem would pretty much take care of itself.
Honor codes are for dishonorable people.

eduguytoo

September 2, 2009 - 8:54 pm EDT

So much we don't know about this...so much we'll probably never know. I, for one, am glad for the court proceedings in these matters for no other reason than more information gets disclosed. I don't know Gabe King. I don't know the Page coaches. I don't know the nature of these forms that were signed. But I am quite puzzled about any form that was filled out/signed in the presence of the coaches by Gabe King. For some who seem to have the inside track, can you explain a few things to those of us still partially in the dark.
1. Exactly what this form was for?
2. What was the date that the form was filled out/signed? (I think the time elements in this thing are intriguing.)
3. Assuming that this form was the document that has largely been cited for having implemented or perpetuated a residency that was not "official" for King, would not the coaches have immediately spotted this?
4. If King forged his parents' signatures, and this is the document where that occurred, didn't the Page coaches witness the forgery?
5. If some of the points above are somewhere close to being on target, did the Page coaches immediately report King and their team for violation of NCHSAA rules for having an ineligible player? If I'm not mistaken, it was sometime early in 2009 (perhaps two or three months after football season had concluded) that Page reported.

I'm not out to "get" anyone...I just want to understand. I'll probably have to be patient and hope that the court hearings cause more of the story to come out.

Jimmy Jones

September 3, 2009 - 7:33 am EDT

eduguytoo,

I know Gabe, and I know the coaches...Someone mentioned this in a previous post...Gabe has some character issues, but I'm sure its from bad advice from some mentors who just won't leave him alone...He is not a bad kid, but he has done some really stupid things...As far as the Page coaches, well, its obvious DCOLIN knows nothing about the Page coaches...They are good men...As far as DCOLIN goes, take off the D and replace the I with an O, and that is about where his opinions come from...

The coaches didn't know anything about the forgery until Gabe's own mother realized she didn't sign the form...She was the one who brought that up with Gabe later acknowledging that he had done it...The story changed there after by him saying that the Page coaches made him do it then later that they didn't make him do it, but they had him in a room and witnessed him do it...

Here is my last point...The coaches wanted Gabe off the team...I'm not going to keep posting Gabe's issues on here, because he is a kid, but the coaches were fine with him leaving...Now, if the coaches had done something wrong, do you think they would have reported it?..Why didn't they just keep it hush hush and just moved on and let Gabe move on?..I can honestly tell you that they were fine with him moving on and they were definitely not thinking that if they couldn't have him then nobody would...TRUST ME, this is NOT the case...Even the players on the team wanted him gone...That should be some sort of statement...

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 7:46 am EDT

He was gone. No?
Why report him?
He started at Page, He was living with his sister, They knew that from day one.
At least the article seems to say that. When he gave them the papers they were satisfied
ands what he said was true.

Living in your district with my sister.
Is that not correct?

Jimmy Jones

September 3, 2009 - 8:58 am EDT

dcolin,

It is not correct...They did not know that he was living with his sister...There was one coach and a trainer who witnessed Gabe walking from or leaving from these apartments that was listed as his address; therefore, the address would have never come up as an issue...There was no mentioning of the sister until after the season was over...The address on the form was where he was living, a coach and trainer saw him there, and there was Gabe's mother's signature (that Gabe forged) on a form claiming he lived at that address...All of this never brought doubt into the minds of the coaches...Now, the article is claiming that Gabe told the coaches...There have also been articles claiming that Gabe lived with coaches...So, come on now...There is a lot of truth bending here...Desperate measures call for desperate actions and Gabe is desperate to play his senior year...It is as simple as that...

Gabe was not gone when they turned themselves in...He was off the team, but he was still at Page...Page had to self report because they did later find out of his ineligibility...The coaches could have just let Gabe move on and they would have moved on hoping that no one found out...However, they all did the right thing and went by the rules and turned themselves in...

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 10:31 am EDT

He had started at Page.
He listed his true adress.
He was not trying to game the system.
He met the spirit of the rule.
The Page people do not.

Are you saying he "did not live at that adress"
Yes or No.

He signed his mothers name.
Come on. You think his mother did not know.
She was in Winston Salem.
You never signed your wifes name with her consent.

Shame on them he is a kid.
Last year of high school
Again.

When all is done.
I give you Manny at NW.
He stays as a coach.
So much for honor codes.

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 10:44 am EDT

By gone I meant gone from the team.

eduguytoo

September 3, 2009 - 9:00 am EDT

So, you are saying that the Page coaches did NOT make Gabe King fill out that form in their presence, is that correct? If I'm understanding things, you indicate that King filled out that form somewhere other than in front of the coaches, and in the process he put down his sister's apartment as where he lived (which probably wasn't false info...it just wasn't his legal residence and we now have to see how the courts interpret the issue of the wording: "legal guardian" vs. "legal custodian"). Further, King forged his mother or father's signature on the document, but because he didn't do this in front of the coaches, they didn't know the signature wasn't authentic.

Not to nit pick, but I'm a bit puzzled about the statement you've made that goes along these lines as it pertains to the Page coaches and Page team: "They wanted him (King) off the team." If that's true, then why didn't the coaches, when problems arose with King (maybe after that first game where I think someone said he got into a fight) just say "You're gone. You're off the team." I've seen many coaches do that. A long time ago when I was a coach/teacher, I did that...more than once.

Jimmy Jones

September 3, 2009 - 10:48 am EDT

Okay, I didn't make it clear, but when I said that the coaches wanted him off the team, it wasn't because they didn't like him personally...Gabe became too much of a distraction much like Terrell Owens for any NFL team he plays for...The only difference is that Gabe is a kid and someone was in his ear all the time telling him how much better it would be at "this school" and how much more they could do for him, so he started having the "I don't give a crap" attitude at Page...Again, I don't need to go into too many details, because there have been too many people bashing him, and I won't go there anymore, but the coaches grew tired of his actions and decided to let him go after the East Forsyth game (locker room incident this night)...

He did get into a fight at the RJ Reynolds game and was suspended for two games, but the coaches kept trying to work with him...They talked and talked and talked to him, but he just never listened...He wanted to do his own thing and it wasn't about the team...The coaches probably think now that they exhausted too much effort in trying to work with him, but they did feel like they could get through to him...With his high profile status, you had street agents from another school talking in his ear and promising him more exposure and so on and so on...So, what you ended up with is Gabe not thinking that Page was doing enough for him, nor was Page looking out for his best interest...Notice I didn't reference the team there, because it never was about the team...This attitude is what ultimately lead to the coaches' decisions to remove him from the team...

The coaches DID NOT MAKE Gabe fill out the form in front of them...Gabe is claiming that he completed the form in their presence, but that is horse dookie...You are correct when the address was not false, but his sister was not his legal guardian...As far as the forged signature, the coaches had no idea the signature was forged until the mother raised questions about it and was later determined that Gabe forged the signature...

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 10:55 am EDT

Why do you keep bringing up his problems with the coaches?
Thats irrelevant.

It has nothing to do with this.

In fact it is a point in his favour.
They don't like me.
They are getting even.

They should have just let him move on.

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 10:50 am EDT

"As far as DCOLIN goes, take off the D and replace the I with an O, and that is about where his opinions come from."

Thats it. Attack me personally.
That helps your case.

Jimmy Jones

September 3, 2009 - 1:56 pm EDT

"As far as DCOLIN goes, take off the D and replace the I with an O, and that is about where his opinions come from." HA...I got a kick out of that one...

I get it though...You like to play Devil's Advocate...You argue a point that you are not even close to or familiar with just to argue a point...You see damning comments and untrue allegations, and you believe it to be true when you've really only heard one side of the story in this paper...I'm sure the Page coaches are told not to make any comments, but I wish they had the opportunity to spill their beans to the media...They've went through all of their interviews with state personnel and there was no fault found with the Page coaches, so that is where it should stay...

Last point here, Page had to turn themselves in, because it was what they had to do and was the right thing to do...If Page hadn't turned themselves in, then I'm sure that a claim of ineligibility would have been made soon after Gabe was released from the team...Stiff penalties would have then been levied by the state, so the proper thing to do was self report...

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 2:15 pm EDT

"Page had to turn themselves in, because it was what they had to do and was the right thing to do...If Page hadn't turned themselves in, then I'm sure that a claim of ineligibility would have been made soon after Gabe was released from the team..."

What is your education.
You obviously don't understand.
I am saying the Page people simply protected themselves.
They don't care about the Kid one way or another.
He is not important in their equation

Bang201

September 3, 2009 - 11:34 am EDT

dcolin you can't even keep up with your own arguements. You keep saying why didn't they just let him go and not report him. They didn't report him they reported themselves. It's your position that Page reported itself to the NCHSAA to get get even with a kid who was no longer on the team? Are you even reading what you're typing? You also stated earlier that it was a right not a privilidge to participate in athletics, really? Why then is there a governing body, NCHSAA, that sets rules and determines eligibility? Sound a lot like the DMV and driving is a privilidge not a right. I admire your passion but the kids in Guilford County would be better served if you directed at people in the community that act as agents for these high school kids. No need to respond, I'm done with it.

dcolin

September 3, 2009 - 2:27 pm EDT

I will respond.

I wrote:

"In fact it is a point in his favour.
They don't like me.
They are getting even.

They should have just let him move on."

I don't think they are getting even
As I said in another post they don't care about him one way or another.

This will now be his argument.
And it may be convincing in a court of law.

As long as one met the requirements for public offerings.
they are not privilage but rights.

Just like going to The Early College at Guilford ( exam standard ) they must take you.

The same with football.
It is offered. If he meets the established standards they take him.

Where do you get this sports is a privilage crap.

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