Court To Examine Athletic Groups' Authority

By Mark Walsh

Washington

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to decide whether a state high school athletic association that has been delegated authority to regulate interscholastic sports is an arm of the state for purposes of the protections of the U.S. Constitution.

The case has important implications nationwide because high school athletics in most states are governed by nominally private associations that have broad authority over eligibility and other issues.

Brentwood Academy, a Tennessee private school that was penalized in 1997 by the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association for alleged recruiting violations, filed the appeal the high...