The TAPPS football playoffs will proceed Friday without the state-favorite Liberty Christian Warriors.
A ruling from the 362nd Judicial District Court in Denton County denied a temporary restraining order requested by Liberty Christian that would pause the removal of the school’s football team from the playoffs.
During the ruling, Judge Bruce McFarling said TAPPS is a private organization, and courts may not overrule a private organization’s determination under Texas law unless the organization’s act was illegal or deprived a party of property, right or if there was no due process.
According to McFarling, Liberty Christian had due process at the district level and state level through TAPPS committees, and therefore the court could not intervene.
The court did not decide whether Liberty Christian’s player was eligible or not.
McFarling explained how hard it was to make the ruling, but he took an oath requiring him to interpret the law, not make it.
It was a last-ditch effort by Liberty Christian, which was removed from the playoffs after being forced to forfeit all games in which an allegedly ineligible player had participated.
Liberty Christian hoped the pause would give TAPPS, the body governing private school athletics in Texas, time to review evidence that would prove the Warriors did not use an ineligible player.
“We are sad to report to you that our request for a temporary restraining order has been denied,” said Liberty Christian in a statement. “The entire Liberty Christian family is so proud of our football team and everyone associated with it.”
After TAPPS ruled the player, wide receiver Jace Johnson, as ineligible and removed the Warriors from the playoffs, Liberty Christian parents, local coaches and other community members spoke out and called on TAPPS to reconsider its decision.
According to TAPPS, Johnson violated a TAPPS “follow the coach” bylaw when he transferred to Liberty Christian School from Abilene Cooper High School for his senior year.
TAPPS said Johnson was essentially recruited by a Liberty Christian assistant coach, Antonio Griffin, through a 7-on-7 team called LionHearted.
According to sources familiar with the situation, Griffin’s team had merged with a different 7-on-7 program from West Texas. The coach from the West Texas team coached the athletes in LionHearted, and was merely owned by Griffin, not coached.
This was the basis on which Liberty Christian took TAPPS to court. They believe the evidence, an email giving Griffin the title of “Owner and coach” of LionHearted was manipulated from its original version, which Liberty Christian parents claim said Griffin only “owned” the team.
However, the team appealed to no avail, and many seniors on the team will not get a chance to finish out a run for another state title, including top recruit Cooper Witten, the son of former Cowboys legend Jason Witten, who left the head coaching job at Liberty Christian to coach at the University of Oklahoma.
Cooper Witten is committed to play for the Sooners after he graduates.
Liberty Christian, as it stated in its original statement, said it will continue to seek its options to reverse the ruling, but it seems the fate of the Warriors is set.
