Braden River High’s Knowledge McDaniel had his appeal hearing Thursday. Here’s how he fared

The Section 3 Appeals Committee on Thursday ruled Braden River High senior Knowledge McDaniel, in a vote of 3-1, eligible to play in the Pirates’ remaining three non-district games, but he can’t play in the Pirates’ five Class 7A-District 11 games or the postseason.

The Florida High School Athletic Association had ruled McDaniel ineligible for the season on Aug. 8 for receiving impermissible benefits, a violation of Policy 37.2.2.7. The impermissible benefits involved living with a Braden River High booster club member family, Todd and Regina Thoma.

After Thursday’s ruling, McDaniel will be eligible to play Friday night against Manatee, Oct. 5 against Booker and Nov. 2 against St. Petersburg High.

Braden River can appeal the decision at a FHSAA Board of Directors meeting, and plans to do so. The next FHSAA Board of Directors meeting is slated for Sept. 23-24.

“The kid in this is totally innocent,” Manatee County athletic director Jason Montgomery said.

The appeals hearing, held at the Manatee County School District, lasted more than three hours. It began with FHSAA associate executive director for eligibility and compliance services Craig Damon reading the impermissible benefits rule, before shifting into Braden River giving its presentation of McDaniel’s hardship.

There were three proposals discussed among the four committee members in attendance who were voting. Manatee High athletic director Danielle LaPoint recused herself at the start of the hearing. The members were committee chair Grady Irvin, a Tampa-based attorney; Saint Stephen’s athletic director Lenny Paoletti; Auburndale High athletic director Pam Lancaster; and Brandon High athletic director Rashad Woods.

Paoletti motioned for McDaniel to play only non-district games and no potential playoff games before it was withdrawn due to non-district games still impacting other programs based on the FHSAA playoff point structure for public schools. A second motion was then issued by Paoletti that involved McDaniel being eligible for the last five regular-season games and any potential playoff games.

But before a vote could be taken, the question surrounding the family having booster club ties was raised. That drew Paoletti to withdraw his motion, and a brief discussion before the non-district game proposal was motioned again. This time a 3-1 vote in favor occurred, with only Woods, who remained silent for the first two hours before speaking favorably on McDaniel’s behalf, voting against.

McDaniel, who has garnered college football offers from Ohio State, Georgia, Nebraska, Ole Miss and others, began his career at Braden River in 2015. As a sophomore in November 2016, McDaniel’s guardian — his grandmother — “was informed her lease was not being renewed when inquiring about renewal,” according to the FHSAA report.

Manatee County superintendent Cynthia Saunders spoke to clarify McDaniel’s hardship is granted, as a matter of policy, to those seeking to stay at the same school they were at before moving. Transportation is not provided, though.

That was the reason McDaniel began staying with the booster club family, so he could attend Braden River.

“We strongly disagree with the outcome of the hearing and we are outraged by the unethical behavior of some of the Section 3 Appeals Committee Members,” the McDaniel and Thoma family said in a statement. “Berating and humiliating a family about their financial situation is beyond comprehension. FHSAA rules do not provide for different punishments depending on whether an athletic interest is a parent, a volunteer or a Booster Club Member and withdrawing a motion and a second for solely that reason was completely wrong. We are evaluating all available options. “

McDaniel’s grandmother was evicted from her apartment in the Braden River zone and moved to a place in Southeast High’s zone. However, McDaniel had no reason to believe he couldn’t attend Braden River, where he was his first two years.

A hardship form was submitted to the Manatee County School District on Jan. 9, 2018, with a waiver granted for McDaniel three days later, according to the FHSAA report.

McDaniel’s grandmother said during Thursday’s hearing that she filed a hardship waiver with the school district in August 2017, but the paperwork went missing and she only knew about it when filing the new hardship waiver in January 2018.

On Feb. 7, 2018, educational authorization was granted to the booster club family from McDaniel’s grandmother.

A senior, McDaniel is the Bradenton Herald’s reigning player of the year and he was allowed to practice with Braden River following August’s FHSAA ruling, which saw McDaniel ineligible for the season and the school fined $2,500 as well as forfeiting all games he participated in during the 2017-18 school year.

“I have a real hard time telling a kid his senior year he can’t play, when that’s the case — the school’s been thumped,” Montgomery said.

This story was originally published September 6, 2018 at 4:54 PM.