A high school student is suing the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, alleging that the group is unfairly keeping him from playing basketball after switching schools.
It's a turn of events that's shedding light on a rule that the MIAA has about "poaching," or recruiting a student to leave one school to attend another school to play a sport.
The attorney for junior Chibuikem "Chib" Onwuogu says he wasn't recruited to leave Peabody's high school after his sophomore year to attend St. Mary's School in Lynn. He says Onwuogu considered basketball, but he also wanted the smaller classes offered at St. Mary's, adding that his family is a member of the parish.
David Brown, the head boys' basketball coach at St. Mary's, says it's tough to see a 17-year-old disappointed "from being told that he can't participate in an activity that he grew up loving."
Brown says the accusation that Onwuogu was poached is especially tough for him, because junior year is critical for exposure to college recruiters.
The MIAA could not be reached for comment at deadline.
