Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins is the latest big name to throw their name in the corner of high school senior Maori Davenport, who has been ruled ineligible by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Maori lead the United States to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. She was mistakenly sent a check by USA Basketball for $857.20 and she cashed it. When USA basketball realized the mistake they notified Davenport and Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Davenport immediately returned the money, but Alabama (as in the Athletic Association) isn't budging and has continued to rule her ineligible. Cousins put out a statement on his Twitter account on Saturday night:
“What the Alabama High School Athletic Association has done to Maori Davenport is wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start. I know what this feels like because I was treated like shit by them too. Being a kid from Alabama, I'm with Maori Davenport. Fix this now!”
What the Alabama High School Athletic Association has done to Maori Davenport is wrong on so many levels that I don't know where to start. I know what this feels like because I was treated like shit by them too. Being a kid from Alabama, I'm with Maori Davenport. Fix this now!
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) January 5, 2019
The Warriors star joins a long list of celebrities and organizations, including the WNBA who have called on Alabama to reinstate her.
The WNBA urges the Alabama High School Athletic Association to reinstate Maori Davenport. Let her play the rest of her senior season instead of being penalized for an honest mistake made by others. https://t.co/CVgHNSqVAZ
— WNBA (@WNBA) January 4, 2019
The Alabama High School Athletic Association should be embarrassed and, frankly, ashamed of itself over this ruling. The AHSAA acts as if the players exist for the AHSAA, and not the other way around. Just awful. Maori Davenport did NOTHING WRONG. @AHSAA_hoops https://t.co/OCKBY1S1Iv
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) January 4, 2019
It will be interesting to see if all the pressure forces Alabama to change their mind and reinstate Davenport, but so far they haven't changed their stance. It's important that players in High School aren't getting payments, but this was a mistake that was quickly fixed and it's not like Davenport was trying to do anything behind anyone's back.
Either way, it's cool to see the Warriors star use his platform for others.
Follow Us
Subscribe