The Katy (Texas) baseball team, ranked No. 8 in the Super 25, will have to forfeit games played from Feb. 25 to April 11 after the 19-6A Executive Committee unanimously voted Friday that two players violated University Interscholastic League rules on amateurism, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Part of the forfeits include eight district wins, meaning the team won’t qualify for the playoffs.
The two players — Hayden Baker and Grant Jackman — will paid a total of $800 to help coach a local Little League team. The committed voted 7-0 that the players violated Section 441 (a) that says an athlete is not an amateur if he receives money or other “valuable consideration for teaching or participating in a League sponsored school sport.”
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The players returned the money and Katy self-reported the violation and explained that they were not coaching but doing “grunt work,” such as helping players put gear on. The committee, however, was not swayed.
The families said the players began as volunteers, but because they were spending so much time helping, the coaches offered to pay them. The money was from the coaches, not the league, they said.
The players and the school can appeal.
The Twitter feed from the football team also took a stance: