Did The Goose Creek Football Program Get Justice?

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Rock Hill Schools are very familiar with South Carolina High School League justice. We have been in the same situation as Goose Creek faces now, being banned from the playoffs - and in a twist, one of our schools would appear to be a beneficiary. Northwestern High School was scheduled to travel to Goose Creek Friday night and now will play host to the team Goose Creek beat last week. This is a big deal for Northwestern.

But, did the punishment fit the crime for Goose Creek? 

Goose Creek self reported a violation. They used a player who had used up his eligibility. A player that did not play very much and did not give them any competitive advantage - but a player in need of support and one who has been dealt  a bad situation in life. 

The Goose Creek football player declared ineligible by the High School League is a foster child who has special needs. He was homeless at times and had been in and out of facilities. He attended six schools before finally ending up at Goose Creek.

School officials reported the violation when a transcript showed he had been credited with high school classes four years ago at Woodmont High School, located near Greenville.

Goose Creek officials discovered the student wasn’t at Woodmont High his freshman year in 2008. He was actually incarcerated at a facility called Generations Home in Simpsonville, and was not allowed to leave the premises. Goose Creek officials say he never stepped foot on the Woodmont campus. The classes credited to Woodmont were actually taken at the Generations Home.

All that is really a mute point. Goose Creek did the right thing. Did the High School League?