Charles Thompson addresses recruiting claims

If you missed it in print, here is the story on recruiting claims against Southmoore parent Charles Thompson

 ”I did not recruit anybody and nobody from my family recruited anybody. Anyone who says that  -  it’s all speculation and untrue.” — Charles Thompson

MOORE  -  It’s been the hot-button topic of the preseason: Charles Thompson has been accused of recruiting football players to Southmoore High School.

It’s a conversation that won’t die. So, Thompson wants his voice heard.

“I do,” said the former University of Oklahoma quarterback. “Because what’s being said is totally ridiculous. It’s completely incorrect.”

Here’s the short version of the flack that has enveloped local high school football for better than four months: Thompson’s son, Kendal, is a junior quarterback (and Division I-A recruit) for Southmoore’s second-year program. Southmoore was 2-8 in its initial season but is expected to be much better this year in part because of numerous move-ins and transfers.

Thompson, who has coached select little league football for over a decade, has drawn the ire of coaches and parents for what has been perceived as the recruitment of players he once coached to leave their high school and come to Southmoore.

“This is why that’s ridiculous,” said Thompson. “If you want to get technical about it, I’ve coached 12 years, so I’ve got kids at just about every school out there. You can go to just about every football team and find a kid I coached.”

The line between fact and fiction has been blurred considerably as rumors and misinformation have swirled unfettered. Nonetheless, this much is certain, the Moore school district and the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activity Association have looked into the allegations. Several coaches who had a player leave for Southmoore filed an official complaint with the OSSAA. And, more than one of those coaches have been asked to provide a written report.

With the season beginning today, Southmoore still has several move-in/transfer players whose eligibility is being reviewed and likely won’t be cleared to play by this evening when the SaberCats play Edmond Memorial at Wantland Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

However  -  and this is an important fact in all the attention the recruiting allegations have received  -  those individual eligibility cases have nothing to do with the recruiting charge. And, in fact, if a recruiting charge was proven (rule 9 in the OSSAA handbook) against a school, that would very likely not affect the eligibility of individual players. In most cases, a violation of that nature would draw a warning for the program. After a warning, a further violation would mean probation.