Questions and answers on the D.J. Ward situation

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

As I’m sure many of you have heard, former Lawton standout D.J. Ward enrolled at Southmoore today after being at Douglass for the last month. You can read that story here.

Here’s a couple of points on the situation:

1. Is his playing in last week’s scrimmage important?
Yes. It established his eligibility at Douglass after a hardship waiver was requested. My understanding is the family had moved temporarily into the Southmoore district with the intention of moving into the Douglass district but those plans changed, leading to today’s developments. D.J.’s dad, Demetrius, is still working at Douglass as an ROTC instructor.

Had Ward not played last week, his eligibility would not have been set and the hardship could’ve been withdrawn, making him eligible after 15 days at Southmoore.

2. If he lives in the Southmoore district, why is a second hardship needed?
According to the OSSAA rules, once a student has filed for a hardship waiver, they must file for another hardship waiver each time they transfer, even if it’s a move from Guymon to Idabel.

We saw this pop up a couple years ago with the Daxx Garman situation at Jones. Garman had been granted a hardship waiver to attend Carl Albert but had not filed for one when the family moved to Jones. That waiver was subsequently denied when it was filed for retroactively.

3. If the second waiver is denied, what are the options?
My understanding is his eligibility would still be valid at Douglass, although he’d have to re-enroll and would be subject to sitting out 15 days from competition. He could also appeal the ruling to the OSSAA’s board of directors if the staff denies hardship.