Maori Davenport Is Immediately Eligible To Play After A Judge Overruled The AHSAA

After being ruled ineligible for a portion of her senior year by the Alabama High School Athletic Association, five-star center prospect Maori Davenport has been ruled eligible to play. Davenport, who was ruled ineligible by the organization following a clerical error made by USA Basketball, is able to play immediately.

According to AL.com, Davenport’s family filed a lawsuit looking to invalidate the decision made by the AHSAA, which was made after USA Basketball gave Davenport a stipend check for $857.20 following her appearance with the team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. USA Basketball didn’t make sure that compensating Davenport was cleared with the AHSAA, and upon making the mistake, everyone was notified and Davenport returned the money.

However, because Davenport accepted the money, the AHSAA ruled her ineligible. It led to plenty of outrage over the decision, with everyone from the WNBA and some of its players to DeMarcus Cousins and Chris Paul standing up for Davenport. While this was happening, the Davenport family decided to seek legal action against the decision.

That paid off on Friday, when Judge Sonny Reagan granted an emergency motion which invalidated the AHSAA’s ruling, giving Davenport the ability to suit up on Friday night when her school, Charles Henderson, hosts Carroll. Davenport took to her Twitter account following the decision, saying that all she wants at this point is to take the floor.

In response to the decision, AHSAA spokesperson Ron Ingram told AL.com “We’re aware of the litigation and in discussions to formulate an appropriate response.” If they would like some free advice from their pals at Dime, I would advise their response to be something along the lines of leaving Maori Davenport alone.