By Jillian Rosandich |
“Mind Games—the cerebral side of sport” is a video podcast produced on campus at the United States Sports Academy. This inaugural episode features host Academy doctoral teaching assistant Jillian Rosandich and special guest Dr. Roch King, chair of sport coaching and professor of sport ethics at the Academy, discussing the case of high school athlete Maori Davenport and how her case relates to the larger concepts of fairness and amateurism in sport.
Maori Davenport is a high school senior and Rutgers University signee who was forced to sit out her senior season after receiving payment for lost wages from USA Basketball for her time spent playing on the 2018 Under-18 National Team. This payment, described as a clerical error by USA Basketball and ultimately returned and self-reported by the Davenport family, ended up stripping Maori Davenport of her amateur status under the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (AHSAA) rules. While Davenport was sidelined, numerous celebrities and sports organizations spoke out in her defense. Heavy hitters like the WNBA, Jay Bilas, DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and the Women’s Sports Federation all decried the decision of the AHSAA as unfair and not in the spirit of the game or protection of athletes.
At the time of filming, the latest development was that the Davenport’s had dismissed their case once the season ended, but that the AHSAA was still considering litigation to establish future precedent and recoup the legal fees they accrued during the case. More info can be found here.
Jillian Rosandich is a doctoral teaching assistant at the United States Sports Academy.