Coach, brother react to Linden-McKinley out of city championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Players, their loved ones, and community members are upset their team will not play in the Columbus City League championship because of what the district has called "an oversight regarding the scheduling of games."

The Linden-McKinley boys basketball team recently found out about this. The Panthers have already played 22 games this season. That's the maximum allowed by Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) regulations. The City League championship is considered a regular season game.

“It’s not 22 games of work, it’s not a season of work, it’s four, five, six years of work to get to this point," said Kevin Darthard Jr., head coach of the Linden-McKinley boys basketball team.

He credited his players for all the work they have done on and off the court. He met with them Monday night about this situation.

"It was devastating, these are boys that… not only do I have a son on the team, these are boys that I've been knowing since about, few of them since about four or five years old," he said.

In a letter shared with the community Monday evening, Dr. Angela Chapman, superintendent of Columbus City Schools (CCS), wrote the fact the Panthers have already played 22 games makes them ineligible to play in the city championship.

"Our faith grounds us, but it's still emotionally tough seeing the most innocent of souls go through something so unprecedented. That's so unfair," said Londale Towns, who has two younger brothers on the team.

Chapman also apologized and said the district empathizes with the disappointment many are experiencing.

“I believe that due to so many eyes on it and so much of a revolving door, things just slipped up and missed. And what I'm asking for, all the things we do in the community, just asking for a little bit of grace or has everything been exhausted for these boys to see if they can still manage to play," Darthard Jr. said.

The district is investigating to make sure this doesn't happen again. Linden-McKinley's athletic director of six years left over the summer, according to CCS. A district spokesperson said an athletic director was in place to start the school year but left around September or October. The current athletic director started in December, according to the district.