The number of students who competed for pay in the Alaska Basketball Federation's open tournaments grew to nine on Wednesday, according to the state's governing body for high school activities.
But of the nine who competed, only two received money, according to tournament founder Jeramy Baker -- not three, as previously reported.
"Derrick Moore and James Mewborn (of East High) were the only players who earned money," Baker said Wednesday. "Tevin Timberlake (also of East) never received a dollar."
Alaska School Activities Association's executive director Gary Matthews confirmed Baker's list. He also said East officials witnessed Moore pay back $125 and Mewborn return $200.
Matthews is still researching whether the other students attend school so he can contact them and their school officials. He declined to name them.
"Our rules need to be better understood," Matthews said.
According to ASAA bylaws, competing for pay is prohibited. The penalty is losing eligibility in that sport for 365 days.
On Monday, ASAA board members voted to approve a process that could grant these students a "one-time only forgiveness" if they read ASAA's amateurism bylaws and sign a contract affirming that.
"Once they read it, sign off and bring it back to my office, that's when forgiveness will be granted," Matthews said.
He also said Moore, a senior wide receiver/defensive back for East's varsity football team, is eligible to play in Friday's large-school state quarterfinal game against South. He is the team's top receiver.
"This won't effect his eligibility in that sport," Matthews said.
He said he believed board members voted to give the students who participated in Baker's tournaments a "one-time forgiveness" for two reasons:
• With the approval of Anchorage School District secondary supervisor Todd Arndt, Baker posted fliers of his tournaments in schools. The fliers read "Cash for 1st place only."
• Some students told school officials they were unaware of ASAA rules.
"They felt the students had been duped into it," Matthews said. "When kids see something (posted) in schools, they think it's OK. Adults never said, 'Hey, this is a bad idea.' "
School District spokesperson Heidi Embley said it will examine posted fliers more thoroughly in the future.
"We regret this was overlooked," she said. "Sometimes details get missed. But we will make sure this never happens again."
In a letter to Matthews, which included the list of nine students, Baker wrote, "It's in the ABF's best interest for everyone to understand that this was an oversight and the best thing to do would be to correct it so that these students' futures are not jeopardized."
Matthews said the list of nine is comprised of students who participated from late March to this summer, and acknowledged there could be more. The tournaments have been going on since October of 2004.
Baker, 27, estimates he's awarded $3,200 in winnings over the last three years to players 14 and older, with most of the money awarded to out-of-college adults. In the future, he said students will no longer receive cash for winning.
"I don't want to ruin the future of these kids," Baker said. "I had no clue I was doing anything wrong."
Matthews called Baker on Sept. 25 to tell him that students who compete for pay violate ASAA bylaw. It also breaks bylaws of the NCAA.
Baker told Matthews he called the NCAA to make sure his open tournaments followed proper guidelines.
"(Baker) said he checked with the NCAA and they said it was OK to hold an open tournament," Matthews said.
But Matthews wasn't interested in the NCAA guidelines.
"Competing for pay violates our rules," Matthews told Baker.
Stacey Osburn of the NCAA said she couldn't comment directly on Baker's tournaments. But she did say students who receive money in college suffer different penalties from those who receive money in high school.
"If (college athletes) took money, one thing to reinstate themselves is to pay it back to a charity," she said. "For prospective students, reinstatement depends on whatever is appropriate in that region."
Because of the board's ruling, Matthews said if the nine students complete the process, their ASAA eligibility record will be wiped clean.
But Osburn said passing NCAA's clearing house questionnaire -- completed by prospective student athletes, which asks if the student has ever competed for pay -- will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
UAA athletic director Steve Cobb, who's dealt with similar situations throughout his career, said the NCAA often looks favorably on reinstatement if someone inadvertently received money and then returned it.
Although coaches, parents and administrators have been criticized for allowing students to play in Baker's tournaments, Cobb holds the athletes accountable.
"At the end of the day, I blame student-athletes," Cobb said. "You can't hold their hand 24 hours a day."
Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.
