Super Sophomore Tony Wroten, Jr. Ineligible

Tony Wroten

Tony Wroten, Jr. has been ruled ineligible at Garfield High in Seattle, WA after a investigation into if met the district residency requirement rule. Tony is a highly ranked player in the class of 2011 who averaged 20.8 points, nine rebounds, and four assists per game as a freshman at Garfield High last season.

“We’re fighting because it’s wrong what’s happening,” Wroten’s father, Tony Wroten, Sr., said Monday. “We’re disputing what the district claims, and we’ll handle it in a legal manner.”

The school district issued its ruling last Friday. Wroten, Sr. said the family would seek a legal injunction Tuesday which would put their son back at Garfield immediately.

As of Friday at 2:15 p.m., he no longer was enrolled at Garfield. Tony has not enrolled at a new school, his father said.

Wroten, Sr. said the family has been renting a house in the Central District, just a block from Garfield. He said the house is owned by a family friend.

“People only recognize Tony because of sports,” Wroten, Sr. said. “But he’s just a student like anyone else, and he wants to stay at the school he’s gone to and where his friends are. It isn’t like we’re trying to move him to another school for sports.”

“Right now, the goal is to get him back to school at Garfield,” Wroten, Sr. said. “My son was being followed around. He’s only 15; he doesn’t deserve that. Our position is that the district is not telling the truth, and it’s a malicious attack against our son.”

This will be a interesting story to keep a eye on with the basketball season about to be in full swing. Hopefully everything can be solved in a timely manner it would be a huge loss if such a talented young man was unable to play because of a rule infraction. 

Quotes were provided by Seattlepi.com