Ainsworth joins fight with AHSAA over CHOOSE Act student-athletes

MONTGOMERY — Despite a threat from Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth to “strip AHSAA of its power,” Alabama High School Athletic Association is standing by its decision to require student-athletes under the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act (CHOOSE Act) to sit out a year after transferring schools.

On Thursday, Ainsworth invited Alabamians to email his office with their experiences, critiques, and assessments of the AHSAA along with recommendations for needed changes and reforms in the governing body.

“The AHSAA’s decision to declare itself above the law is the symptom of a much bigger problem — a complete lack of accountability for its actions,” Ainsworth said in a statement Thursday. “It is obvious that we must look into reforming how high school athletics are governed and regulated in Alabama, so I invite the public to send me their thoughts, suggestions, and experiences as we put together a plan.”

Ainsworth posted on X:

“The same Alabama High School Athletic Association responsible for making sure teams do not break the rules is BREAKING THE LAW by denying eligibility to CHOOSE Act students. I’ll offer legislation to strip AHSAA of its power and give it to an entity that will follow the law.”

The AHSAA said this month the CHOOSE program, which provides vouchers for students to attend schools, is a form of financial aid. And, as such, student-athletes who receive the funds and transfer to another school must sit out a year.

And, in response to Ainsworth’s comment Thursday to strip AHSAA of its power, Jim Williams, a Montgomery attorney who represents the AHSAA, said the 104-year-old organization is self-governed by its more than 750 member schools.

“The management of the affairs of the AHSAA is vested in a Legislative Council and a Central Board of Control. Through these governing bodies, the member schools write the rules for the AHSAA. This legislative process also allows the member schools to change their rules.

Williams declined further comment due to pending litigation from a lawsuit filed by

Gov. Kay Ivey and House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville).

Early this month, the AHSAA issued a ruling requiring student-athletes who transfer to sit out for one year before competing in athletics when financial aid is involved.

The organization considers the CHOOSE Act — like the Accountability Act before it —  a form of financial aid.

Ivey and Ledbetter were granted a temporary restraining order by Montgomery County Circuit Court. The order blocks the AHSAA’s CHOOSE Act rule while the governor and speaker’s lawsuit proceeds in court.

The court is expected to set a hearing in the coming days.