Duncanville Basketball Coaches, Teams Penalized by UIL

The UIL State Executive Committee decided to suspend Coach David Peavy for one year at a hearing this morning for using a student who was found to be ineligible to play. The Duncanville Boys Basketball team forfeited the Conference 6A Boys Basketball State Championship in 2022 along with Coach Peavy’s suspension, the Committee decided, as well as all games in which Anthony Black, the student, played.

The court action was taken regarding the player’s eligibility. The student always competed for Duncanville under a court order that was still in effect. The district disputes that it broke any UIL rules by playing a student whose eligibility was covered by a legitimate court order, despite the fact that this case is still pending.

Girls Basketball Program

LeJeanna Howard, the head girls’ basketball coach at Duncanville High School, received a public censure and a one-year suspension from her position at the UIL State Executive Committee during the same meeting. In addition to the lengthy suspension for Coach Howard, the Committee put the Duncanville Girls Basketball program on probation for three years and barred them from playing in this year’s postseason.

Duncanville ISD had already taken internal action to impose a significant and appropriate disciplinary suspension for Coach Howard prior to today’s hearing. The internal disciplinary action taken by Duncanville ISD was considered to be both significant and appropriate. They do, however, respect the Committee’s decision that a longer suspension was necessary.

Superintendent Dr. Smith Reacts

“These are significant and unprecedented consequences for both programs, and students will suffer the most from today’s decisions,” said the Director of Duncanville ISD Dr. Smith. According to news reports from the local TV stations WFAA and NBC, the Duncanville High School Boys’ Basketball team forfeited all of its victories in the 2021–22 season, including playoff games, due to an ineligible player. Anthony Black, the third-best basketball player in Texas, relocated from Coppell to Duncanville two years ago. Despite the UIL declaring Black ineligible in October 2021, Black participated in his senior season for the Panthers. The district had been appealing this judgment to the UIL for the previous year.

Anthony Black Is Now A Razorback

The UIL determined that Black, a star player for the Arkansas Razorbacks right now, changed schools his senior year for athletic reasons. They claimed Coach Peavy, who has been dating his mother Jennifer for three years, had influenced him.

In their testimony at today’s hearing, Anthony Black’s parents offered divergent explanations for the decision to relocate. His father claimed the move was “well documented” as being for athletic purposes, while his mother testified the move was necessitated by Domestic violence by Black’s father.

In addition, the Duncanville High School boys’ basketball team lost its 6A state championship crown from the previous season. The team they had defeated in the state championship game, McKinney HS, was awarded that title automatically. David Peavy, the head coach of the boys’ basketball team, was given a one-year suspension, and the basketball program was given a public censure and three years of probation.

Duncanville Team Penalties

This morning, the UIL disqualified the Duncanville Pantherettes girls’ basketball team from the postseason for a full season and placed coach LeJeanna Howard on administrative leave for the remainder of the academic year due to an alleged recruiting infraction. The Duncanville boys were not subject to any postseason sanctions.

The Sandra Meadows Girls Basketball Tournament at Duncanville High School in December will be one of the tournaments the Pantherettes take part in despite their suspension from UIL playoff games.

Reference: https://www.focusdailynews.com/duncanville-basketball-coaches-teams-penalized-by-uil/