‘Let the kids play!’: Governor Ivey, Speaker Ledbetter react to latest court victory against AHSAA

(Nathaniel Ledbetter/Facebook, Governor Kay Ivey/Facebook, 256Today)

Governor Kay Ivey and Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter are praising a recent court decision against the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA).

The two Alabama leaders have been battling in court against the group after it tried to implement a new rule that required student-athletes who transfer schools using new school choice funds to sit out for one year before competing.

Earlier this month, a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge granted their motion put forward by Gov. Kay Ivey for a temporary restraining order against the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) rule on Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act (CHOOSE Act) student transfers.

Ivey and Ledbetter celebrated after the court maintaining the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in their ongoing lawsuit against the AHSAA Friday.

“Our mission is to simply let the kids play,” they said in a statement.

“We have been open to working with the AHSAA all along to ensure they do not unfairly and unlawfully discriminate against our CHOOSE Act student-athletes. Now is no different. With today’s court decision, the temporary restraining order remains in place, allowing our CHOOSE Act student-athletes to continue competing. We look forward to finding a permanent solution.”

State lawmakers are expected to discussed reforms to the AHSAA during the next legislative session.

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee