WIAA vs. Hayden Halter; Wisconsin Supreme Court makes a decision
Wisconsin Supreme Court rules in favor of WIAA in 6-year dispute
The Wisconsin Supreme Court put an end to a six-year-long dispute over a state wrestling title on Tuesday, siding with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
WATERFORD, Wis. - It took six years and three courts to settle, but a former high school wrestler's attempt to reverse his own suspension en route to a state title was finally decided.
On Tuesday, April 8, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), after former Waterford Union High School wrestler Hayden Halter sued the association in 2019 – stripping him of the title.
Going back six years
The backstory:
It's February 2, 2019.
Waterford Union wrestler Hayden Halter is about to win a conference tournament match, but not without controversy.
In a post-match report, the referee says Halter swore at him about a call then taunted the crowd by flexing at them at the end of the match. Two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, resulting in his ejection.
Controversial call: WIAA legal victory, implications for sports officials
A Racine County judge rules in favor of WIAA, two years after a high school wrestler sued over a referee's judgment call.
Which meant Halter, the defending state champion, would be suspended for that year's state tournament.
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And yet Halter didn't just enter the tournament. He won it, because a Racine County judge granted him an injunction against the WIAA over his suspension.
Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling
What's next:
Fast-forward to Tuesday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 5-2 to overturn the decision, effectively stripping Halter of his title. The court ruled that the WIAA acted reasonably in interpreting its own rules regarding Halter's suspension.
What they're saying:
The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) in Racine agrees.
"Judgment calls by sports' officials do not belong in the courts, and it was gratifying to see, finally after all these years, that the state Supreme Court agreed with that," NASO President Bill Topp said. "You can imagine the chaos if every time there was a technical foul in a basketball game, we had to be adjudicated."
Topp also said he’s glad the court didn’t define the WIAA as a "state actor," maintaining it as a private entity.
It's an outcome sports attorney Joshua Frieser isn't cheering for.
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"Once you have those constitutional protections, you can get into court and say, 'Hey, the WIAA violated them,’" he said. "But as a private actor, you don't necessarily have all those protections."
Through attorneys, the Halter family provided the following statement to FOX6 News:
"We are not able to interview, but can say that we are disappointed with the decision, but respect it."
Wisconsin Supreme Court (SCOWIS)
WIAA executive director Stephanie Hauser provided the following statement as well:
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court today ruled that the WIAA – a private organization whose board is composed of leaders elected by their peers – acted properly in its role to set and uniformly enforce rules, policies, and procedures that promote fairness in competition for Wisconsin’s students.
"Not only did the Court find this process to be fair, balanced, and correctly applied, today’s ruling affirms that the processes put in place by our membership as a private organization are not insufficient and their interpretation and application by the WIAA is afforded substantial deference.
"Today’s ruling, which reverses an earlier finding by the appeals court, only further underscores the integrity of the policies and processes put in place by our membership to promote fairness among Wisconsin’s student athletes."
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.