... Hyde could race but will not

Michael O'Hara

ANDRé LOWE, Special Projects Editor - Sports

DESPITE signing a contract with Digicel, Michael O'Hara did not receive any money or property to jeopardise his amateur status.

That was the main argument presented by a team of three attorneys that led to the Calabar High School standout regaining his amateur status and being declared eligible to compete at the ongoing Penn Relays by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA).

United States - based attorneys Steven Silver and Paul Greene, along with local attorney, Donovan Williams, argued successfully before the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that the 18-year-old had the right to a hearing pointing to a section in the PIAA Constitution and By Laws, which made provisions for the regaining of amateur status.

This cleared the way for O'Hara to take his place on the Calabar team at the Relays, now under way.

On April 14, the PIAA, which oversees the high-school section of the event, which takes place at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field, declared that O'Hara and Wolmer's Boys hurdler, Jaheel Hyde, would be barred from competing after they were deemed to have received commercial benefits related to their athletic performances.

O'Hara stirred controversy when he was announced as a brand ambassador for telecommunications company Digicel. Hyde is sponsored by LIME.

legal team

In a joint release issued yesterday, O'Hara's legal team noted the adjustments, with Silver later telling STAR Sports, that the Jamaican has all right to compete at the meet, given the rules and provisions of the PIAA.

"Just the fact that a contract exists is not enough to suspend somebody under their own rules. I think they interpreted their rule incorrectly and as long as payment of services and goods have not been exchanged, athletes should be allowed to compete. They are still amateurs; the fact that they wouldn't even give Michael (O'Hara) a hearing initially, was shocking," Silver said from his Philadelphia office.

He added that contact was made with the PIAA on Monday when a deadline of Tuesday afternoon was presented for them to consult and reconsider their position on O'Hara.

When that directive was not met, the team filed an emergency injunction late Tuesday before a Wednesday morning hearing in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas with the PIAA, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Relay Carnival named as defendants.

"In the US, we have due process and that means - you have the right to a hearing," Silver noted.

original judgment

The court ruled that the PIAA should afford the athlete a hearing but on Wednesday at approximately 4 p.m. (Jamaica time), a five-person PIAA's District One Committee panel ruled against O'Hara and decided to uphold the original judgment around his ineligibility. An appeal was also rejected by the PIAA's Executive panel, but yesterday morning it was agreed that the athlete would be immediately reinstated after Article 2, Section 4 of the PIAA Constitution was triggered.

The rule reads: "A student who has lost amateur status pursuant to Section 2A and/or B hereof may be reinstated by the suspending body effective upon the student's return to the provider of the Consideration item or items which caused such loss of amateur status."

"We used that to argue that (O'Hara) had not received anything tangible yet so there was nothing to return and as a result he should have been reinstated," Silver argued.

When asked if the athlete was required to severe ties with Digicel to facilitate his reinstatement, Silver responded, "That is correct."

There was no official response from the telecommunications company.

Meanwhile, Hyde's manager, Garfield Coke, advised that the athlete will not be competing at the Penn Relays, despite being cleared, noting that he will instead focus on the upcoming Cayman Invitational, the National Senior Championships and other events.