Dear Editor:
In light of the NJSIAA decisions to punish what they call recruiting (North Bergen) or refusing to play an overwhelming opponent (Kearny), it should be noted that the NJSIAA, who are empowered to oversee all high school athletics, is at best an inconsistent and arbitrary agency.
On one hand they permit parochial schools and private schools to recruit while on the other hand punish public schools for doing likewise. This would be fine if they didn’t force the public schools to play the parochial. The non-recruiting public schools are at the mercy of the large parochial schools and the NJSIAA sees no problem with their unreasonable ruling on this matter. Even when the public schools voted to opt out of this arrangement in wrestling they were forced to continue playing the private recruiting schools that dominated their districts.
The NJSIAA defends itself by saying that there is no way around this problem. But all they have to do is look across the river to New York City to see an arrangement where public and private schools have their own leagues. Instead they put on blinders and continue in their duplicitous behavior.
It seems that the NJSIAA has outlived its usefulness. Public school athletic directors, school administrators and school boards should ban together to force a change in policy or in leadership. It’s time for a new organization to emerge that will serve the majority of schools in a fair and impartial manner.
John O’Dell
Deputy Director, North Bergen Parks and Recreation Department
Manager, North Bergen Youth Football