Login | Contact Us | Feedback | Customer Service | Site Map | Archives | RSS | Subscribe to the paper

HomeLatest News

Records: Fifth Immokalee athlete over-age

STORY TOOLS
Share on Facebook

A fifth Immokalee High athlete has been found to be over-age.

Public records indicate junior midfielder Fredo Selbonne turned 20 years old in February. The maximum age limit for participation in high school sports is 19 years, 9 months.

The news comes after Florida High School Athletic Association Commissioner John Stewart said today that the discovery of a fourth over-age athlete at Immokalee High would not cause his office to reopen the investigation into the incident. But Immokalee High could face more fines and sanctions, Stewart said.

"You can't have them forfeit games and trophies that they have already forfeited," Stewart told the Naples Daily News.

According to public records, soccer standout Clotaire Joseph is 21 years, 3 months old.

Joseph scored 35 goals and notched 19 assists this past season. In April, Joseph was named the Naples Daily News Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

He helped guide the Indians to a 25-2 record and came within one penalty shot of reaching the state semifinals.

Stewart said if another member school or Immokalee High reports an additional infraction the school could face additional fines and sanctions. Immokalee was fined $1,000 for each of the three overage students originally discovered. The soccer team was also put on probation for two seasons, which prohibits it from participating in the post-season.

Stewart didn't rule out that the Immokalee program could face more fines.

Clotaire Joseph

DAVID AHNTHOLZ / Daily News

Clotaire Joseph

"It's like if you get a speeding ticket and before you go to the judge you get another speeding ticket," Stewart said. "The judge can only rule on the first speeding ticket. We will rule on any further infractions when they are presented to us. I'm not going to make a ruling over the phone on information that has been presented to us by a member school."

Stewart did reveal that Immokalee High avoided stiffer financial fines. He said normally the school is fined $100 for each game that each overage athlete participated in. Just in the case of Blandel Jean, the 30-year-old, who played on the soccer team for three seasons and the football team for four games of the 2005 season, the fine for Immokalee could have been nearly $10,000.

"We tried to simplify the process and made it $1,000 per athlete," Stewart said.

Stewart said that an additional $1,000 for each athlete discovered at Immokalee is possible.

During an interview earlier today, Blandel Jean said no one on the team suspected Joseph of being over the maximum age limit for participation.

“I had no idea Clotaire was 21,” he told the Daily News. “I didn’t know any of these guys were older. We didn’t know anybody’s ages.”

Jean described Joseph as a good student who never got into trouble at Immokalee High.

Find additional coverage in Friday's edition of the Daily News or in today's "Studio 55" vodcast.

Comments

This site does not necessarily agree with comments posted below — responsibility lies with the relevant reader alone. Read our privacy policy & user agreement.




Post your comment
(Requires free registration.)

Username:

Password:
(Forgotten your password?)

Your Turn: