Tuesday, October 6, 1998

Iolani twins to sue over
eligibility rule

By Pat Bigold
Star-Bulletin

Twin all-state basketball players for Iolani say they will sue the Hawaii High School Athletic Association for the right to play their fourth year of state tournament eligibility.

The 6-foot-7 Andersons, Brad and Cord, led Iolani to the HHSAA basketball championship last March.

But due to an HHSAA rule that requires athletes to play out their eligibility in four consecutive years, the Andersons have been declared ineligible for state tournaments in the 1998-99 school year.

They repeated their sophomore year at Iolani after transferring from Hawaii Preparatory Academy.

They said they will be represented by the Honolulu law firm of Watanabe, Ng and Kawashima.

The twins said they were told by the HHSAA two years ago that the National Federation of State High School Associations required four straight years of sports participation. But they said that last summer they found out that is not so.

"We don't want to cause waves, but it's our right to play," said Brad Anderson who turned 18 with Cord on Aug. 13. "It would be letting down our team to play in regular season and then not the state tournament."

The Andersons are both starters on Iolani's volleyball team, and their play has put the team in contention for a state tournament berth.

They are also track and field competitors who could qualify for the state meet. Brad throws the discus and Cord the shotput. Cord was state runner-up last season.

The HHSAA dismissed an appeal by the Andersons at the last meeting of the executive board.

"The HHSAA rule does not regard the reason why a student had to repeat a grade, even if it is in the best educational interests of the student," said Mark Mugiishi, who coaches the Iolani varsity basketball team.

"At Iolani, the academics are so much higher," said Cord Anderson. "If a student is held back, it's for academics. Coming from HPA was a huge academic jump for us."

Both Andersons have already qualified on their SATs with scores in the 1200 range.