Jared Sindt
ONLINE REPORTER
Due to allegations regarding the ineligibility of a player, Nebraska does not have a Class A state football champion this year. Gretna Public Schools alleged that a complaint from Westside High School forced the school to vacate the state title.
The decision came from Thursday’s NSAA hearing that Gretna failed to comply with the bylaws, causing their championship to get revoked. Westside and Superintendent Lucas were being blamed on social media for Gretna losing their championship.
On Jan. 20, Lucas tweeted that he and Westside had nothing to do with the situation, and he believes Gretna beat them fair and square.
“Westside didn’t lead any charge against Gretna,” Lucas tweeted on Jan. 22. “Despite the rush to judgement, I would like to reiterate with 100% certainty that Gretna was aware prior to the season even starting, whether they acknowledged the validity of what was communicated by several people not involving Westside is not our concern.”
A direct statement from Gretna contradicts Lucas’s stance, however, saying that the complaint came from Westside.
“In early December 2021, GPS was notified by the NSAA that a complaint from Omaha Westside High School had been received which alleged that an ineligible student participated on the Gretna High School varsity football team during the 2021-2022 season,” the statement read.
Although this statement doesn’t incriminate Lucas or Westside in any way, it does go against Lucas’ statement that Westside didn’t lead the charge. Gretna also made sure to say that the family and player in question did nothing wrong and shouldn’t be blamed for the situation.
As more information continues to be brought to light, time will tell whether Westside was involved with the NSAA’s ruling or not.
Unfortunately for the Gretna football team, nothing will change the fact that they are no longer the 2021 Nebraska Class A football champions.
