Teh One Who Knocks
11-08-2012, 11:51 AM
By Adam Shergold - The Daily Mail
Teachers and coaches at a Michigan school have been left baffled and furious after a 21-year-old conned his way back into high school in order to play football.
James Nash, 21, used false documents to attend Mount Pleasant High School under the alias Javier Jones and turned out five times for the Oilers football team.
His deceit was uncovered following a tip-off by a concerned parent and Nash was immediately removed from the school district and could now face prosecution.
And because he was overage by at least three years in the school's team, the Oilers could be forced to forfeit two of their victories.
The school's athletic director Jim Conway was still trying to work out why Nash would con his way back into school just to play football.
He said: 'He just fit in with all the other high school kids, with the 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids that belonged there. There were really no red flags.
'Anytime you're duped or lied to, if you will, there's some frustration that comes with that. When it comes to something like this - and integrity issue - that becomes difficult to swallow.'
Nash claimed he was a 17-year-old senior who was seeking a transfer from a school in Lansing and had forged documents to this effect.
No athlete older than 19 is allowed to compete at high school level and when an anonymous parent flagged up their concerns, the school immediately reported the alleged violation to the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
Nash competed in the final four games of the season, winning two, and if the league decide to expunge the two wins earned with him in the line-up, Mount Pleasant's record will drop from 4-5 to 2-7.
The rest of the squad are reportedly furious at the news.
'Earlier this week we dug up his file, the police became involved and all the school officials, and found documents had been altered and forged,' Conway told The Morning Sun newspaper.
'There was a couple days of investigation, looking into that and what we have found is this individual is not the individual that was on the transcript.
'What we found is he exceeds [the age requirement]. You can't be 19 prior to September 1 to be eligible. He was older than 19 on September 1.
'The student has been removed from Mount Pleasant Public Schools.'
School Superintendent Michael Pung said Nash had slipped through the cracks: 'Well I think we're kind of the victim of the circumstances.
'We had all this documentation on file that we would ask for if any student were to come to our district and enroll.
'We had a birth certificate, we had a transcript, and we had residency information all filed with us, and it was an excellent job of forging.'
The school is now working with a liaison officer, who is sending the information on to the Isabella County Prosecutor.
Teachers and coaches at a Michigan school have been left baffled and furious after a 21-year-old conned his way back into high school in order to play football.
James Nash, 21, used false documents to attend Mount Pleasant High School under the alias Javier Jones and turned out five times for the Oilers football team.
His deceit was uncovered following a tip-off by a concerned parent and Nash was immediately removed from the school district and could now face prosecution.
And because he was overage by at least three years in the school's team, the Oilers could be forced to forfeit two of their victories.
The school's athletic director Jim Conway was still trying to work out why Nash would con his way back into school just to play football.
He said: 'He just fit in with all the other high school kids, with the 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids that belonged there. There were really no red flags.
'Anytime you're duped or lied to, if you will, there's some frustration that comes with that. When it comes to something like this - and integrity issue - that becomes difficult to swallow.'
Nash claimed he was a 17-year-old senior who was seeking a transfer from a school in Lansing and had forged documents to this effect.
No athlete older than 19 is allowed to compete at high school level and when an anonymous parent flagged up their concerns, the school immediately reported the alleged violation to the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
Nash competed in the final four games of the season, winning two, and if the league decide to expunge the two wins earned with him in the line-up, Mount Pleasant's record will drop from 4-5 to 2-7.
The rest of the squad are reportedly furious at the news.
'Earlier this week we dug up his file, the police became involved and all the school officials, and found documents had been altered and forged,' Conway told The Morning Sun newspaper.
'There was a couple days of investigation, looking into that and what we have found is this individual is not the individual that was on the transcript.
'What we found is he exceeds [the age requirement]. You can't be 19 prior to September 1 to be eligible. He was older than 19 on September 1.
'The student has been removed from Mount Pleasant Public Schools.'
School Superintendent Michael Pung said Nash had slipped through the cracks: 'Well I think we're kind of the victim of the circumstances.
'We had all this documentation on file that we would ask for if any student were to come to our district and enroll.
'We had a birth certificate, we had a transcript, and we had residency information all filed with us, and it was an excellent job of forging.'
The school is now working with a liaison officer, who is sending the information on to the Isabella County Prosecutor.