Arrington: Beef with MHSAA, not CHS

Published 12:05 am Monday, June 29, 2015

NATCHEZ — The man many Cathedral fans believe lobbied to ban Louisiana students from playing sports said Sunday he is not upset with Cathedral, but with the Mississippi High School Activities Association.

Stringer Attendance Center High School Principal Jay Arrington publicly implied on Twitter that Cathedral was winning its football state championship because of “recruits” by making the accusation during Cathedral’s 49-14 win against St. Aloysius.

After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Arrington over the past week, he finally responded Sunday afternoon and pointed his criticism at MHSAA Executive Director Don Hinton.

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“I just feel that if we’re going to have a rule, it needs to be enforced, and Don Hinton and the MHSAA screwed up by making (Wyatt Boothe) eligible,” Arrington said.

Boothe, a Frogmore, La., resident, totaled five touchdowns in the state championship win, which led to Arrington tweeting the following: “Recruits having great game #greenwave.”

Arrington said he was new to Twitter at the time and that Stringer’s transportation director Marc Avary encouraged him to tweet it as a joke.

“I take responsibility for that,” Arrington said. “Now, what I tweeted three days later about Don, I knew what I was doing there.”

Three days after the state championship game, when Boothe’s eligibility was being called into question by member schools of the MHSAA, Arrington tweeted, “MHSAA administration needs to man up and admit screw up in Cathedral situation. Whoever ruled the kid eligible needs to resign or be fired.”

Arrington said Sunday he was referencing Hinton for making Boothe eligible to transfer from Trinity Episcopal Day School in 2014.

“I found out about the rule two years ago, and ever since, I’ve been trying to get it enforced,” Arrington said. “(Hinton) screwed up when he grandfathered in Boothe, and I think he realizes he screwed up. But he just keeps making excuses.”

Attempts to reach Hinton went unsuccessful Sunday.