Girls basketball: Powerhouse Oakland Tech forfeits wins after playing an ineligible player

OAKLAND — Oakland Tech, the defending Division I state girls basketball champion, has forfeited six non-league victories for playing a student-athlete who had not been cleared athletically by the section. 

Oakland Tech forfeits victories against Vanden, California, Dougherty Valley, Sac Joaquin Memorial, McNair and Edge Academy-Canada. The Bulldogs are now 4-16. 

Oakland Section Commissioner Frankie Navarro told the Bay Area News Group on Monday morning that the section first became aware of the issue at the OAL Jamboree on Jan. 6. 

Navarro noted that the athlete was academically eligible and had attended Oakland Tech since the first day of classes, and said that head coach LeRoy Hurt was not at fault for the situation.

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“LeRoy did give his roster to the athletic director, and he did note that this is a kid that was new to the team,” Navarro said. ”The coach after that doesn’t have too much to do. It’s all on the athletic director, and the athletic directors failed to submit the (transfer) documentation.”

Oakland Tech’s athletic director Alexis Gray-Lawson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Navarro said the investigation was finished by Jan. 9, and that the player sat out every game afterward, including the team’s first three league games. He said that the player has now been cleared by the section to play for Tech. 

“The positive thing is that we caught it before league started,” Navarro said. “Had she played in league games, then you have to forfeit those league games, and then you don’t make the section playoff, which would’ve then trickled into if they make the state tournament.”