NJSIAA encourages opponents of cooperative sports bill to contact Gov. Christie, ask for veto

The NJSIAA issued a statement on Wednesday, calling the passage of legislation that allows public high schools within the same district to merge sports teams “legally deficient” and asks those who believe the bill should not be signed into law to contact the Governor’s office.

Gov. Chris Christie has until noon on Jan. 16 to veto the legislation or sign it into law.

READ: Controversial cooperative sports bill headed to governor

“If you agree that this legislation should not be signed into law, please notify the Governor’s Office by calling 609-292-6000 or emailing via the following contact us link,” the statewide athletics association said in its statement.

“In brief, the legislation would allow 28 multi-school districts to combine sports programs at any time, in any sport, for any reason. The legislation would also allow students to flow between public, non-public, charter and vocational high schools.”

The rest of the NJSIAA statement, which it will be sharing with member schools, follows:

First, we believe the legislation is rife with unintended consequences, such as:

• Multi-school districts will be encouraged to combine programs to save money. This will reduce the number of playing opportunities for student-athletes, and lead to the creation of “super teams.”
• When multi-school districts are allowed to combine programs at any time, in any sport, for any reason, leagues and conferences will lose their ability to schedule on a two-year cycle.
• This legislation creates legal loopholes that people can, and will, take advantage of.

Second, we believe the legislation sets a bad precedent:

• For 99 years, NJSIAA has met the needs of its member schools by amending its Constitution, Bylaws and Rules and Regulations at the initiative of member schools. In fact, this past December, member schools voted to amend the co-operative sports rules to allow large schools to co-op in football.
• Simply put, the Legislature should not dictate the rules of high school sports to NJSIAA member schools. Schools, not legislators, should determine the rules of high school sports.

Third, we believe the legislation is legally deficient because:

• The legislation is arbitrary and capricious. It gives benefits to the 28 multi-school districts that are not available to any other public school districts or non-public schools. There is no reason to single out multi-school districts to the detriment of all others.
• The legislation is unconstitutional “special legislation” because it targets the NJSIAA alone.
• The legislation is unconstitutional because it violates the contracts clause, by interfering with the relationships between the NJSIAA and its member schools.