Thomas Kithier family hires prominent attorneys to aid fight for eligibility

Detroit Free Press staff
Macomb Dakota's Thomas Kithier, right, scores against U-D Jesuit's Gregory Eboigbodin during an MHSAA boys basketball Class A semifinal March 25, 2016 in East Lansing.

The fight for Thomas Kithier's eligibility might be headed to court. 

The Michigan State basketball signee and his family have hired prominent trial attorneys Ven Johnson of Johnson Law, PLC, and Steve Fishman in hopes of overcoming a ruling made by the Michigan High School Athletic Association that blocked Kithier from playing his senior season at Clarkston High School.

The hiring was announced in a news release from the attorneys on Saturday. 

Kithier, a 6-foot-7 forward, was ruled ineligible by the MHSAA for making an athletically motivated transfer from Macomb Dakota, where he played his first three high school seasons.

“If the MHSAA’s arbitrary and capricious decision is allowed to stand Thomas will be irreparably harmed," Fishman said in the release. "Ven Johnson and I are investigating every legal option available to Thomas and his family, and will be moving forward immediately. This young man deserves all the fruits of his hard work and dedication.”

More on Thomas Kithier:

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Kithier's transfer drew the ire of Macomb administrators, who reported the transfer to the MHSAA and refused to sign Kithier's educational transfer form, which would have paved the way for immediate eligibility. 

Clarkston has said the transfer was for educational reasons. 

Kithier, the news release states, considered transferring to other schools, including a prep school, but the 18-year-old ultimately left his parents' home in Macomb and began living on his own in an apartment in Clarkston. 

"Thomas and his family completed the necessary transfer documents and submitted them to Clarkston High School for finalization," the news release states. "After a significant delay, Thomas learned that Dakota objected to him playing basketball for Clarkston and falsely alleged the educational transfer was unduly influenced and athletically motivated and asked the MHSAA to investigate. As a result, the MHSAA improperly ruled Thomas ineligible to play this season."

The basis of the MHSAA’s ruling was that Kithier transferred to Clarkston schools so he could play with Clarkston senior point guard Foster Loyer, an AAU teammate over the summer and future teammate at Michigan State.

Section 9 (E) and point No. 7 of the MHSAA handbook, describing the definition of athletically motivated transfers, states: “The student seeks to participate with teammates or coaches with whom he/she participated in non-school competition during the preceding 12 months.”

The MHSAA said in a Dec. 8 news release it found no evidence that Clarkston used undue influence (recruiting) in Kithier's transfer. 

The MHSAA said Kithier's move to the Clarkston apartment without his family would have made him ineligible until Jan. 15, 2018, unless Dakota signed the Educational Transfer form. Kither's age was not a determining factor in ruling the transfer as athletically motivated via the link rule, which was implemented in 2014 to limit the transfer of players to schools where they have recently established ties. 

“Dakota’s gross misconduct has threatened Thomas’ ability to attend Clarkston High, the school of his choice, simply because they would be losing their star basketball player," Johnson said. "A high school senior and legal adult should be allowed to attend school anywhere he or she wants. Whether that includes playing basketball, volleyball, being a member of the marching band or of the drama club is completely irrelevant.”

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