The Centennial girls basketball team has forfeited 15 games — including 11 victories — after an administrative mistake involving a homeschooled player’s eligibility, according to a letter from principal Keith Wipperman obtained by the Review-Journal.
The forfeits drop the Bulldogs to 5-17 overall and 2-6 in Class 5A Southern League play. Once ranked No. 3 in the RJ’s 5A poll, Centennial now enters the state tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2 Democracy Prep on Feb. 11.
Wipperman’s letter, sent to parents, blamed the school’s athletic administration for failing to properly track a student-athlete’s grades and transcripts after the first quarter and first semester. “We self-reported this violation once it was discovered and are now working closely with the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the NIAA to ensure this never happens again,” he wrote.
Coach Karen Weitz, who has led the program since 1999 and won 15 state titles, said she learned of the issue Saturday. She called the situation “pure incompetence and evilness.” Weitz, who also coaches the boys team, noted this is the second straight season a Centennial basketball team has forfeited games for playing an ineligible player. Last year, the boys team forfeited 18 games due to what Weitz called a “glitch” in the Register My Athlete system.
“Just total in shock that this could happen two years in a row and people that are the head of your school can just stand up there and it’s always, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. This is our fault, and we should have known,’” Weitz said. “It’s incompetence. It’s evil. It just doesn’t look right.”
Parents expressed frustration over the lack of communication from administrators. Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Natalie Williams, mother of junior Nation Williams, said parents were “very upset” and that the school’s handling was “very unprofessional.” Quincy Branch, father of senior Sanai Branch, said a Monday meeting left parents “with more questions than we did answers.”
Despite the setback, Williams said the team remains resilient. “The Bulldogs are a tight-knit group. They always have been. They’re resilient. They’ll just forget the noise,” she said.
