Daxx Garman

After a three-hour meeting behind closed doors, the District 7-5A Executive  Committee voted 4-3 to deny eligibility for Southlake Carroll HS quarterback Daxx Garman for the 2010 football season. Garman had transferred to Southlake Carroll in the spring after he had been ruled ineligible in Oklahoma.

Coppell ISD athletic director John Crawford, Denton ISD AD Ken Purcell, Saginaw principal Ric Canterbury and Justin Northwest principal Rose Brenner voted to deny Garman's eligibility.

Representatives from Keller (principal Rick Westfall), Keller Central (principal David Hinson) and Keller Fossil Ridge (principal Dave Hadley) cast votes in favor of Garman playing.

Scott Adams, the attorney for Garman's family, said the family will appeal the district committee's decision and all the paperwork will be filed with the UIL by Monday. A hearing with the UIL state executive board will be set up in Austin within seven to 10 days, Adams said. The Garman family is appealing the accusation that the family moved to Southlake for athletic purposes.

Adams said the fact that Garman had been ruled ineligibile in Oklahoma was an issue that shouldn't even have been brought up during Friday's meeting.

"They didn't give reasons why they denied his eligibility," Adams said. "The only allegation out there is that they moved for athletic purposes, and that is absolutely untrue. And why they even got into about what happened in Oklahoma is irrelevant."

Carroll ISD executive director of communications and marketing Julie Thannum issued a statement for the entire district and athletic department after the committee meeting was adjourned.

"On behalf of the district, its athletic program, the administrators, our school board and all of our students, we pledge to abide by the decision of the district 7-5A committee as we have always said we would," Thannum said. "We provided them with all the information and turned over all the documents. Documents that the public doesn't have a right to know because they are FERPA protected, federally protected documents. They are student records. We appreciate the time and attention of the district 7-5A committee."

Thannum went on to say that this third hearing for Garman's eligibility was requested by Southlake Carroll athletic director Kevin Ozee, because it was such a high profile case and would cast doubts in the public's mind.

After the meeting was called to order shortly after 8:30 a.m., Ozee requested, on behalf of the Garman family, that the meeting be closed to anyone not on the 7-5A district executive committee. Once the hearing went into executive session, all matters discussed could not be disclosed by committee members.

Southlake Carroll visits Copperas Cove in its season opener on Friday night.

"We'll open our football season tonight with the same fire and intensity that you've always seen from the Carroll Dragons," Thannum said. "And we will do the job we do every day for kids."