Minneapolis high school soccer player cries foul over league transfer rules

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis high school soccer player took on the Minnesota State High School League over his varsity eligibility, crying foul over the league’s strict transfer policies, but a judge sided with the league in a ruling Friday afternoon.  

The High School League ruled student-athlete Paolo Guarin-Peters was ineligible to play because of a recent transfer between schools that had nothing to do with athletics but rather his love of singing.

His family believes the determination is unfair —and took it to court.

But a Hennepin County district judge ruled that the league’s determination stands and thus, Guarin-Peters is out for Southwest’s last regular season match this weekend as well as any future playoff contests.

"He's very frustrated. You can imagine," Guarin-Peters attorney, Terrance W. Moore told FOX 9’s Paul Blume. "The problem with the rules is that they really allow the High School League to do whatever it wants in any situation. So they are unpredictable. There are certain exemptions, like if he moved or changed custody, and a divorced family where it's clear-cut. But in most cases, you don't know what's going to happen."

For its part, the High School League, which serves as the primary governing body for interscholastic athletics for some 500 Minnesota member schools, did not comment either on the litigation or its transfer rules.

"The only recourse would be an emergency appeal to the Court of Appeals and then immediately to the state Supreme Court. They can choose to accept review or not. Those options are under consideration at this point," explained Moore.

Guarin-Peters is in his senior year at Southwest High School with hopes of competing in soccer at the next level.

He transferred out of Southwest for a semester last year to pursue his musical ambitions at Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists.

His family has explained things did not work out so he transferred back to Southwest. And he wanted to rejoin the Lakers' soccer team.

But the High School League’s transfer rule requiring a student-athlete sit out for a full year meant Guarin-Peters was ineligible to play in varsity matches.

With their league appeals exhausted in recent days and the fall season winding down, his family filed their emergency lawsuit seeking a temporary restraining order, arguing this was not someone "school shopping" for a better athletic opportunity.

"This is his community school, " said Moore. "He has always gone here. He explored the possibility of a career in the fine arts, decided that wasn't going to work out, and came back for the academics at Southwest. It had nothing to do with sports shopping."

In the end, the young man can play junior varsity level soccer while practicing with the varsity squad, but he cannot compete in any of Southwest’s final games of his senior year. 

His family has said they are not done fighting and want to explore ways to change state High School League rules, so this does not happen to other student-athletes.