Former Kiski Area athlete Kyrell Hutcherson suing school district, WPIAL, PIAA, claiming racial discrimination

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, October 19, 2023 | 4:16 PM

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A former high school athlete who defeated the WPIAL and PIAA in court almost three years ago has sued the organizations again, this time saying they violated his civil rights by racially discriminating against him.

Kyrell Hutcherson filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court against the WPIAL, the PIAA, attorneys representing both athletic associations, and the Kiski Area School District. Hutcherson transferred from Kiski Area to North Allegheny in summer 2020 and initially was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL to play basketball at his new school.

The WPIAL ruled his transfer was at least partially motivated by athletics.

On appeal, the PIAA in October 2020 overturned the WPIAL’s decision, making Hutcherson eligible for the basketball regular season. However, the PIAA still denied him postseason eligibility under its transfer rules. Hutcherson turned to the courts and won an injunction a few months later, letting the then-junior take part in the playoffs.

In the federal lawsuit filed Monday, Hutcherson’s attorney, George Farneth II, accused the WPIAL and PIAA of holding minority students to a different standard when considering transfers. The lawsuit notes that Hutcherson is African American.

“Despite prior decisions that declared white student athletes eligible to participate in athletics under similar, if not identical, circumstances, in the face of incontrovertible evidence that the transfer was solely for the economic means of (the Hutchersons) … WPIAL voted to declare (Kyrell) ineligible,” Farneth wrote.

The lawsuit seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000, plus punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. Hutcherson’s attorney claimed violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Dragonetti Act, which prohibits the wrongful use of civil proceedings.

Attorneys representing the WPIAL and PIAA did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi and WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer declined comment on active litigation.

“Plaintiff believes PIAA, WPIAL and its member schools have historically … interpreted, applied and enforced PIAA Bylaws and the Rules arbitrarily, capriciously and disparately … based on the student athlete’s race,” Hutcherson’s lawsuit states.

His attorney, without providing examples, wrote that other “students of color” who were granted eligibility under PIAA rules had a parent who was wealthy or “held a position of prominence in the community.”

A 6-foot-2 guard, Hutcherson earned all-section honors in basketball as a sophomore at Kiski Area before transferring. As a senior, he was named second-team all-conference in football at North Allegheny. He now is a sophomore cornerback on Edinboro’s football team.

The lawsuit claimed Kiski Area’s opposition to his transfer was based on his race, not “his athletic prowess or any other legitimate reason.” The suit noted that the racial demographics of the communities that comprise Kiski Area School District are more than 95% white.

Kiski Area Superintendent Misty Slavic was not available for comment.

At the time of his transfer, Hutcherson and North Allegheny administrators said his move was connected to his father’s work.

His father, Detrell Hutcherson, was employed by the U.S. Postal Service and leased an apartment in Warrendale after “experiencing difficulties commuting from Vandergrift,” according to the lawsuit. It noted that Detrell Hutcherson recently had participated in a disciplinary hearing “in which his supervisor and union representative advised him to move closer to work or be on the path toward termination because of tardiness and attendance issues which stemmed from his long commute.”

According to the lawsuit, Kyrell Hutcherson was enrolled at North Allegheny two days after his father’s June 27, 2020, disciplinary hearing. The apartment lease started July 1. Detrell Hutcherson also resigned from an assistant coaching position at Kiski Area.

Under PIAA rules, all transfers after the start of 10th grade are ineligible to participate in the postseason for one year unless they qualify for a waiver. In Hutcherson’s case, the PIAA said a waiver could be granted if a change of residence is necessitated by a change in employment, but noted that his father hadn’t changed jobs.

That decision led to Hutcherson’s first court battle with the PIAA. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Connelly ultimately called the PIAA’s actions “arbitrary and capricious” and granted Hutcherson his injunction in February 2021. Connelly wrote that the PIAA spent most its appeal hearing focused on athletic intent and Hutcherson’s regular-season eligibility and not enough on testimony related to postseason eligibility.

The judge, in his ruling, said Hutcherson’s move should have qualified as an “exceptional and unusual circumstance beyond the reasonable control of the student’s family” because Hutcherson’s father was promoted from part-time to full-time employment in March 2020 and later faced a disciplinary hearing, which preceded the move to Warrendale.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday, after the injunction was issued, the PIAA notified North Allegheny that the basketball team would be forced to retroactively forfeit any playoff games in which Hutcherson played, if the injunction were overturned on appeal. Hutcherson’s lawsuit accused the PIAA of using “retaliatory, intimidation and coercion tactics.” North Allegheny let Hutcherson participate in its playoff games, regardless.

The PIAA appealed, and the Commonwealth Court ultimately affirmed Connelly’s decision in April 2022, ruling in Hutcherson’s favor.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area, North Allegheny