MOUNDSVILLE – A Cameron High School football player who was ejected from a game last week will be on the field tonight after a judge granted a temporary injunction.
Dalton Wood, a senior, was ejected in the Dragons' Sept. 19 game against Beallsville, Ohio, for allegedly kicking an opposing player during the game. Video of the call went viral, and many people questioned the legitimacy of both the penalty and ejection.
On Sept. 26, Wood's mother Pamela Brooke Francis was granted the temporary injunction forcing the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission to hold off on issuing the suspension, allowing Wood to participate in the Dragons' Senior Night game tonight against Madonna.
Marshall Circuit Court Judge David Hummel's injunction gives the SSAC time to review the issue and make a decision. It is set to expire at noon on Oct. 2.
“Wood is an honor student and has never been in any sort of trouble,” said attorney Jim Bordas, who represented Wood and his mother. “He deserves due process in this matter.
"This young man should not have to be punished due to an official making a call on the spot without the benefit of further evidence and reflection.”
Bordas said the bigger issue is that the SSAC currently has no process for review of suspensions.
“It is time for the SSAC to allow for reviews,” Bordas said. “You can see from the video that this was not a situation that warranted ejection.
"There is the technology in place to make sure things like this don’t happen in the future.”
The Wheeling law firm of Bordas & Bordas is providing the service to the player and his family pro bono. Bordas said he hopes that ultimately this situation will bring change.
“While representing Wood and championing for him to participate in his senior night is a priority, even more so is the need for the rules to be changed so that other students and families do not have to deal with the same problems,” Bordas said. “We are pleased that Judge Hummel has recognized that due process is important in this country and in fact is one of its bedrock principles.
"He has consistently demonstrated this throughout his career on the bench and it is one of the reasons that he has an outstanding reputation as a jurist.”
Marshall Circuit Court case number 14-D-72
