High SchoolPolice Blotter

21-Year-Old Pretends To Be High School Senior To Relive Glory Days And Play On Football Team

Remember Danny Almonte, the Little Leaguer who fudged his age to participate in the Little League World Series? Or Fausto Carmona? Or Miguel Tejada? There’s a long list of athletes who have changed their age to prolong their careers. Today we’ve stumbled upon another, except it’s a kid sneaking back into high school football.

17-year-old Javier Jones of Mount Pleasant High School in Michigan isn’t really Javier Jones, nor is he 17 years old. He’s actually 21-year old James Nash, and he enrolled at Mount Pleasant High School after claiming he was transferring from a school in Lansing. Nash immediately tried (and succeeded) to join the football team on the first day of school, despite missing summer workouts and the first few games. The coach let him on the team and by the end of the season, he was a starting defensive back. No word on whether Nash actually went went to class or did his homework.

Maybe the best part of this story is that Nash would have gotten away with the entire scheme had it not been for those meddling kids and their nosy dog an anonymous parent. Via the Morning Sun:

“‘I received an anonymous tip from a parent, it was an adult that had a conscience, that said you better check this,’ Mt. Pleasant High School athletic director Jim Conway said Friday. ‘So earlier this week we dug up his file, the police became involved (and) all the school officials, and found documents had been altered and forged. There was a couple days of investigation, looking into that and what we have found is this individual is not the individual that was on the transcript. What we found is he exceeds (the age requirement). You can’t be 19 prior to September 1 to be eligible. He was older than 19 on September 1. The student has been removed from Mt. Pleasant Public Schools.’”

Actually, no, that’s definitely not the best part. Here’s the best part, from Mt. Pleasant head football coach Jason McIntyre (via the AP):

“‘Did he look older than he was? He looked like any other athletic senior,’ McIntyre told The Associated Press. ‘I don’t think he had any interceptions. He was not a dominant player.’”

Hmm. Jason McIntyre. At least he has that sports website thing to fall back on.

But seriously: reliving the high school glory days through old gridiron stories or once-a-week flag football leagues is one thing, but forging an identity not to dominate younger kids is a totally different beast. I mean, he didn’t even pick off a pass and the team went 2-2 when he competed (both wins will be forfeited). That’s dedication to mediocrity right there.

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[Morning Sun, via Prep Rally]

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