Before the season is over, there probably will be others.

But the Apex girls volleyball team, which also used an ineligible player, was not penalized.

The reason: an N.C. High School Athletic Association rule acknowledging that sometimes it really isn't the school's fault when an ineligible player is used.

In the Apex situation, the NCHSAA ruled that reasonable scrutiny by the school would not have discovered that a student's eligibility had been falsified.

The "reasonable scrutiny" clause went into effect a few years ago and has been used about once a year, according to Charlie Adams, NCHSAA executive director.

If a school does everything it can to verify a player's eligibility and later learns otherwise, the player, not the school, is punished.

"We learned that some people will falsify official documents, change transcripts and do almost anything to manipulate the system," Adams said.

"Our board felt that schools can only do so much and the other members of the team shouldn't be penalized for the actions of one person."

Under the old rule, if a team used an ineligible player, regardless of the circumstances, the contest was forfeited.

Using a player means allowing the athlete to put on a uniform and enter the venue.

That interpretation came after North Duplin had to examine game film in 1973 to find out if an ineligible player, a reserve, had participated in every game.

North Duplin, led by Larry Morrisey and Ronnie Byrd, was so overwhelming -- averaging a then-state record 49 points per game -- that the ineligible player had appeared in the final minutes of each win.

The victories had to be forfeited, and North Duplin didn't make the playoffs.

Soon, the rule was changed so that dressing for a game was the same as playing in it.

Broughton's football team might have benefited from the "reasonable scrutiny" clause had it been in effect in 1979.

The Caps won the league title but had to forfeit their wins because a student, who was in his fifth year of competition, had a falsified transcript.

"It was an incredible team, one of the best I've seen in Raleigh," said Dwayne Greene, the Caps' quarterback.

"We could have won the state, except we had to forfeit. And the guy who was ineligible didn't play much. It still bothers me."

Broughton had no way of knowing the transcript was incorrect.

"The North Duplin and the Broughton situations were very hard but clear-cut," Adams said.

"Times change, and our board of directors has changed the rule after determining that whether records are falsified is more and more difficult."

Adams said he has mixed feelings about the rule.

"I don't like ineligible players helping to win games," he said.

It is hard to think of ordering forfeits because someone has falsified records.

But to me, it's worse to allow schools to use any ineligible players and keep wins.

The current NCHSAA rule allowing "reasonable scrutiny" is a bad one.

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