Davis Cleared to Play Basketball for Crenshaw

Tommie Davis, one of the top high school basketball players in the Southland, won a hardship appeal Wednesday that will allow him to compete at Crenshaw High this season.

The decision, handed down by the CIF City Section’s Rules Committee, upholds an agreement Davis made with officials of the Los Angeles Unified School District last summer.

Dick Browning, the district’s senior high superintendent, agreed to allow Davis to attend Crenshaw and maintain his eligibility after he had been transferred out of Fremont High in June for what school administrators termed “disciplinary problems.”

If Davis, a senior point guard, had lost his hardship appeal, he would have been eligible to play only at Fremont.

“The decision of the Rules Committee was based on the agreement reached between Tommie and district officials,” said Barbara Fiege, City Section athletic commissioner. “It was not a unanimous decision, however.”

Davis was transferred from Fremont for his involvement in a fight and several other incidents, Fremont Principal John Haydel said.

Last week, the City Section’s governing body voted to make students who transferred because of disciplinary reasons ineligible to participate in sports for one year. The change in policy put the City Section in accordance with the CIF.

Davis attended Fremont the last three years. He averaged 18 points and six assists last season and was also on the school’s honor roll.

When he was forced to leave Fremont, he enrolled at Crenshaw. He began attending classes in September and is projected to be a starter for the Cougars.