Mercer County Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels ruled Wednesday to uphold his own ruling from last week, denying a request from the state association that would disqualify Knox from competing at its championship tournament this weekend in Atlantic City.
The decision, which was handed down Wednesday — again — just hours before the start of the tournament means Knox, in pursuit a fourth state championship, will wrestle at Boardwalk Hall.
“For the second time in less than a week, the trial court heard this matter on an expedited basis,” Patrick Jennings, the lawyer representing Knox, said. “Once again, we commend the court’s painstaking consideration of all of the legal arguments and factual circumstances and applaud the court’s decision to restrain the NJSIAA from destroying this young man.”
Spokesman Mike Cherenson said the NJSIAA has already begun the process of appealing.
Knox is the No. 1 seed in the 126-pound tournament, which begins 10 a.m. Thursday. He is heavily favored to become N.J.‘s fifth four-time state champion.
The ruling clears a path for the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to elevate the case to the appellate division for appeal.
The legal tussle between Knox and the NJSIAA began on Feb. 26 when Knox was disqualified from the state wrestling tournament for what Executive Director Colleen McGuire cited as a violation of its ‘sportsmanship policy’ as well as its ‘disqualification rule for leaving the bench area during an altercation.’
Knox was involved in a brawl at Collingswood High School during the District 25 Tournament on Feb. 22. Video showed Knox charging into the stands to confront individuals heckling St. John Vianney wrestlers.
The altercation was allegedly triggered by the father of the three-time state champion, Anthony Knox Sr., from Monmouth Beach. After the 190-pound championship bout, Knox Sr. can be seen in a video leaving his seat, walking across the gym floor and re-entering the bleachers to confront fans sitting in the West Deptford section of the bleachers. The brawl began moments later.
Videos showed both Knox Sr. and Knox Jr. being led from the event in handcuffs. Knox, the wrestler, was charged Tuesday with simple assault for knowingly/purposely causing bodily injury.
In a court summons obtained by NJ Advance Media, police officers at the scene witnessed Knox “repeatedly” punching a minor about the head and face.
Last Friday, Feb. 28, Bartels granted Knox a temporary restraining order from postseason disqualification less than an hour before the start of the region tournament.
The NJSIAA immediately filed an appeal seeking to overturn the temporary restraining order granted by Bartels.
In the filing, NJSIAA attorney Robert Levy argued “A stay is warranted to prevent irreparable harm,” and that Friday’s decision “adversely prevents the NJSIAA from conducting its tournament pursuant to NJSIAA’s rules and procedures.”
In its filing, the NJSIAA claimed Bartels' ruling incorrectly stated that:
- State association rules can only be amended by a full membership vote.
- The rule that allows the Executive Director to issue disqualifications for violating their sportsmanship policy is only a proposed rule. That rule is already in place and passed two readings from the NJSIAA’s Executive Committee in.
- Knox was not notified of the investigation and potential disqualification.
Jennings said Wednesday, “Anthony Knox, Jr. did nothing wrong. He has and continues to be denied due process by the NJSIAA. The NJSIAA Executive Director does not have any special ability to make credibility determinations off of alleged written ‘statements’. Nor does she have the right to pick and choose and embellish statements.”
Knox wrestled in the Region 7 Tournament at Lacey High School last Friday and Saturday. He dominated three opponents and won his fourth regional championship.
After receiving his medal at center mat, Knox left the building, choosing not to show up for the traditional podium photo with the three other 126-pound placewinners and the group shot of the 14 regional champs.
Knox refused to speak with reporters throughout the Region 7 event.
Earlier this week, the NJSIAA Executive Committee, the New Jersey Directors of Athletics Association and State Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) announced support for the NJSIAA in its attempt to disqualify Knox.
In a statement released Tuesday, Sarlo, a member of the NJSIAA Executive Committee, pledged “full, unqualified support of the NJSIAA for disqualifying Anthony Knox Jr. from further competition for his abhorrent actions at the high school wrestling match in Collingswood.
“I do not believe that the NJSAA’s disciplinary actions should be overturned,” Sarlo added. “It sets a bad precedent for scholastic sports and a bad example for young athletes. In an era when many premiere athletes are receiving financial compensation and the help of alumni, they can evade justifiable consequences by going to court.”
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Joe Zedalis covers the Shore Conference for NJ.com. He can be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com.
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