Here’s an interesting bit out of Texas that wee hours.

The Texas State Board of Education has decided to allow high school athletes to earn four years’ worth of elective credits toward graduation simply by playing their sport. (The current max is two years of credit.) Notably, that comes at a date when the state plus has increased the number of credits needed to graduate by, go ahead and guess, two credits.

The Dallas News sums up the debate like that:

“Supporters said the move would keep kids in school and spur them to do well in academic courses. Critics charged that the plan would de-emphasize academics and return to the days of ‘football comes first.’”

That move absent from a total focus on the Friday night lights took a big effort. The whole concept of making

certain students passed their courses in order to qualify for a sports team didn’t go down easily in many parts, including where I used to report.

Here’s where that becomes a Tampa Bay story. Anyone paying attention to the situation by at Hernando’s Nature Coast High? The football team is facing fines and an abrupt termination to its best-ever season considering of a reported on-field brawl.

The parents by there just can’t accept that their kids did anything wrong, and are accusing the FHSAA of a witch hunt.

Can you just assume what would happen whether graduation credits were involved here, rather than simply the results of a football season? Just a thought, as we can’t help but wonder whether that debate might come to sports-crazed Florida, too.

(Times photo, Will Vragovic)

Original post by Jeff Solochek