NMAA: Mistake made in BHS relay disqualification

Not long after the Belen boys team crossed the finish line in the preliminaries of the 4x100 relay in late May at the 4A State Track Championship came word that the Eagles had been disqualified.

It wasn’t over a lane infraction or a dropped baton, but because of a piece of clothing. The point of contention was a do-rag, a head covering worn by one of the Eagles.

Shortly after the race, the runners were told about the ruling, which kept the team from advancing to the finals.

“I was in disbelief. I was hurt,” said Jeremiah Lord, a BHS freshman who was wearing the do-rag. “I was very shocked.”

Belen coach Jared Schmock spent much of the day finding out details of the disqualification, with “a lot of back and forth.” That effort took away attention from the Eagles other competitors.

“That was unfortunate, discouraging for us coaches,” said Schmock, who filed an appeal.

In the afternoon, the appeal was finally denied after several reviews; however, that was not the end of the story — far from it.

A lengthy process was just starting, championed by the Lord family, that would eventually lead the New Mexico Activities Association to acknowledge that the disqualification was a “mistake,” and that there was not a violation.

Lord wears a do-rag to keep hair out of his eyes while running, and he says it was allowed at previous meets. Lord was wearing it from the time he got on the team bus in Belen, never taking it off, giving meet officials numerous opportunities to warn him.

At the stadium, athletes get their assigned numbers in one tent, then head to another where Lord said the officiating crew made sure everything was “in check,” including the spikes on shoes.

After that, there was a warm-up period on the track. Soon came the sound of the starters pistol, sending Lord and the rest of the Eagles — Chalito Cano, Jasode Harris and Arbin Apodaca — on their way to a season best time (44.15), a fourth-place finish and a spot in the finals or so it seemed.

Sheda Lord, Jeremiah’s mother, tried to track down the specific reason for the disqualification.

“Every time I asked somebody, the reason changed,” said Sheda. “There was no clarity. It was just confusing.”

During an interview with the News-Bulletin in July, as questions still lingered, Sheda talked about some of the explanations given for the disqualification, including the do-rag wasn’t part of the uniform dress code, officials needed to “associate all the team members” as a unit, and that Jeremiah didn’t take it off when asked to do so.

The last reason is most galling to the family.

“Anybody that knows (Jeremiah) knows that’s not his character,” said Sheda about ignoring a request.

“They were creating a false narrative, saying who I wasn’t,” Jeremiah added.

In the days after the race, Sheda sent emails to representatives of Belen Consolidated Schools, the city of Belen and “everybody I could think of,” seeking help. When that didn’t move the needle, “to pray” was the next step.

“I knew I had to be persistent because at that point it just wasn’t about the wrong doing of (Jeremiah), it was the whole team,” Sheda said about the allegation. “I wanted to advocate for the coaches and any other student/athlete that might face something like this and have to do it alone.”

That mindset led Sheda to contact the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, which arranged several meetings involving the family and NMAA, including a one on one sit down between Sheda and an NMAA official.

During the July interview with VCNB, both Jeremiah and Sheda said the NMAA apologized for what happened.

“They were very willing to make it right,” Sheda said, although nothing could be done about the race results. “They said they would do what they can to make it right for the team, Jeremiah and the coach.”

That included sending a letter to those involved. One letter, dated July 28 and signed by Dusty Young, NMAA executive director, congratulated the athletes on their accomplishments and expressed disappointment over the circumstances.

Young wrote that the disqualification was, “extremely unfortunate and as discussed with the school, should not have been issued. A rule was misapplied by the officiating crew, and this led to a difficult situation that you and your teammates should not have been subjected to ... although it is our goal to assign top officials that will perform well, mistakes are sometimes made.”

Young said staff members have met multiple times in the last two months and “we are taking this very seriously and will be implementing a variety of new processes and procedures” for next track season.

While Young was not available for an interview, in a statement to the News-Bulletin, he said, in part, “It was extremely unfortunate that the misapplication of a rule led to a disqualification.”

There could be positives that come out of all this, said Sheda.

“They’ve agreed to take steps to correct. We’ll just look forward to seeing those commitments fulfilled.”

She also talked about the community coming together to protect student/athletes, suggesting that a student/athlete advocate committee be created in Valencia County.

Schmock said he appreciates the efforts of the Lord family.

“That was very encouraging to have a family put in that kind of work for our boys, for our kids,” the coach said.

When asked if there was any bitterness, Sheda said, “None at all.”

As Jeremiah starts his sophomore year at BHS, he does wonder what might have happened if the Eagles hadn’t been disqualified.

“It was a good opportunity,” he said. “It was taken from us.”