Source: Zion Harmon Loses Appeal, Still Ineligible

By West Kentucky Star Staff

BENTON, KY - Zion Harmon's quest to play basketball at Marshall County High School is still very much in doubt.

Harmon's eligibility appeal was heard by a Kentucky High School Athletic Association appeals committee late last month. Multiple sources have told West Kentucky Star that Harmon found out Thursday that his appeal was denied, meaning he's still ineligible to play for the Marshals this season.

When asked for comment, Marshall County boys basketball coach Terry Birdsong referred West Kentucky Star to Marshall County Athletic Director Mike Johnson. Johnson did not return multiple messages left Saturday and Sunday. Efforts to reach Zion Harmon and his father were unsuccessful.

In August, the KHSAA ruled Harmon ineligible for the 2018-2019 season. Harmon's dad, Mike, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that his son was initially ruled ineligible because of the KHSAA’s Bylaw 6, which states all varsity athletes must sit out one year after transferring.

The bylaw provides plenty of exceptions, the most common being “a bona fide change of residence” in which the athlete moves or a divorce by the athlete’s parents that leads to a change of residence. Bylaw 6 also states that the KHSAA may still require an athlete to sit out a year if “the change in schools is motivated in whole or part by a desire to participate in athletics at the new school.”

There may be more to Zion Harmon's ineligibility than just Bylaw 6. Soon after his appeals hearing, Zion tweeted, “They investigated my whole life since 5th grade. 2% of the whole hour was about ‘Bylaw 6.’ They were trying to prove I was ‘recruited’ all my life.”

Marshall County is the fourth stop in four years for Harmon. He played at Antioch (TN) Lighthouse Christian as a seventh-grader, Bowling Green as an eighth-grader, where he won a state title, and Adair County as a freshman. He enrolled at MCHS earlier this summer.

It's unclear what Harmon's next step will be. He could stay at Marshall County and be eligible to play next season. He could transfer to a prep school and play this year. He could also seek legal action.

Harmon, a 5'10" sophomore guard and five-star recruit, currently has offers to play college basketball at several big-time schools including Alabama, Auburn, Creighton, Jacksonville State, Missouri, New Mexico State, Saint Louis, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky.