Texas Governor Defends Ruling

Defending a rule that has benched 15% of high school varsity football players for failing grades, Gov. Mark White told Texans Thursday that they must put academics before athletics.

“There is more at stake here . . . than a district football championship,” White said. “What is at stake are jobs for those young men and women when they get out of school. The real issue for our children and grandchildren is not going to be ‘no pass, no play.’ The real issue is going to be ‘no learn, no earn.’ ”

The rule affects the football season for the first time this week. It prohibits students failing any course during a six-week grading period from all extracurricular activities for the next six weeks. The Texas High School Coaches Assn. said that about 15% of varsity players in the state will be ineligible. Failure rates among lower-level players, junior varsity and underclass teams, were higher, the group said.

Added White: “Most of the world doesn’t play football. They play hardball economics. They’ve been running up the score in manufacturing, jobs, productivity, trade and profits.”