By Bryan Guan & Kushal Kolli
Last year, current La Canada High School senior Drake Beasley (12) had an incredible football season. The 5’11’’, 195 lb running back rushed for 1,647 yards and 17 touchdowns- which earned him the rank of the 4th best high school running back in California and the 44th best in the United States. Many colleges such as UC Berkeley, Boise State, and UCLA have already reached out to him for potential recruitment. The four star high school prospect’s superior skill on the football field makes him a promising player in the future both on the college and even professional level.
This past August, Drake made the decision to leave Loyola High School and attend La Cañada High School. After Drake left, Loyola claimed that La Cañada had illegally recruited Drake. Their challenge was on the basis of undue influence, which restricts a high school athlete from transferring schools solely for the purpose of athletics. In response, Drake, backed by La Cañada High School, claimed that both sides were unaware of the transfer until a couple weeks prior and that his family decided to transfer due to La Cañada’s high educational standing.
Despite Drake’s argument, the CIF league declared him ineligible for the 2016 football season and still hasn’t released the comprehensive reasoning for their decision due to student-athlete privacy policy. Consequently, Drake didn’t suit up in Spartan red and gold on the football field this past season.
“Drake not being able to play [this season] was definitely a huge disappointment for him as well as the whole team” stated team captain Luke Johnson (12). “Not only were we protesting Drake’s ineligibility but also the unfairness of CIF rules that weren’t allowing kids to play football. Every kid should have the opportunity to participate in any sport they want to in high school and CIF is making it harder for them to play.”
The athletic prodigy began playing football when he was eight, saying that the sport “just clicked with him,” and that he has loved playing it ever since. His favorite part about football is “being able to win with his team.” He looked upon his situation as nothing but unfortunate circumstance and has said that he’s not mad at anyone – he just wants to continue playing football. Drake carries this open and kind personality wherever he goes.
So far Drake has loved attending La Cañada. He admits the transfer was a “pretty big transition from private to public,” but that the fact that he knew some kids at LCHS helped ease the transition. “La Cañada has a lot of good people. They’ve all been understanding and helpful towards me and my situation.”
Follow the movement at #freedrake and #rundrakerun.
Last year, current La Canada High School senior Drake Beasley (12) had an incredible football season. The 5’11’’, 195 lb running back rushed for 1,647 yards and 17 touchdowns- which earned him the rank of the 4th best high school running back in California and the 44th best in the United States. Many colleges such as UC Berkeley, Boise State, and UCLA have already reached out to him for potential recruitment. The four star high school prospect’s superior skill on the football field makes him a promising player in the future both on the college and even professional level.
This past August, Drake made the decision to leave Loyola High School and attend La Cañada High School. After Drake left, Loyola claimed that La Cañada had illegally recruited Drake. Their challenge was on the basis of undue influence, which restricts a high school athlete from transferring schools solely for the purpose of athletics. In response, Drake, backed by La Cañada High School, claimed that both sides were unaware of the transfer until a couple weeks prior and that his family decided to transfer due to La Cañada’s high educational standing.
Despite Drake’s argument, the CIF league declared him ineligible for the 2016 football season and still hasn’t released the comprehensive reasoning for their decision due to student-athlete privacy policy. Consequently, Drake didn’t suit up in Spartan red and gold on the football field this past season.
“Drake not being able to play [this season] was definitely a huge disappointment for him as well as the whole team” stated team captain Luke Johnson (12). “Not only were we protesting Drake’s ineligibility but also the unfairness of CIF rules that weren’t allowing kids to play football. Every kid should have the opportunity to participate in any sport they want to in high school and CIF is making it harder for them to play.”
The athletic prodigy began playing football when he was eight, saying that the sport “just clicked with him,” and that he has loved playing it ever since. His favorite part about football is “being able to win with his team.” He looked upon his situation as nothing but unfortunate circumstance and has said that he’s not mad at anyone – he just wants to continue playing football. Drake carries this open and kind personality wherever he goes.
So far Drake has loved attending La Cañada. He admits the transfer was a “pretty big transition from private to public,” but that the fact that he knew some kids at LCHS helped ease the transition. “La Cañada has a lot of good people. They’ve all been understanding and helpful towards me and my situation.”
Follow the movement at #freedrake and #rundrakerun.
