Clinton Township — Thomas Kithier sat with his parents in the Chippewa Valley Schools Administration Building Monday night, listening to people speak on his behalf to try to persuade the school board to OK his transfer from Macomb Dakota High to Clarkston High so he could continue his basketball career.
Kithier, a 6-foot-8 senior power forward and Michigan State commit, transferred to Clarkston for his senior year, but was banned from competing by the MHSAA with Dakota administrators claiming his move was athletically motivated. The MHSAA agreed with Dakota’s assessment and ruled Kithier ineligible.
“I want everyone to understand that this is an academic transfer and I’m insulted that Chippewa Valley thinks otherwise,” said Jane Kithier, Thomas’ mother, a health and physical education teacher at Grosse Pointe North.