Court clears Feister brothers for rest of Massillon Tiger football season
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CANTON ‒ It's time for the Feister brothers to suit up again.
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Massillon Tiger football standouts Brayton and Brydon Feister are eligible to play the rest of this season beginning with tonight's game at Warren Harding, a court has ruled.
Shortly before noon on Oct. 16, the 5th District Court of Appeals granted a preliminary permanent injunction to clear the way.
The order restores the Feisters' athletic eligibility by effectively overriding a Sept. 28 declaration of ineligibility by the Ohio High School Athletic Association and an Oct. 9 ruling in Stark County Common Pleas Court.
The appeals court order — penned by Judges William B. Hoffman, Andrew J. King and Kevin W. Popham — also cancels a hearing scheduled for Oct. 22 in Muskingum County. The appeals court covers 18 Ohio counties and has the authority to hear cases that originate in municipal and common pleas courts within the district.
Court victory for Massillon football program
"We are looking at all options, including ... in the supreme court," OHSAA attorney Joseph Fraley of Westerville said after learning of the appeals court's decision.
Canton attorney Lee Plakas, who represents the Feisters and families of four other Massillon football players, said the ruling is good for the players, team and community.
"The decision respects American ideals and constitutional rights," he said.
Families, he said, must be able to do what's best for them.
"We have the right to make decisions in private for our family without someone second-guessing our reasons," Plakas said.
He said the world is changing and athletics are an important part of society.
"I would hope the Ohio High School Athletic Association adapts," Plakas said.
The appeals court action specifically rules the Feisters eligible to play for the rest of the 2026 season. Even if the OHSAA ultimately prevailed in any future appeals court action on the matter, it would probably be moot because appeals courts typically take at least months to come to final conclusions of law.
Brayton Feister, a senior Oregon football-commit, and Brydon Feister, a highly-recruited junior, and transfers Gary Yeager, Da’Shaun Williams, Micah Walker and Dey'Veair Adams were in a legal battle over their athletic eligibility for weeks.
- The 6-3, 240-pound Brayton Feister is a running back and linebacker and an all-state football player. He also was a state runner-up in wrestling as a sophomore.
- Brydon Feister, a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end, was an all-state football player and a two-time state wrestling champ.
- Yeager, a sophomore running back, came from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.
- Walker, a 6-7, 330-pound right tackle, played for Nordonia last year.
- Adams, a St. Vincent-St. Mary-transfer, is a sophomore safety this fall.
- Williams, a 6-6 junior tight end, played for Euclid last year.
The state later deemed Williams eligible to play.
It's still reviewing the transfers of the other three, who all remain protected by an Oct. 6 Stark County Common Pleas temporary order. It remains in effect until the OHSAA renders a decision and provides an opportunity for an internal appeal to each.
All five families had moved into Massillon
Families of all six players had moved into homes in the Massillon City School District.
Under OHSAA rules, all such transfers are eligible to play only in the first half of the season unless the family qualifies for one of many qualified exceptions. Each had sought an exception for a "bona fide" change of residence.
The OHSAA denied that exception for the Feisters.
It determined the family moved only because it wanted the boys to transfer from Hoban to Massillon. That, the OHSAA said, was backward. In order to qualify for an exception, the move must create the necessity for transfer.
The Feisters had most recently lived in Green.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Court clears Feister brothers for rest of Massillon Tiger football season
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