Let’s play a game we’ll call “You be the Judge.”

You’re confronted with two instances of high school basketball teams using ineligible players.

In the first situation, the coach of Team A plays a kid who is ineligible because of a transfer violation. The kid plays 30 minutes, scores 25 points, hands out 11 assists and grabs 12 rebounds as his team wins 50-49.

In the second, the coach of Team B accidentally inserts a kid into a second varsity quarter after the player had appeared in three junior varsity quarters earlier. The mistake is noticed immediately, the player is pulled after only a few seconds, and the ineligible player’s team wins 56-52.

You be the Judge.

Would you treat both teams the same and make them forfeit? Or would you …

Sorry, but under Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association rules, you only have one choice.

The state handbook states “The penalty for use of an ineligible participant is as follows: In the team sports of baseball (including the pitching limitation rule), basketball (including violations of the quarter rule), football, soccer, softball and volleyball, the school must: Forfeit all contests involved …”

That’s it. No wiggle room whatsoever. Team A and Team B have to be treated the same.

In the example above, the first situation is fictional. The second is real. It happened last Friday night at Shadle Park High. When the Greater Spokane League’s principals meet tonight, they’ll more than likely force East Valley to forfeit its win.

What makes this coincidental is what happened in the 2001-2002 season to Shadle.

The Highlanders used an ineligible player in two games, both season-opening blowout wins. The player in question had no effect on the outcome of the game. But the rule is clear. Instead of being 2-0, Shadle was 0-2, and ended the year a game behind state runner-up Ferris in league standings.

Darcy Weisner was the Shadle coach that year. He’s now the activities coordinator at Rogers and oversees GSL basketball. He thought the rule was too rigid then and he thinks its too rigid now.

“We have to be able as a society to legislate rules fairly,” he said. “If it’s just a mistake, we made a mistake, but you have to be able to define what is a mistake and what is trying to gain an advantage. If a kid is put in a game inadvertently, and does not have an impact on the outcome … if it’s an all-state player, that’s different than just getting a kid a little varsity experience time.

“The same could be said of the East Valley situation. That kid was in maybe (an extra) 10 seconds, there was a technical administered, which shouldn’t have been. He did not have an impact on the outcome of the game.”

The GSL has been fighting the rule’s restrictive nature since the 2001 Shadle incident. The league has proposed a change the past two Rep Assembly meetings – at which the WIAA amends its handbook – but both times it was turned down when it failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

The GSL proposal would allow leagues to appeal a forfeit based on seven criteria, which includes information such as statistics, effect on game, etc.

In other words, similar to Friday night’s situation.

If it is found it was just a mistake made accidentally in the heat of a game and has no effect on the outcome, should a forfeit be imposed? No.

If there is a situation like Team A’s? That’s an immediate forfeit, no matter the intent.

The GSL feels the same way. The league will propose the rule change to the Rep Assembly again. This time it should pass, because a two-thirds majority is no longer needed.

By the way, if a similar situation occurs in an individual sport such as track, under WIAA rules the player’s results are thrown out, but the team doesn’t have to forfeit if it wins without them.

Just like it should be in team sports.