Judge Lifts Order Protecting 10 Robertsdale Football Players in AHSAA Eligibility Fight

ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — Ten Robertsdale football players who had been cleared by a court to keep practicing and playing are now sidelined again after a Montgomery County circuit judge lifted the temporary restraining order that had protected them during an ongoing dispute with the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Judge Griffin’s order means the 10 Robertsdale High School students cannot play until further notice. The judge set a preliminary injunction hearing for 9 a.m. Oct. 26, when the court is expected to take up the case on its merits.

The ruling lifts the restraining order but does not itself decide whether the eligibility allegations against the players or the school have any basis.

What the Restraining Order Had Done

The players and their parents sued after the AHSAA directed Robertsdale High to hold them out of football activities while the association conducted an eligibility investigation. The suit named the AHSAA, Robertsdale High School, Baldwin County Superintendent Marty McRae and the Baldwin County Board of Education.

A Sept. 17 order temporarily suspended the AHSAA’s directives involving the players and the school, allowing the students to practice and play in recent weeks. The order also blocked the association from enforcing its school-restitution provision, which can lead to fines, probation or forfeited games.

With the restraining order lifted, those AHSAA directives are no longer blocked by that court order.

“The Honorable Judge Griffin issued an order lifting the temporary restraining order requiring the Board and Superintendent McRae to allow the athletes involved to play and practice,” Baldwin County Board of Education attorney Nash Campbell said in a statement. “The preliminary injunction is set for October 26, 2026, to decide the case on the merits. We are still unsure as to the status of the TRO involving coach Jones. We hope this issue is resolved as quickly as possible with the best interests of the student athletes in mind.”

At the Center of the Dispute: Phone Records

According to court documents, the AHSAA asked Robertsdale principal William White to suspend the 10 students, all of whom transferred to the school, until the association received information it was seeking in an investigation into possible recruiting. That information included phone records for head coach Justin Jones.

The AHSAA has argued it is within its rights to declare the players ineligible because Robertsdale officials did not provide certain phone records it requested. The association has sought the players’ phone numbers so it can compare them against coaches’ phone records from the spring to determine whether any violations occurred.

The players, for their part, alleged in their lawsuit that they were never given specific notice of the allegations, the evidence against them or a chance to respond.

A Contentious Earlier Hearing

Before the order was lifted, the case drew a lengthy and heated hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court, held ahead of Thursday night’s game at Daphne. The AHSAA came to that hearing seeking to dissolve the restraining order, and the 10 players were allowed to suit up against Daphne while the court proceedings continued.

Joe Espy of the Espy Law Firm, which represents the AHSAA, told the court the real harm was falling on the rest of the Robertsdale roster.

“These 10 care less about those other 50 on the team,” Espy said. “That’s what breaks my heart.”

Christine Hernandez, the attorney representing the players, used the hearing to question witnesses at length. She called Robertsdale principal William Shay White to the stand and spent about two hours going through exhibits already filed in the case. The Espys argued that Hernandez was effectively running out the clock so the hearing would spill into the following week.

The hearing did carry over. Judge Griffin set continued proceedings for Tuesday, Oct. 6, and warned that he would rule and would not allow the hearing to stretch to additional days. Before that session took place, the judge lifted the restraining order. It was not immediately clear how the order affects the Oct. 6 date.

Hernandez told the court the players’ side was willing to cooperate with the records requests but would need up to three weeks, depending on exactly what the AHSAA wanted. Even with that possible common ground, she asked that the restraining order stay in place.

“If all of you would just sit down and talk, you could probably work a lot of this out before you get in front of me,” Griffin said.

Tempers Flare in Court

The hearing lasted about 3 1/2 hours, and tensions ran high. The Espys objected to several unusual moves by Hernandez, including attempts to call both Bill and Joe Espy to the witness stand to clarify exhibits.

At the end of the hearing, an exchange between Espy and opposing attorney Patrick Dungan ended with Dungan directing an expletive at Espy and walking out of the courtroom. Griffin called him back in and reprimanded him. Dungan said he was simply responding to a similar remark from Espy.

Some of the friction dated back to how the restraining order was obtained. Attorney Michael Kidd filed the restraining order request in a way that left AHSAA representatives unaware of it, and the Espys have argued that filing and several other steps violated the rules of civil procedure.

AHSAA’s Motion and Sanctions Request

The AHSAA, Executive Director Heath Harmon and investigator Chuck Anderson asked the court to dissolve the emergency order. They argued that the players’ attorney obtained it at an ex parte hearing, meaning one held without notice to the other side, without informing the association or its lawyers.

Their motion argued the families did not meet the requirements of Rule 65, the civil procedure rule that governs restraining orders and injunctions, for an emergency order issued without notice. The motion also sought sanctions against the players’ attorney. Those are the AHSAA’s allegations, and it was not immediately clear whether the court ruled on the sanctions request.

Hernandez did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. The AHSAA has said repeatedly that it does not comment on ongoing legal matters.

Coach Justin Jones’ Separate Case

Jones, who was suspended from football activities along with another Robertsdale assistant coach, filed his own lawsuit and was granted a temporary order last month allowing him to return to practices and games.

His lawsuit says the suspension followed an anonymous letter to the AHSAA alleging possible football-related violations. According to the suit, neither Jones nor the affected players were told the specific allegations, interviewed or given a chance to respond before being removed from football activities.

Jones’ attorney, Tom Loper, said in a text message Friday afternoon that there was no update in Jones’ case. Loper said the case had not yet been officially transferred from Baldwin County to Montgomery.

Loper said last month that Jones had turned over his phone records for the previous month, but that anything further would require a subpoena. Campbell said at the time that the school system had done its best to comply with the AHSAA investigation, and called the association’s actions a “strong overreach at best.”

Jones is 5-11 in his second season at Robertsdale. He previously won 25 games over four seasons as head coach at Beauregard High School.

Where the Golden Bears Stand

Robertsdale lost at Daphne on Thursday night, dropping the Golden Bears to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in Class 6A, Region 1 play.

The remaining regular-season schedule:

• Friday, Oct. 9: home vs. Alma Bryant
• Friday, Oct. 16: home vs. Foley
• Oct. 23: at Baker
• Oct. 30: at Park Crossing

By the time of the Oct. 26 preliminary injunction hearing, Robertsdale will have just one regular-season game left, the trip to Park Crossing.

What Happens Next

Unless the court acts sooner, the 10 players will remain off the field while the case moves toward the Oct. 26 hearing. At that hearing, the judge is expected to consider whether to issue a preliminary injunction, a longer-lasting court order that would remain in effect while the lawsuit is resolved.

The status of the separate temporary order for Jones remains unsettled, according to the school board’s attorney. Questions about the phone records the AHSAA is seeking, and whether the parties can reach an agreement on providing them, also remain open.