The California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section announced Monday that T.A. Cunningham, a top college football prospect, has been cleared to play.
The Southern Section approved Cunningham's transfer weeks after he moved to California. Cunningham was not allowed to play in the first four games of the season.
The section changed its mind two weeks later.
All transfer applications that are submitted to our office are thoroughly reviewed, as we did in the case of this one. In completing this review, we followed all our required processes. We made the determination that the student was eligible to play as of Monday after we received new information that made sense of the initial denial.
It's not clear what new information was available, and the section wouldn't comment on the process.
Cunningham tried to get an injunction two weeks ago, but it was not granted.
"We are ecstatic to see T.A. Cunningham take the field this week as a Griffin, and appreciative of the thorough process conducted by the California Interscholastic Federation," the Los Alamitos coach said in a text.
Cunningham's move to California was set into motion after representatives from Levels Sports Group, a would-be sports marketing company, sold the Cunningham family on the idea that they would be able to secure him marketing opportunities if he was playing in California.
According to the injunction filed on Cunningham's behalf, the levels team promised that the Cunningham family would have a home, transportation and meals in California. The Levels Team promised to give a separate home for Cunningham's mother in Georgia.
Cunningham and his brother stayed at the home of Levels co- founder Chris Flores, who was later arrested on multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor. Flores was a high school coach.
The company stopped communicating with Cunningham after Flores' arrest and decided to end the marketing agreement. Cunningham, a defensive end, is the top-ranked player in California in the Class of 2024.
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