Published Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1999 However, a Nov. 16, 1998, drunken driving arrest put a halt to this year's wrestling season for his son, also named Mike Battles.
For the past ten years, Greenville Area High School students guilty of substance abuse are removed from participation in sports for the remainder of the current season, said Stephen K. Ross, high school principal.
In his high school career, Mike Battles has wrestled in district and sectional tournaments, his father said. The wrestler had hopes of participating in the state tournament this year, he said.
Keeping the younger Battles off the mat this year also could jeopardize his possibilities of obtaining athletic scholarships for college, the wrestler's father said.
Battles, other parents and supporters Monday presented a petition to Greenville Area School Board. The petition said the school's policy was unfair to Mike Battles.
Ross said that policy and all other school policies are under an on-going review. However, the Mike Battles case was not the reason for the policy review, the high school principal said.
Ross would not comment specifically on the wrestler's case because he is a student.
The elder Battles said the school district did not enforce the same policy when a local soccer player was accused of drunken driving.
Ross said the policy has been enforced "in all known cases." This was not the first time the school has removed a student from participating in a sport because of a violation of the substance abuse policy, he said.
Parents and the school district also are battling the case in the courts.
Battles said his son pleaded guilty in juvenile court to driving under the influence of alcohol. Mike Battles now is 18 and legally an adult.
Two weeks ago, Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael J. Wherry ordered Mike Battles be reinstated to the wrestling team, the father said. The younger Battles attended wrestling practices last week until school administrators said he could not, his father said.
Although not on the wrestling team, Battles is attending classes, his father said.
The school district is appealing the judge's order, Battles said. Ross confirmed that the case "is under litigation."
"We were hoping they (school board) would reconsider this policy. But I don't think they will. They're making this a personal matter," the elder Battles said.
The parents are hoping the policy is changed to be fair for all students, Battles said.
