Hyde, O’Hara banned from Penn Relays

Wolmer’s Boys’ School’s Jaheel Hyde and Calabar’s Michael O’Hara will not be allowed to represent their respective high schools at the Penn Relays.

According to a release from the Inter-Secondary Schools’ Sports Association (ISSA), the decision has come from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the state high schools governing body, which sanctions the Penn Relays High School events.

The PIAA, ISSA said, decided the athletes had received benefits related to their athletic skill and to their performances, which are not available to all students.

The ineligibility of the two comes on the back of much controversy surrounding the two during this year’s ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships.

At Champs, O’Hara displayed a jersey with Digicel’s well-known tagline ‘Be Extraordinary’. O’Hara’s gesture came right after winning the boys’ 200 metres at the LIME-sponsored event. O’Hara was later named a brand ambassador for Digicel.

Hyde is O’Hara’s main rival over the 110 metres hurdles, and is a brand ambassador of LIME.