Hutcherson transferred from Kiski Area to North Allegheny in summer 2020 and initially was ruled ineligible by the WPIAL to play basketball at his new school.On appeal, the PIAA in October 2020 overturned the WPIAL’s decision, making Hutcherson eligible for the basketball regular season. However, the PIAA still denied him postseason eligibility under its transfer rules. Hutcherson turned to the courts and won an injunction a few months later, letting the then-junior take part in the playoffs.
The lawsuit seeks a judgment in excess of $75,000, plus punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. Hutcherson’s attorney claimed violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Dragonetti Act, which prohibits the wrongful use of civil proceedings. His attorney, without providing examples, wrote that other “students of color” who were granted eligibility under PIAA rules had a parent who was wealthy or “held a position of prominence in the community.”
His father, Detrell Hutcherson, was employed by the U.S. Postal Service and leased an apartment in Warrendale after “experiencing difficulties commuting from Vandergrift,” according to the lawsuit. It noted that Detrell Hutcherson recently had participated in a disciplinary hearing “in which his supervisor and union representative advised him to move closer to work or be on the path toward termination because of tardiness and attendance issues which stemmed from his long commute.
That decision led to Hutcherson’s first court battle with the PIAA. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Connelly ultimately called the PIAA’s actions “arbitrary and capricious” and granted Hutcherson his injunction in February 2021. Connelly wrote that the PIAA spent most its appeal hearing focused on athletic intent and Hutcherson’s regular-season eligibility and not enough on testimony related to postseason eligibility.