A visiting judge has ruled against two Massillon Washington High School football players in their legal battle with the Ohio High School Athletic Association, denying their request for a preliminary injunction and immediately dissolving a temporary restraining order that had protected their eligibility.
Visiting Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County issued the 22-page ruling Friday, Oct. 9, in Stark County Common Pleas Court, finding that OHSAA acted within its authority when it denied transfer eligibility exceptions for brothers Brayton and Brydon Feister.
The decision comes just hours before Massillon’s Friday night football game and means the brothers are once again subject to OHSAA’s transfer restrictions, which prohibit them from participating in the remainder of the regular season and postseason unless their eligibility status changes.
The ruling follows an evidentiary hearing held Tuesday, Oct. 6, during which attorneys representing the players and OHSAA presented testimony and arguments concerning the association’s transfer rules.
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 25 on behalf of six Massillon student-athletes and their families, challenging OHSAA’s enforcement of transfer eligibility restrictions.
A temporary restraining order had initially allowed the players to continue participating while the court considered their request for a preliminary injunction.
However, Logan determined that the Feister brothers failed to establish the legal requirements necessary for continued court protection.
In his ruling, Logan concluded that OHSAA’s decision was supported by evidence and that the association had followed its established procedures when reviewing the brothers’ transfer exception requests.
The Feisters previously attended Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron before transferring to Massillon.
Their family purchased a home in Massillon on April 29, 2026, and submitted enrollment paperwork the following day. The family’s transfer exception application was not filed until July 29.
OHSAA denied the brothers’ exception request Sept. 28, determining that the family’s move did not compel the school transfer, as required under the association’s rules.
Instead, OHSAA concluded that the decision to transfer schools motivated the family’s relocation.
In reviewing the evidence, Logan considered testimony and documentation involving disciplinary matters at Archbishop Hoban following the 2026 state wrestling tournament, communications concerning other potential schools and the timing of the family’s move.
The judge determined that OHSAA had sufficient evidence to support its conclusion that the change of residence did not compel the transfer.
“The evidence presented to the Court demonstrated that the OHSAA followed its established procedures for reviewing transfer-exception applications and applied Bylaw 4-7-2 and Exception 1 to the Feister students’ transfer from Hoban to Massillon,” Logan wrote.
The court also found that the brothers had not exhausted the association’s administrative appeals process before seeking judicial intervention.
According to the ruling, OHSAA offered the Feister family an expedited appeal hearing before its Appeals Panel on Oct. 2, but the family did not pursue that opportunity.
Logan concluded that because the internal appeals process remained available, the brothers’ request for judicial relief was premature.
Another significant factor in the ruling was the court’s determination that the brothers had not demonstrated irreparable harm.
Attorneys representing the players argued that missing football games would cause harm that could not be remedied later, particularly because high school athletic opportunities are limited.
However, Logan found that no evidence presented during Tuesday’s hearing established that missing the remainder of the season would harm the brothers’ future athletic opportunities.
The court noted that Brayton Feister has already committed to participating in college athletics.
“Participation in interscholastic athletics is a privilege, not a right,” Logan wrote.
The judge also considered the potential impact of an injunction on other OHSAA member schools, noting that allowing otherwise ineligible players to participate could affect competitive balance and the Harbin computer rankings used to determine football playoff qualification.
Logan ultimately concluded that the Feister brothers had not demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, had not established irreparable harm and had failed to exhaust available administrative remedies.
“The Feister Plaintiffs have not carried their burden on any of the four factors,” Logan wrote.
The court denied the brothers’ request for a preliminary injunction and ordered the temporary restraining order dissolved immediately.
The lawsuit also involves four other Massillon players: Da’Shun Williams, Gary Yeager, Micah Walker and Dey’Veair Adams.
Williams had previously received approval for his transfer eligibility exception from OHSAA. As a result, Logan dismissed the request for injunctive relief involving Williams because the matter was no longer in dispute.
The court’s Friday ruling specifically addresses the Feister brothers and Williams. It does not make a final eligibility determination concerning the remaining three players, whose exception applications were pending at the time of the hearing.
Earlier this week, Canton-based law firm Plakas Mannos, which represents the players and their families, issued a statement saying at least four of the six students would be able to participate in Friday’s game.
The firm did not identify those four players.
In that statement, the attorneys emphasized that the lawsuit concerns more than football eligibility and raises broader questions about families’ ability to choose where they live and educate their children.
“Our firm believes that parents should not be forced to choose between making the decisions they believe are best for their families and allowing their children to continue participating in the sports they love,” the firm said.
The legal team includes managing member Lee Plakas, attorney W. Scott Gwin, paralegal Beth Burns and law clerk Gene Valentino.
Friday’s decision represents a significant setback for the Feister brothers, although it does not necessarily resolve every claim in the underlying lawsuit.
The court’s order is effective immediately, allowing OHSAA to enforce its transfer eligibility restrictions against the brothers unless a subsequent legal or administrative decision changes their status.
