Ineligible QB Smith will not play this season
Ineligible sophomore quarterback Anthony Smith, whose transfer to Seton La-Salle led to a lawsuit against the PIAA, won’t play football for the Rebels this season and may enroll elsewhere, said an attorney representing Smith and his family.
Attorney Steve Toprani said the family is no longer seeking a preliminary injunction against the WPIAL and PIAA, which found Smith’s transfer from Southmoreland was athletically motivated and ruled him ineligible for one year.
Toprani said a hearing scheduled for Thursday in a Westmoreland County courtroom will be canceled. Smith’s family was evaluating other enrollment options for the upcoming school year, he said.
A 6-foot-2, 190-pound rising sophomore with three Division I college offers, Smith could gain eligibility by transferring out of state or enrolling at a non-PIAA school. He emerged last season as one of the WPIAL’s top young quarterbacks when he passed for more than 2,000 yards.
A Westmoreland County judge ruled Aug. 12 that Smith was allowed to take part in Seton LaSalle’s scrimmage this past weekend and scheduled the follow-up hearing to decide whether to grant the preliminary injunction. However, Toprani said Smith did not participate in the scrimmage.
The lawsuit against the PIAA will continue, he said, but gaining eligibility for Smith to play football this fall is no longer the goal.
“As you heard from the PIAA lawyer’s indications, they intended to fight this as far as they can,” Toprani said. “You get into a scenario where this case could be litigated long after the football season concludes. I think the Smith family just wanted some more certainty in their lives.”
Football teams statewide start their seasons Friday with Week Zero games.
A WPIAL hearing panel ruled Smith ineligible July 21 after finding that Smith’s transfer from Southmoreland was motivated at least partially by athletics. The PIAA upheld that WPIAL decision on appeal Aug. 8, keeping the up-and-coming quarterback ineligible.
A petition filed Aug. 10 in Westmoreland County civil court by parents Ron and Heather Smith of Scottdale claims their son has been subject to cyber bullying on social media by a Tarrs man for months, which led them to seek a transfer for safety reasons.
It’s a situation that started in March 2024 when Smith was in eighth grade, according to the court petition. That’s when, the family claims, the Tarrs man began cyber bullying them in hundreds of posts on social media.
In May 2024, a cease and desist letter was sent to the man threatening legal action.
The Tarrs man was involved in a confrontation with the family at a Southmoreland football game Nov. 1, during Smith’s freshman season, according to the filing and a November 2024 letter obtained by the Trib.
That incident was the third time the Tarrs man violated the spectator code of conduct and his behavior during at least one 2023 Southmoreland game resulted in his ejection, the letter said. No charges or citations have been filed against him.
Smith’s father told Trib-Live in June that the transfer to Seton LaSalle was not for athletic intent, saying it put his son in a “safer” environment.
The WPIAL and PIAA determined there was a “reasonable likelihood” that the transfer was motivated, at least in part, by athletics, according to a letter sent by the WPIAL. They made that decision after hearing from Southmoreland officials. The Smiths say that finding was based on rumors and unsubstantiated claims.
“These institutions are resistant to change,” Toprani said. “I thought we had really good merits to this case. We’ll continue to litigate it in some fashion.”
Smith broke a Southmoreland school record when he passed for 2,110 yards last season as a freshman. He threw 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 11 games while completing 53% of his passes (129 of 244).
Syracuse, Sacramento State and Towson were first to offer him scholarships.
Coaches voted him all-conference honorable mention in the Class 3A Interstate.
