Lincoln may have solved the gaping hole up front left by the suspension of forward Tafari Whittingham with the recent addition of sophomore Tighe Oberg. But Curtis, the Railsplitters opponent in Sunday’s PSAL Class AA quarterfinal, wants to know where exactly the 6-foot-8 forward came from and why and how he was added so late to the roster.
Oberg, a transfer from Islip on Long Island, made his Lincoln debut in Tuesday’s 82-27 rout of Beach Channel and scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds. He was added to the roster earlier that day – more than three weeks after the PSAL allows such a move to be made.
Department of Education spokesperson Margie Feinberg said Oberg was made eligible because it was an “administrative error,” that he was practicing with the team all year and as a result was a member of the team.
“In this case, Lincoln never added him to the roster even though evidence showed he had been on the team. It was an administrative error and the student is eligible to play,” Feinberg said in a statement.
Curtis athletic director Eric Ritzer said the Staten Island school filed a complaint with the PSAL, but didn’t receive a satisfactory response for its inquiry. They were simply told he was eligible to play. Principal Aurelia Curtis sent an email to NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott seeking further explanation and investigation.
Ritzer said he, as the school’s athletic director, is unable to physically add players to the roster after Jan. 31 – as 6.3 of Rules and Regulations on the PSAL web site states – so he wanted to know how exactly Lincoln was able to do it. Additionally, the rule says, “a student athlete cannot practice unless he is listed on the official roster (active or inactive).”
“There’s something that doesn’t smell right,” Ritzer said. “Rosters open from the middle-to-end of October and they don’t put the kid on until the end of February. That’s ridiculous. That, to me, doesn’t make sense.”
Earlier in the week, Lincoln coach Dwayne (Tiny) Morton said Oberg “is a low post option we can definitely use right now,” referring to Whittingham’s three-game suspension for his role in an altercation in a game against South Shore Jan. 31. The PSAL upheld the suspension on Friday after Whittingham’s appeal, Feinberg said. Morton declined to comment on the matter when reached Friday. Lincoln athletic director Renan Ebeid didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Oberg’s father Ted, the girls basketball coach at Long Island power St. John the Baptist, said his son transferred to Lincoln in the fall when he moved in with him following a solid summer on the AAU circuit with the Juice All-Stars, which is comprised mostly of Lincoln players. The Brooklyn resident said his son was kept off the roster at the outset because he was academically ineligible, the result of credits not transferring over properly from West Islip.
“He busted his rear end in the classroom, he got a 92 on his history Regents, he did what he was supposed to do to become eligible, and now because of an administrative error, are you gonna say he can’t play? Is that what Curtis wants?” Ted Oberg said. “You don’t penalize a kid for an adult’s mistake.”
Ritzer said Curtis isn’t worried about Sunday’s result, win or lose, when it comes to its complaints.
“My only goal here is what’s fair,” he said. “That’s the only thing I’m interested in.”
zbraziller@nypost.com
Tighe Oberg, PSAL, Tafari Whittingham, Aurelia Curtis, Margie Feinberg, administrative error, administrative error, Ted Oberg, athletic director, Lincoln players, Curtis, Eric Ritzer, NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott, Whittingham
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