Observer top prospect Gabe King temporarily reinstated

Defensive end Gabe King won a Friday court battle that permits him to practice with Northern Guilford High. At least until Sept. 9, when another court hearing should determine his fate.

Guilford County District Court Judge Angela Foster granted King’s request for a temporary restraining order, reinstating the eligibility stripped by the N.C. High School Athletic Association last spring.

“I think it’s wonderful news,” Patricia Hughes, King’s mother, told the Greensboro News and Record. “It’s been a long struggle for everyone, especially Gabe, to get to this point. But we also know it’s not over.”

No it’s not. King can attend, practice and work out with Guilford Northern High, but that’s it until Sept. 9.

That hearing will permit the NCHSAA, which had banned King from playing for an N.C. public school, to present it’s side of the story. The NCHSAA was unrepresented at Friday’s meeting.

If the injunction is upheld, King, the No. 1 player on our Top 25 NC Prospects list, could play in the Sept. 11 game against Northwest Guilford.

If his request is rejected, King would be ineligible to compete in any athletics programs at the school.

King transferred to Northern Guilford from Greensboro Page last April. The NCHSAA found that he had done so illegally, since he signed a paper saying he lived in the Northern Guilford school district but did not.

--Stan Olson