The Illinois High School Association leveled multiple penalties against the Simeon basketball program on Thursday.
According to the IHSA, Simeon violated two bylaws on a trip to Hong Kong in September. Wolverines coach Tim Flowers coached the team in Hong Kong, which is not allowed in September.
The IHSA suspended Flowers for six games and two assistant coaches for four games. Simeon cannot practice for the first three days of the season and can only play 28 games this season instead of 31.
This is the second time the Wolverines have been sanctioned for a foreign trip. They ran into trouble after a visit to Africa in 2022.
“This time we made sure we did it the right way,” Flowers said. “The trip was approved by Chicago Public Schools. Everything was given to [CPS], including an itinerary for the duration of the trip.”
GOAT Lab, a company Derrick Rose runs clinics with, paid for the trip. Rose and Flowers were teammates at Simeon and remain close friends. Rose was with the team for the end of the trip.
“This experience is to get you comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Rose said to the team in a video posted on Instagram.
“I cannot help that Derrick Rose is my friend and opportunities come because of that,” Flowers said. “Am I being held accountable because I have a friend that made it to the NBA? I don’t think that is fair or right. That’s all this is. The trip came about because [Rose] knew people in Hong Kong that wanted to give opportunities to our young men to come and see the world. Why should I be held accountable for that?”
It’s unclear if the IHSA would have been OK with the trip if Flowers attended and didn’t coach, or if a group of parents took the team to Hong Kong and Flowers stayed home. The IHSA didn’t release a statement on the matter and declined to give one when contacted.
“There are fall leagues being played in at least six different places that I know about,” Flowers said. “Coaches are coaching and organizing their teams. [The IHSA’s] problem is not the trip. It is that we should not have been organized as a team or as a program and I should not have been around my young men. My argument is, if we should not be organized as a team and if we can’t be organized and around one another why can everyone else?”
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson’s initial penalty to Simeon included a four-game suspension for Flowers and the delayed practice start. After Simeon appealed to the IHSA board, the board increased the penalty to six games and added the additional sanction of three fewer games this season.
It’s unusual for the appeal to result in a larger punishment.
“As far as CPS and IHSA go, I am the sacrificial lamb,” Flowers said. “I did everything I was supposed to do as far as making sure everyone knew what was going on. I have video evidence and photo evidence of teams and coaches playing all across the state. We are not the only ones that did it. It is just that our fall games were in Hong Kong and someone else’s were at H-F or Lemont or wherever it may be.”
The Wolverines were in Hong Kong for six days. Flowers said it was a life-changing event for his team.
“We have some kids going through some things right now,” Flowers said. “Some just lost people to gun violence. We have some young men that were able to get away from the city that were dealing with death threats. It was so much bigger than just a basketball game. We were able to give young men the opportunity to get out of Chicago, to get out of the hectic day to day of what they are going through.
“Some young men didn’t want to come home. They were able to walk the streets just from one restaurant to another to the hotel and feel safe.”
Most high school teams play in local fall leagues. Head coaches are often in the gym but not coaching from the bench.
“It all boils down to the fact that we are being treated unfairly when there are fall leagues being played all across the state,” Flowers said. “If everyone else was not playing I would understand this. Why are we being held to these rules when nobody else is?”
CPS released the following statement:
“CPS takes seriously the findings and recommendations from the IHSA and will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards and that our employees act in the best interest of our students, the District and our city.”