Just received this from Todd Helmick. Part 2 of the full story.
PART II – THE FATHER’S SIDE OF THE STORY
Fort Hill football was forced to forfeit five wins this season for using an ineligible player. This is Part II of the story.
In this segment the father of the player ruled ineligible, at his request, is given a chance to explain his family’s side of the story. His name is Serge Christian Babo Nyamsi (Serge Babo for short) and he has granted permission to use his name. This is the timeline of events carefully documented and shared by Serge Babo, and it solely expresses the thoughts and representation of facts by Serge Babo. It does not represent anyone else’s opinion or the only representation of facts.
AUGUST 2024 – The original documentation required to initially get Serge Babo’s son registered officially as a Fort Hill student included a cell phone bill under the father’s name listing his Cumberland address. Also required was an Allegany County Board of Education (BOE) form that both the father and the owner of the Cumberland home had to fill out and sign to verify that the son was now living there.
After turning this in, the BOE contacted Babo to let him know they would need more verification. Babo then contacted his electric supplier where he had service under his name at the Wiley Ford, West Virginia family home and had the supplier change the mailing address to the residence in Cumberland, Maryland. He handed in that document. The document was accepted and that was it. The son enrolled at Fort Hill and then later in the week joined the football team.
OCTOBER 30 – Babo was called in to Fort Hill by the school principal Candy Canan. He knew nothing at that point about an investigation into where his son was living. Upon arrival, he was taken to a conference room with four other people – Principal Candy Canan, Head Coach Zack Alkire, the BOE Personal Pupil Worker (PPW) and a BOE Assistant Supervisor of Student Services. This would be the first meeting concerning the entire ineligibility process.
Babo was provided with an email that was received from a BOE Pupil Personnel Secretary stating that she received a call from a person named Justin located in Mineral County, West Virginia claiming that Babo’s son was not living in Cumberland where Serge was claiming and that the son was still living at his family home in Wiley Ford.
In this meeting there was no mention to Babo of document verification problems. But the people in that meeting stated there was a problem with where the son was sleeping. Serge told them his son was spending his nights at the family home in West Virginia.
When I asked Babo how many times his son had stayed at the home in Cumberland for the months of September and October he replied that while his clothes were still at the Cumberland address it was probably around only 10 times. But that was due to the fact his mother and two brothers were still living in West Virginia, and they were not going to keep him from spending his time there. He also stated that his son was staying with football teammates on the weekends.
At this first meeting, one of the BOE employees then told Babo he had three options for keeping his son in school at Fort Hill:
1. Establish full-time residency in Cumberland
2. Pay the $18,000 out-of-state tuition fee for the year
3. Transfer guardianship to someone living in Cumberland
At that point, the same BOE employee began to crunch numbers. She then told Babo that if he paid $1800 for the month of November that would cover his prorated out-of-state tuition and that his son could remain in school for November. When Babo asked where he could pay, he was told it had to go through BOE accounting.
At no point did anyone talk to the owner of the house in Cumberland where the son was supposed to have been living.
NOVEMBER 1 – Two days after that first meeting, on the Friday before the Homecoming game, Babo went back into Fort Hill and was given a letter with the steps to follow to re-enroll his son. This was file JC-R1 through R3, which can also be found on the BOE website for any student wishing to enroll.
Later that day, Babo had a meeting at the BOE building on Washington Street with Superintendent Jeff Blank. During that meeting Babo pulled out his bank card and asked that they please charge the $1800 for his son’s November tuition. The payment was refused at this point because there was no accounting process/paperwork to determine such a transaction. At that point Babo was only trying to do what he was instructed to do by the BOE at the October 30 meeting. This also becomes a topic later at the MPSSAA appeal.
Babo went to the Allegany County Court House and filed for his friend at the original Cumberland address to have guardianship over his son. He was told at the Court House that his application was not being contested by anyone, which makes the approval swift.
NOVEMBER 4 – Babo sent an email to Principal Candy Canan asking if his son would be able to resume playing sports once he re-enrolled. Canan replied that she received a letter that morning from Tracey Leonard, the BOE Supervisor of Athletics, stating the MPSSAA had announced that Fort Hill must forfeit five wins and that his son would not be permitted to participate in athletics until February 12, a mandatory 60-school day suspension imposed by the MPSSAA.
NOVEMBER 8 – Babo rented a home on Virginia Avenue in South Cumberland under his own name, signed the lease and had electricity set up under his name and moved in with his son. The Court House filing to transfer guardianship was dismissed since Babo now had a residence of his own in Maryland. Babo attempted to satisfy all three options that were asked of him at that initial meeting on October 30. He attempted to pay for the out-of-state tuition and transferred guardianship, then moved to establish full-time residency in Cumberland. Babo says it was like Double Jeopardy. They told him to do something, he did it, then they told him it was not sufficient.
NOVEMBER 14 – Babo went into Fort Hill to re-enroll his son using the JC-R1 through R3 information provided to him. Babo was given access to a school computer to submit all his forms and re-enrollment application online. While at the school Babo was asked by the County PPW to come back to school and submit an unopened electric bill for his new Virginia Avenue residence to complete the re-enrollment process.
NOVEMBER 20 – Babo went back to Fort Hill with the unopened electric bill. He was then instructed by the PPW to take that straight to the BOE office. When Babo asked about the status of his son’s application, the PPW stated it was above him at that point – that he would have to speak to the BOE.
Babo went over to the BOE office on Washington Street and stated clearly that he was not leaving until he talked to someone. At that point, the BOE Assistant Supervisor of Student Services came out to meet him. Babo handed her the unopened electric bill, of which she made a copy. She told Babo the BOE had everything it needed, and that the BOE attorneys were looking it all over and that someone should call him back by the end of the day with an answer.
Later that day around 4 p.m. someone from the BOE called to inform Babo that the decision had been mailed to his home via certified mail.
NOVEMBER 23 – Three days later the post office attempted to deliver a certified mail envelope from the BOE to the family home in West Virginia. Babo was no longer living there and told his wife and children not to sign for anything from the BOE, that all mail should be sent to his new home address on Virginia Avenue. They did not sign for the letter but took the receipt to verify an attempt had been made to deliver.
NOVEMBER 27 – Babo goes back to the BOE, the day before Thanksgiving and met with Superintendent Jeff Blank. Babo informed Blank that he had not received the certified letter containing an answer to his son’s re-enrollment. Superintendent Blank left and came back with the sealed certified letter, which Babo opened immediately after leaving the office building.
The letter denied re-enrollment for his son and asked for six additional forms for proof of residency:
1. A copy of a Maryland driver’s license for Serge Babo.
2. A W4 statement directly from his employer listing his address and showing Maryland withholdings.
3. A letter from his employer stating Babo had provided a change of address to them.
4. A signed affidavit from his Virginia Avenue landlord stating that Babo was living there.
5. A bank account statement with his Maryland address.
6. A signed affidavit from his wife certifying a notarized Parent Agreement as to where their son was staying and how often.
Babo said he felt that Item No. 6 was no one else’s business but would end up providing the document.
NOVEMBER 30 – Babo filed an appeal with the MPSSAA concerning his son’s 60-school day athletic suspension. That appeal was set up for December 19.
DECEMBER 8 – Babo sent an email to Superintendent Jeff Blank and the BOE Assistant Supervisor of Student Services to request that his son be allowed back in school at Fort Hill while he completed the documentation process. Obtaining them took a little longer and his son was still not in school. His son had not been in school since November 1. Babo did not care about sports at this point. He just wanted his son back in school. His son was not permitted to be home schooled because that also required an application process from the BOE. In short, his son was not attending school of any kind and the option to re-enroll back at Frankfort was never something the son wanted to do dating back to last August.
DECEMBER 10 – The Assistant Supervisor of Student Services replied to the December 8 email and explained that Allegany Public Schools were not required by Maryland law to immediately enroll Babo’s son. It also stated that the Parent Agreement signed by both Babo and his wife, which was already notarized in West Virginia, needed to be notarized at the Notary Public used by the BOE in Maryland. The family obliged and had this done. It was another delay.
DECEMBER 19 – Babo drove to Linthicum Heights, Maryland for a scheduled hearing with the MPSSAA to appeal his son’s athletic suspension through February 12. At that meeting there was also both BOE employees involved in the investigative process, the County Athletic Director and the BOE representing attorney. During that appeal, a person on the MPSSAA Appeals Committee asked the BOE contingent as to why there was a utility bill originally used that had listed service at a West Virginia address but had a mailing address in Cumberland. The BOE response was that they do not ask for a utility bill, that’s not common and providing such was a red flag. However, back in August that is exactly what was used to determine his eligibility and again an electric bill was requested specifically on November 14 to re-enroll the son.
The closing statement by the BOE attorney at that MPSSAA appeal was that the son in question seemed to be a great kid and student by all accounts, but in this case the father Serge Babo is a man who did something wrong and tried to throw money at it to fix it. But Babo stated in this interview that he had no idea money could be used to get his son back in school until the BOE told him he could pay the prorated tuition to do so. He was visibly upset that the BOE would make such a statement when he was only trying to do what they recommended.
DECEMBER 20 – Babo was informed the MPSSAA upheld the athletic suspension.
Babo obtained all six of the required documents requested on November 27 by the BOE and turned them in. All documents were in the hands of the BOE. There was still no response from the BOE through the holiday break. As of January 8, 2025, the son has been approved and re-enrolled back into Fort Hill High School and anticipates graduating with his Class of 2026 schoolmates.
What really stood out as I interviewed this exceptionally large man who played Division I basketball at Marshall University was his emphatic closing conviction.
“My son did not want to play football. I had never, ever, not once spoken to Zack Alkire prior to my son enrolling in school there (Fort Hill). My son decided to play football again because his friends on the team were bugging him about playing after he enrolled. At the completion of his freshman year at Frankfort, my son decided to give up football. No coach at Fort Hill ever talked to my son about transferring. There was never a recruitment of my son.”
Babo anxiously pulled out a copy of his son’s report cards. The son went from getting grades of C’s and D’s until he transferred to Fort Hill where he was now getting A’s. Babo stated there was no question this was the correct decision on where to send his son. At the same time, Babo never blamed the Mineral County School system at any point.
It’s obvious Serge Christian Babo Nyamsi wanted his son back at Fort Hill regardless of the fact his athletic opportunities this school year may be closed.
In Part III, the process and where it goes moving forward will be concluded. To be continued…
Todd Helmick is a former Florida State University football player. He has written stories for several newspapers/publications for 25 years and owns the college football website NationalChamps.net. Todd has appeared on over 50 radio stations across the country, including The Paul Finebaum Show and regularly on his hometown station Baltimore FOX Sports 1370.