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A high school basketball program in the state of New York faces a potential postseason ban. Archbishop Stepinac violated the league’s constitution.
As a result, the Crusaders could be subject to sanctions. Those include travel restrictions, coaching suspensions, and a playoff forfeiture.
The Catholic High School Athletics Association detailed the infractions in a statement last week.
Archbishop Stepinac broke the rules.
Mike Dougharty of lohud.com broke the situation down in a story on Monday. The controversy stems from the team’s participation in an unsanctioned tournament.
The Crusaders played in the Chipotle Nationals outside of Indianapolis last month. They fell in the first round of the event.
A letter from the Archdiocese of New York cited multiple violations after the fact.
“No member school of the Association will be permitted to participate in a post-schedule tournament or game unless secondary school authorities in accordance with CHSAA standards conduct the contest. In all cases, permission to compete must be secured by the league president.”
CHSAA teams are prohibited from competing in non-sanctioned tournaments. The school was aware of the rule. It informed the Archdiocesan committee of an ” intention to detach from the school and participate.”
Essentially, the program would play as a club team. There is no affiliation with the school. Uniforms would not don the Archbishop Stepinac name. The tournament would not be promoted on social media.
It is common practice and something Stepinac has done in the past. The CHSAA, reportedly, did not approve the most recent request.
Furthermore, the timing of the event received backlash. It came during Holy Week. Had the Crusaders won their opener, they would’ve played on Good Friday. It’s another no-no.
What are the consequences?
Quite a bomb the CHSAA may drop on Stepinac basketball.
Rumored for weeks. But for playing in Chipotle Nationals, Stepinac could face:
– Massaroni suspended for 8 league games
– BAN on all basketball teams in the 2027 playoffs
– NO out of state games
– 2 years probation— Kevin Devaney Jr. (@KDJmedia1) April 28, 2026
The potential sanctions were met with criticism on social media. Below is the immediate online response.
“Feels like an insanely severe set of penalties by the league for playing a basketball game.”
“Rewarding success with punishment is an incredibly dumb strategy by the powers that be at the CHSAA.”
“That’s ridiculous. Don’t you want to promote the game, your conference, your league?”
“Let the kids play basketball. Focus on the benefits for the kids in these national tournaments.”
A ruling has not been made in regard to punishment. At this point, these are recommendations made by the CHSAA.
The news comes with the Crusaders fresh off a fourth straight AA “City” Championship. The team had three McDonald’s All-Americans and five players that accepted D1 scholarship offers to schools including USC, Michigan State, Fordham, and Monmouth.
Head coach Pat Massaroni spurned a job offer from IMG Academy to return in 2027. Now, he faces an immediate suspension.
The program’s fate now rests in the hands of the league’s Chief Administrators’ Council. The school has reportedly consulted lawyers to deal with potential fallout.