Louisville, ky. - The Greater Clark County School system has sent a warning to both St. Xavier and Trinity High Schools in Louisville, saying stay away from our athletes.

They claim middle school players were approached by Saint X representatives, and they want this to stop.

St. X President Dr. Perry Sangalli tells WHAS11 News he met on Thursday with the athletic director and the coaching staff and that none of them were involved in this alleged recruiting.

But, a member of the Greater Clark School Board tells me that two Parkview Middle School “blue chip” athletes were approached by people who said they were from St. X.

“When they come into the locker room and/or playing field and speak to kids in uniform, that’s crossing the line,” said Greater Clark School Board Vice-President Robbie Valentine.

“There was a representative from St. X talking to these two young men.  If they were coaches or not, there were two individuals who spoke to two of these young men.

St. X. is disputing that claim.

“I’m very surprised by the allegation,”  St. X President Perry Sangalli explained.  “However, I was able to meet with both the Athletic Director and the head coach.  And the Athletic Director and I had contact with all of St. X’s football coaches yesterday afternoon. 

“St. X. has not been at any Southern Indiana public school games at all this school year, and indeed, Joe, we adopted a policy last year that we do not go as a school to public middle school games anywhere, on either side of the river.”

Trinity’s athletic director would not comment on the allegations, saying they were not leveled against his school.  However, both St. X and Trinity are targets of certified letters from Clark County, a warning not just to coaching staffs, but to the schools’ very large fan bases.

“In many instances, it can be overly zealous boosters, it can be overly zealous alumni, overly zealous parents doing whatever they think is appropriate to perpetuate the success of their programs,” said Tony Bennett, Superintendant of Greater Clark Schools.

Bennett and Valentine say they are not resentful of the success of St. X or Trinity, but want to be sure they’re competing on a level playing field.  The St. X. president says they “play more than fair,” but the issue just never seems to go away.

“This issue in one way or another seems to not be allowed to rest at all,” Sangalli said.  “If we look at all the proposals that have been before KHSAA over the last few years.  We get through one hurdle and another hurdle seems to arise.

“And as we continue to check and check and check, there’s never any specifics that come up in any of the accusations that seem to fly.”

Sangalli says St. X takes every allegation seriously and that they are and want to be a school of integrity.  He says Catholic schools have to do their best to attract students, but that does not include recruiting at public school events.

Meanwhile, Valentine is frustrated by the lure of the powerhouse programs.

“We want these kids to stay in the community they live in,” he said.