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Former Grady Athlete Says Address Fraud Occurs Frequently

December 11th, 2013

The Atlanta Public School Sytem is continuing to investigate whether some Grady High School football players have been using false addresses and were recruited to play on the team. Meanwhile, a former Grady athlete tells WABE’s Michelle Wirth he believes there are a number of students using inaccurate addresses.

Diedrick Hines played on Grady’s basketball team between 2005 and 2009. Hines says all four years, he never lived at an address zoned for the school.

“For my first two years, I would have been at Fredrick Douglass High School, and for my last two years, I was in district for Carver High School.”

Hines says he wasn’t recruited but decided to use a former address, and he says he wasn’t alone.

“I know of at least 20 to 30 students who didn’t stay in district that went to Grady.”

In fact, Hines says he knows of least one current Grady football player using a false address.

“I’m not sure what school that would be, but I know he stays somewhere in the Riverdale area.”

And Hines says when he attended Grady, most students who lived outside the school’s attendance zone weren’t athletes.

“And I feel like it’s unfair for you to just look at the football program and attack the football program and its coaches, and it’s way beyond just the athletic program. I can basically guarantee it’s not just at Grady. It’s at every Atlanta Public School.”

Both APS and Grady High School declined interview requests. But in a statement the district says, “We depend on the integrity of parents who have an ethical obligation to the district to provide accurate addresses to the district.”

On Monday, Superintendent Erroll Davis said currently the district devotes resources to investigate complaints but does not cross check every student’s address. But Davis says that could change.

“We will also have to look at, when we complete our investigation, whether different systems are more appropriate, whether we have the capability to easily cross check addresses, for example.”

Davis says he hopes to wrap up the Grady football investigation by the end of winter break.

WABE’s broadcast license is held by the Atlanta Board of Education.

We have posted a PDF version of the map of the Grady High School attendance zone. This version can be enlarged to show considerable detail. Maps of the attendance zones for other Atlanta public schools are posted at the Atlanta Public Schools web site.