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Dad says South player's suspension is too harsh South Medford High senior Jonnay Foote, left, pictured here in January against South Eugene, is fighting a school athletic suspension that bars her from playing in the state basketball playoffs. [Mail Tribune / file photo] Thursday Mar 9, 2017 at 6:22 PM Mar 9, 2017 at 6:22 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat The father of a suspended South Medford girls basketball player says the Medford School District's code of conduct for student athletes goes too far and fails to provide players due process by imposing penalties before guilt is proven. John Foote, father of South Medford High School senior Jonnay Foote, said his daughter was suspended from the team, which is currently playing in the state tournament, for attending a party where alcohol was being consumed. That, he said Thursday, assumes her guilt before she has her day in court. Jonnay Foote, a starting point guard, is prohibited from playing for the South Medford team in the Oregon high school basketball state tournament in Portland after police cited her with a minor in possession charge Saturday while she was at a high school party. The basketball team had qualified for the eight-team state tournament with a win earlier that day. The imposed penalty, John Foote said, assumes she's guilty. "My daughter's been convicted of nothing," Foote said. Foote declined to comment on the circumstances of the party or whether Jonnay had been drinking. He did say, however, that his daughter, who he described as a "bookworm" with a 3.8 grade point average, had been in her pajamas by 10:30 that night watching TV with him before friends invited her out.  He said was en route to pick her up Saturday night prior to the arrival of police. Jackson County Juvenile Court has not yet set her initial court date, according to Foote. The school ordered Foote to sit out competition for 15 school days, the minimum outlined in the school's code of conduct, but it means that after eight years in sports programs and with no prior disciplinary history, Foote will miss the end of her high school basketball career.  "This is the biggest moment of this kid's collective life," Foote said. The South Medford girls team lost its first game in the tournament to Grant High School 56-45 Thursday. The Panthers play St. Mary's Academy Friday morning in the consolation bracket. Medford School District spokeswoman Natalie Hurd said the district can’t comment on student disciplinary matters, but in email correspondence provided by Foote, the district's lawyer, David Paradis, said Jonnay Foote's penalty is standard procedure. "While it is certainly unfortunate that this suspension had to be imposed, the district is not able to provide differential treatment to your daughter based on her or her team's status in the state tournament," Paradis emailed Foote earlier this week. "The policy is clear and mandates a 15-day suspension from athletic participation for violations, regardless of whether the participant is a star or rarely plays, and whether the suspension happens during the preseason, regular season or post-season." In his email response to Paradis, Foote said it's unfair that while athletes are punished, non-athlete students face no district consequences for incidents that occur off campus. "First and foremost the athlete is a student, and in my opinion creating a separate set of guidelines or not including a student giving them the same right and access to these codes is nothing short of discrimination," Foote wrote. "In my coaching and parenting experience," he added, "I have seen mishandled and over-the-top discipline make the kids' life worse than the action that they were accused of, and the current code and discipline, in my opinion, lacks any sort of positive support, intervention, enrichments and opportunities to assist the kid in overcoming mistakes that will be made and keeping them on the right track." The school district's athletic director, Amy Tiger, could not be reached for comment. Foote has been a wrestling coach for six years at Kids Unlimited, and leads a Young Warriors life skills camp that teaches youth about accountability. "I'm not just a hot parent," Foote said. "It's so harsh considering the body of work of this student." — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.