On the morning of April 21, a high-ranking administrator in New York’s Catholic High School Athletic Association sent a startling letter to the league’s member schools.
Kevin J. Pigott announced that the league’s executive committee unanimously recommended harsh sanctions against Archbishop Stepinac’s ballyhooed boy’s basketball program, including a postseason ban, a lengthy suspension for the head coach and the prohibition of out-of-state travel.
What were the salacious crimes that spurred this potential death-penalty-esque punishment? Stepinac had the audacity to participate in a basketball tournament.
The CHSAA took issue with Stepinac accepting an invitation to Chipotle Nationals despite the league’s warning not to take part in an event that operates outside the framework of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Chipotle Nationals annually showcases the nation’s best high school teams, many of them basketball-centric academies and prep schools that recruit top talent from across the country and beyond.
The letter from Pigott also contended that Stepinac violated CHSAA rules by committing to a tournament that extended beyond 4 p.m. on Holy Thursday. Stepinac lost to Ohio prep powerhouse SPIRE Academy in the opening round of Chipotle Nationals on April 1, the Wednesday before Easter Sunday. Had the Crusaders advanced, they would have played at 6 p.m. on Holy Thursday and then potentially again on Friday and Saturday.
The sanctions endorsed by the CHSAA executive committee resembled the sort of punishment the NCAA used to levy against programs caught funneling money to recruits. The committee called for all levels of Stepinac basketball to be prohibited from participating in the 2027 league playoffs and for the varsity to be banned from playing any out-of-state games. Head coach Pat Massaroni also would have to serve an eight-game suspension next season during league play.
“The Archdiocesan Boys’ CHSAA did try to prevent this from happening by warning
Archbishop Stepinac, in writing, of the consequences of participating in this tournament without
league approval,” concludes Pigott’s letter, which was obtained by Yahoo Sports. “We believe that the imposition of these sanctions are necessary to protect the integrity and shared mission of all of our member schools.”
Yahoo Sports reached out to Massaroni and longtime Stepinac principal Paul Carty to ask for their side of the story. Carty did not return a message and Massaroni said attorneys had instructed him not to comment.
Chipotle Nationals come calling
Stepinac was on its way to securing an unprecedented fourth straight CHSAA city championship last month when the Crusaders received their Chipotle Nationals invitation. They were an appealing choice for one of the final spots in the 10-team field because they had beaten IMG Academy and taken Montverde Academy to overtime this season and because their starting five featured a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans.
Carty reached out to league officials in early March seeking special approval for Stepinac to participate in the Chipotle Nationals, a source familiar with the situation told Yahoo Sports. He received verbal permission to accept the invitation after the season, according to the source, if Stepinac won its remaining playoff games and a season-ending Mayor’s Cup matchup against New York City’s top public school team.
Organizers of the Chipotle Nationals unveiled the tournament bracket, including ninth-seeded Stepinac, on March 18, four days before the Crusaders’ season-ending matchup against Eagle Academy of the Bronx. On March 20, the CHSAA executive committee sent Carty a written notice prohibiting Stepinac from participating in the tournament and warning that the program could face sanctions if it disobeyed.
In a March 27 response obtained by Yahoo Sports, Carty informed Pigott in writing that the Stepinac boys basketball team intended to “detach” from the school and essentially compete at Chipotle Nationals as a club team. No school funds would be used toward the trip, Carty promised, nor would participation be mandatory for the team’s student-athletes.
“The student athletes and coaches will wear uniforms and gear that have not been worn during the season,” Carty wrote in the letter, “and the event has been informed that we are not playing as Archbishop Stepinac High School. If they choose to market us as so, we have informed them differently.”
When it faced SPIRE Academy on April 1, Stepinac players wore their navy blue “New York Crusaders” club jerseys with no mention of their school name on the front or back. The program also refrained from highlighting its Chipotle Nationals appearance on its social media channels. Stepinac coaches and administrators felt comfortable risking sanctions from the league because, as the source familiar with the situation put it, “This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these kids.”
It’s common practice for high school basketball programs to masquerade as club teams in order to compete in unsanctioned events before or after their seasons. In fact, previous CHSAA teams have done it without punishment. The powerhouse Christ the King girls basketball program appeared in the 2025 edition of The Throne Hoops National Championships as the Queens Royals. Two years earlier, the Christ the King boys participated in the Throne Tournament under the same name.
Yahoo Sports contacted multiple CHSAA Executive Council members seeking an explanation for Christ the King apparently going unpunished for participating in the Throne Tournament but Stepinac’s potential sanctions being so severe. Pigott declined comment. Ray Nash, the president of the diocese of Brooklyn/Queens, said that Pigott “is handling all questions.”
It’s unclear the timetable for when or if CHSAA member schools will vote on the proposed sanctions against Stepinac. Those at Stepinac are hoping to avoid litigation, the source familiar with the situation said, but are consulting with attorneys in case an amicable agreement cannot be reached.
The entire saga highlights why some high-level prospects have left their hometowns to flock to out-of-state prep schools and basketball academies.
There are a few opportunities readily available at places like Montverde, AZ Compass Prep or IMG Academy that are laden with obstacles elsewhere.
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