SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – A temporary restraining order has been issued against the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association after an emergency hearing.

The Pioneer Valley Regional School District filed a temporary injunction Thursday morning on behalf of its football teams.

The district says the move is intended to ensure that the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, or MIAA, uses Pioneer’s actual win-loss records when placing teams in statewide tournaments.

“As a district, we felt it was important that students not pay a penalty, not pay a price, for mistakes that really belonged to adults. Our school committee met in an emergency session last night and voted unanimously to take legal action,” Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Patricia Kinsella told us following the a recent scheduling error.

Pioneer Valley is now the fourth school district to file an injunction against the MIAA, the others being Northampton, Minnechaug and Monson High School.

Kinsella claims this is all due to not scheduling two possible dates for postseason games, which affected 17 of the 61 MIAA District 1 schools and led to a drop in team rankings before the state tournaments.

“It’s not about whether or not they would make the state tournament. It’s about what their seeding would be in the state tournament, and that impacts whether the game is also played at home or away.

Western Mass News has reached out to the MIAA for comment following the injunction.

“We will respect court orders and organize football tournaments based on court decisions,” they told us.

We will provide more information on this situation as it develops.

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