The 2025 ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships took a wild turn when Jamal Stephenson’s 100m race ended in controversy. One moment he was in the race, but the very next, she was disqualified. But his school wasn’t having it, firing back with a heated protest. But while all this compelled ISSA to reinstate him, there was but a catch. This simply added fuel to the fire. Now, fans are questioning everything—was this fair, or did ISSA just make things worse for track and field?
Well, whatever ISSA might be thinking, Calabar High isn’t letting this slide. They’re demanding Jamal Stephenson be reinstated to his rightful 5th-place finish as his time was 10.34, a full investigation into how his disqualification was handled, and transparency on reports sent to World Athletics. On top of that, they want an official apology—plus, they’re even questioning their future participation.
Sports journalist Jordan Forte took to X to reveal the four-page letter written by the school. The caption reads, “BREAKING: Calabar is contemplating their continued participation at Champs 2025. The school has written a 4-page letter to ISSA demanding that class 1 sprinter Jamal Stephenson be placed 5th in the 100m final.” Champs 2025 just got messier, and fans aren’t holding back.
BREAKING: Calabar contemplating their continued participation at Champs 2025
The school has written a 4 page letter to ISSA demanding class 1 sprinter Jamal Stephenson be placed 5th in the 100m final.
See portion of letter attached pic.twitter.com/rVW1y2PUfR
— Jordan Forte (@JordyAF) March 29, 2025
What started as a simple disqualification became a full-blown controversy, with ISSA scrambling to clean up the fallout. So, here’s what went down—Jamal Stephenson got DQ’d, sparking outrage from his school, which wasted no time firing off a strongly worded letter. They didn’t just ask for his reinstatement; they wanted answers. Why wasn’t the race delayed? Where was the transparency?
Through the letter, the school is also asking for a copy that is sent to World Athletics, a complete response from World Athletics, and a formal, thorough, and impartial investigation into the actions of meet officials and the meet director who failed to suspend the race. Well, according to meet director Anthony Davis, after consulting with World Athletics, the race couldn’t continue since the medals had already been awarded.
As per the release, “According to the World Athletics rule, once medals have been presented for an event, no further action can be taken regarding the results of that event. Specifically, Technical Rule 8.9 states that the medal ceremony marks the conclusion of the event, and any disputes or protests must be resolved before this point, as the medal ceremony signifies the official end of the event, and no subsequent changes or appeals are permitted after this ceremony.”
Further, the report reads, “Upon reviewing the process, our officials consulted World Athletics for guidance on how to proceed and received the following advice: ‘The time recorded by Stephenson in his semi-final is valid and should be a part of our records.’” According to ISSA, Paul Reid, “We regret the circumstances leading to this outcome. We apologize to Calabar High School and Jamal Stephenson for the distress or inconvenience caused by this situation.”
With fans still buzzing and questions left unanswered, this Champs controversy isn’t dying down anytime soon, and a question also arises: is an apology enough?
Track and field fans are calling the whole scenario a disgrace
The Champs 2025 controversy isn’t dying down anytime soon, and fans are making their voices heard. What started as a questionable disqualification quickly spiraled into a full-blown mess, with ISSA’s handling of the situation raising more questions than answers. And now? The debate has shifted from whether Jamal should have been DQ’d in the first place to whether ISSA’s final ruling was fair to everyone involved.
One fan put it bluntly: “So disputing his DQ is one thing, but disputing post the decision to reinstate him and give him 1 point, requiring him to be given 5th place (a position already duly won in the race), would be grossly unfair to all athletes. ISSA can’t make rules to appease ego smh.” And that’s the crux of the issue—while ISSA’s compromise may have been meant to smooth things over, many believe it just created another problem.
To make matters worse, the race had already been run before ISSA even reached a final decision. “The race was run before the adjudication to reinstate him was completed. We had no choice but to protest that, too.” That means some athletes competed under one set of circumstances, only for the results to be adjusted afterward. If there was uncertainty over the ruling, why wasn’t the race delayed?
Then there’s the issue of eligibility. Some fans pointed out that ISSA might have overlooked a separate violation altogether. “They could make a case for DQ’ing KC for using an ineligible athlete.” If rules are going to be enforced, shouldn’t they be enforced across the board? Or was this entire situation handled selectively? The lack of transparency has only made things worse.
“Let them show the script that guided them, and if an appeal was on the table, why were officials not aware and went ahead? It is a disgrace.” If ISSA had a clear framework for dealing with appeals, why did the decision-making seem so disorganized? Was there a protocol in place, or was this a case of changing the rules as they went along? And then, of course, comes the biggest question—was there a better way to handle this from the start?
“Yes, the timeliness of the decisions is questionable. Generally, only a rerun would suffice for the ineptitude/errors on the part of the administrators. This ultimatum is above and beyond what a school can get as a remedy, as other athletes would also suffer the same way.” A rerun would have been the fairest option, but instead, ISSA’s ruling left everyone frustrated. At the end of the day, this wasn’t just about one athlete—it was about the integrity of the competition. And as the dust settles, one thing is clear: ISSA has some serious explaining to do.
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