There is a lot of love for John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge. There also is a lot of dislike.

There are those who question its motives. Some say the school bends, skirts around or breaks the rules set forth by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, that it has been doing it for years with no consequences.

Others say the school is just the target of jealousy because it has won so many more championships than any other school.

Emotions definitely are high, fueling a debate that has, in part, led to the recent vote to split the LHSAA into a public school faction and a private school faction.

This week some cheered as the LHSAA made the school face a consequence of its actions.

The Patriots were ordered to forfeit as many as 20 games, including the 2013 state championship, because one of its coaches allowed a student to live with him while attending the school.

Willie Allen’s story is a sad one. While he was a sophomore student and football player, Allen was repeatedly late to school. It was discovered that Allen had been taking several modes of public transportation from Uptown New Orleans to River Ridge to continue attending the school and playing football.

In an effort to make life a little easier on the youngster, Curtis assistant coach Jerry Godfrey offered to let Allen live with him and his family. Everybody was happy. Allen went on to become a star player and earned a football scholarship to LSU.

I don’t doubt that Godfrey’s intentions were pure. We’ve all seen “The Blind Side,” the movie about the family that took in the disadvantaged young man to give him a better life.

We’ve probably all thought about what we would do in that situation. Some with means and a spare bedroom would take him in. Some wouldn’t.

And if Allen had been a drummer in the band or a member of the school newspaper, maybe no one would have cared. There probably wouldn’t have been a newspaper article written about him. The story wouldn’t have been on TV. The LHSAA certainly wouldn’t have gotten involved.

But Allen is a football player. A good one. And Godfrey is a coach. And the LHSAA rules specifically spell out that players cannot live with coaches just so they can go to a certain school, even if their circumstances change.

There are precedents.

The LHSAA ruled against the Bastrop High football team in 2006, ordering the Rams to forfeit their 2005 Class 4A state title — the school’s first in 80 years — after it was determined that some of the school’s coaches had illegally recruited students who were left homeless after Hurricane Katrina.

Randall Mackey and Jamal Racasner had transferred from Port Sulphur, which had been virtually wiped off the map. Their  coaches insisted they were just “doing the right thing.”

Some people also will remember the former basketball powerhouse Reserve Christian School, which won seven state titles after joining the LHSAA in 1998.

The Eagles, coached by current Riverside Academy boys basketball coach Timmy Byrd, ran afoul of the LHSAA in 2004 for using an ineligible player as well. The Byrd family was hosting a pair of foreign exchange students who also played basketball. The Eagles were ordered to forfeit all of their wins and they were removed from the playoff bracket.

Many accused Byrd of bringing in a couple of “ringers” for his basketball team, not trying to help a couple of Greek kids experience American culture.

There’s an old proverb which says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Sometimes, good intentions break the LHSAA rules too.

Lori Lyons is the sports editor at L’OBSERVATEUR. She can be reached at 985-652-9545 or lori.lyons@lobservateur.com.