Former NFL star Logan Thomas and family sue VHSL over stepsons’ eligibility

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — Former NFL tight end and Brookville High School standout Logan Thomas and his family are suing the Virginia High School League (VHSL) after they sidelined his two stepsons from playing for the Bees Football Team.

The Thomas family filed the 323-page lawsuit in Campbell County Circuit Court on Wednesday after the league forbade Blake and Cameron Underwood from playing. According to the lawsuit, the league cited the boys twice, once in August and once in September, for different issues.

In the lawsuit, the Thomases explain that they moved back to the area in January of 2025 after Logan retired from his NFL career. The family explained in the lawsuit that they moved into a home on Lake Forest Drive, which is zoned for Brookville.

The lawsuit said that Brookville Principal Christina White reviewed the students’ applications to play sports and determined that both Blake and Cameron were allowed to participate in athletics. According to VHSL’s rule book entry on the Master Eligibility List in section 27-8-6 (Page 42), all decisions regarding eligibility come directly from the building principal. The lawsuit also cites the handbook, stating that it is the school principal’s role to ensure all athletes are eligible and follow the rules.

However, the Thomases explained in their lawsuit that at some point in August, the VHSL reached out to an instructional staff member at Brookville to ask questions about Logan Thomas and his oldest stepsons. The lawsuit claims that whoever the VHSL contacted was not the principal, the athletic director, or anyone on the athletics staff.

The lawsuit claims Principal White called the VHSL to figure out why a staff member was contacted, which then prompted several emails between the group. In those emails, the principal was asked more about Thomas’s sons’ eligibility and residency.

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The Thomas family said Principal White provided all of the necessary documents and stood behind her decision to allow the boys to play. However, on August 29, the lawsuit alleges that VHSL Assistant Director Todd Tarkenton expressed concerns over White’s eligibility decision, saying she was incorrect because the Thomases own more than one home and, as a result, did not live within the Brookville zone.

According to GIS, the Thomas family owns the following homes:

• Three in Bedford County
• One in Loudoun County
• One in Lynchburg

The lawsuit said Principal White responded on September 2, saying her decision on their eligibility has not changed. The VHSL replied to her message, according to the lawsuit, and said they all could go before a Sportsmanship Committee since Principal White did not change her mind, but she stood firm and allowed both boys to play.

Over two weeks went by, and according to the lawsuit, the VHSL reached back out to Principal White on September 22, saying that this time, the boys violated the transfer rule in moving from California to Virginia. The lawsuit said the VHSL alleges that “Cameron and Blake had enrolled in Brookville for athletic purposes and to follow a coach due to the coach’s reputation.”

Principal White replied two days later, saying that she stood firm, once again, in her decision to allow both boys to play football, according to the lawsuit. The Thomases claim in the lawsuit that no discussions happened after that, and accused the VHSL of not bringing together a District Committee to hear the case, as well as a Sportsmanship Committee.

According to the lawsuit, out of an abundance of caution, Campbell County Superintendent Dr. Clayton Stanley contacted the VHSL on Friday, September 26 and spoke with VHSL Executive Director Ty Gafford. Following their phone call, the lawsuit said Dr. Stanley understood that both Blake and Cameron were unable to play in their game that night and any future games.

The lawsuit said the VHSL intended to hold a Sportsmanship Committee meeting on Monday, September 29, since the principal maintained that both boys were eligible to play; however, the lawsuit claims that the meeting never happened.

In the lawsuit, the family explained that they then requested a District Committee meeting to discuss the boys’ eligibility since they claim the VHSL was being vague and not providing them with any more information. The lawsuit said that meeting happened on October 9. However, just a day later, according to the lawsuit, Seminole District Committee Chairman Dr. Ben Martin sent the school and the Thomas family an email saying both boys were ineligible for lack of basis to grant waiver.

The lawsuit said the Thomas family was never granted any opportunity to attend any hearing or present their case.

According to the lawsuit, the Thomas family is requesting the court affirm the boys’ eligibility determination that the principal already affirmed, issue an injunction and allow the boys to play, and award the family their costs and attorneys’ fees and whatever relief the Court deems appropriate.

Records show the Thomas family will go before Lynchburg Circuit Court Judge Watson on Friday at 3:30 p.m.