Believe it or not, Jason Witten's ascension to Oklahoma's interim offensive coordinator was almost certainly not the topic of conversation in the Witten household last week.
Witten's former school, Liberty Christian in Argyle, Texas, was disqualified for the TAPPS Division I playoffs for playing an ineligible player. Liberty (in full disclosure, also my alma mater) immediately sued TAPPS, which caused the governing body over Texas private school sports to pause the entire Division I playoffs for one week while the case worked its way through the legal system.
On Tuesday, a Texas judge denied Liberty's request for a temporary injunction.
“TAPPS appreciates the opportunity to address the 362 Judicial District Court in Denton, Texas to defend our process and procedure regarding the eligibility of a student athlete. With the denial of the Temporary Restraining Order requested by our member school, the TAPPS Division I playoffs will be played as scheduled beginning this Friday,” TAPPS executive director Bryan Bunselmeyer said in a statement, via the Dallas Morning News. In another twist, Bunselmeyer worked at Liberty before taking a job with the TAPPS office.
Unlike the University Interscholastic League, the governing body over Texas public schools, TAPPS does not have residency requirements to compete in athletics. Liberty was found to have violated TAPPS's anti-recruiting rules; any athlete who plays for or trains under a TAPPS coach outside of school cannot compete for said school at the varsity level until 12 months after enrollment. TAPPS found that a Liberty player had played 7-on-7 for an organization run by a position coach on Liberty's staff, thereby turning all games the player competed in into forfeits.
“It was determined that a transfer student-athlete participated on a 7-on-7 team coached by Liberty Christian assistant football coach Antonio Griffin in the year prior to transferring to Liberty,” TAPPS said in a news release last week. “Furthermore, the athletic department leadership and football coaching staff knew or should have known of these facts prior to the start of the 2026 football season.”
Liberty argued that the player played for the 7-on-7 organization run by Griffin, but he was never directly coached by him and that evidenced saying Griffin coached the team was doctored.
I have served as the head coach of Lionhearted 18U for the past several years, and this is documented. Antonio Griffin is the owner of Lionhearted, but I have always been the head coach responsible for overseeing and leading the 18U team.
— Quan Jones (@QuannJones) November 4, 2026
Jason Witten coached the Warriors from 2021-25, leading the Warriors to TAPPS Division I titles in 2023 and '24. His youngest son Cooper, a 4-star recruit in the class of 2027 and an Oklahoma commit, remained behind at Liberty to finish his high school career. The Warriors were the favorites to win a third TAPPS Division I crown in Cooper Witten's four years until their season was cut short. Michelle Witten, Jason's wife and (more important in this case) Cooper's mom argued Liberty's case on social media.
Full context on this doctored email.
— Michelle Witten (@Witten82) November 6, 2026
A group email was sent by Coach Antonio Griffin to all Liberty Christian 8th grade parents at 8:18pm on December 6.
The portion in red says his 7v7 club is “Owned by Coach Griff”.
The doctored email has the same time stamp: 8:18pm on… https://t.co/5KEa6DJIAW
In an email to parents on Tuesday, the school said it will continue to examine options but acknowledged reversing the court's decision was unlikely.
"We will continue to look at every possible option to get this ruling reversed, but at this point our options are limited.”