All Notre Dame Prep teams suspended from Catholic League

PONTIAC, Mich. (WJBK) - Athletes from a private high school are suspended from the Detroit Catholic League.

A move that was meant to protect children's safety now has Pontiac Notre Dame Prep suspended, and it's not just one sport -- it's all of them.

"We tried this idea before, we played four years against Catholic Central and we found our student-athletes suffered serious injuries on multiple occasions," said Andy Guest, executive vice-principal at Notre Dame Prep."

And with that Notre Dame Prep refused to sign off on a crossover football game with Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice for the 2016 season. He said it would be unsafe for the school's players to square off with the bigger players from the larger school and higher profile program.

Brother Rice has 639 boys enrolled there and Notre Dame about 350. 

"We have certain athletes that can compete head to head with the larger schools in a one on one basis," said Guest. "Our guys might be starting both ways. Over the course of a football game they wear down and are more susceptible to injury."

The decision affected every other sport - the Catholic League suspended every team in every sport for the 2016-2017 school year. The school now has to fill out its schedule with other teams.

"No one thought this was a good idea," said Vic Michaels, executive director of the Catholic League. "But everyone thought it was a move they had to make. And the executive board thought they were not putting them in a bad spot."

Michaels said that the league takes the safety of the student-athletes seriously and it took months to come to this decision.

"We felt if a school is given a league schedule and they don't accept it," Michaels said. "The penalty has to be for what the regulations require."

Parents like Michael Law whose son plays on the hockey team, are having a hard time with the penalty.

It is unclear what will happen after next school year.