The French gave us the Statue of Liberty, but we can’t let Remi Barry play basketball for Del Oro high school!

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) motto reads, “Committed to developing student-athletes of character.”

This ordeal for Barry is definitely character-building, thanks to characters like CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Director Pete Saco and his biased appeals panel who supported his ludicrous initial ruling.

The CIF initially denied Barry eligibility because his transfer was “athletically motivated.” So what? He’s an athlete, and he was motivated to find a better situation here in the land of opportunity.

It’s not OK for caring basketball enthusiasts around the country to network and secure a good home for a French student to study and compete in sports? The way the decision reads, Barry would be ineligible unless he randomly enrolled in some school and then found his own housing — a ridiculous scenario for any youth, let alone a foreign student.

Imagine if one of our local children traveled abroad and was jerked around in the manner Barry has been during his American experience. The CIF has stolen the innocence of not only Barry, but all the other local student-athletes who have been denied the privilege of competing with and against him.

Brad Kearns, Auburn