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South Oak Cliff Golden Bears players hold up their 2005-2006 basketball championship trophy.

DALLAS - South Oak Cliff High School, the perennial high school basketball powerhouse, will have to forfeit its 2006 state basketball championship after a Dallas Independent School District probe.

Questions were first raised by a series of News 8 Investigation pieces that looked into grade changes that affected a star basketball player, Kendrake Johnigan, on the 2006 State Championship team.

While few details were released, sources close to the DISD probe said the facts laid out in the News 8 investigation were accurate, and that the player was in fact ineligible to play much of the 2005-2006 season.

Shortly after the News 8 investigation aired in November, the former teacher accused of making the grade changes spoke out on alleged pressure from Head Basketball Coach James Mayes II and Principal Donald Moten.

"School Principal Donald Moten told me that this kid had to receive a passing grade for the sake of the school," said John Yourse, the teacher.

Records obtained by News 8 showed grades that Yourse said he was forced to give to the student, who never showed up for class. Also visible in the book was a slash mark through each of those grades.

"[I] immediately crossed out and initialed every grade [to] call attention to anyone who cared to question what happened that day," Yourse said in the statement.

Those working on an internal Dallas Independent School District investigation confirmed the allegations Wednesday.

Accordingly, and in keeping with UIL guidelines, South Oak Cliff will have to forfeit its state basketball championship crown.

E-mail bshipp@wfaa.com