Dear Notre Dame Prep, let's chat.

I want to write about high school football, and celebrate the accomplishments of student-athletes all over the state who are either playing at the highest level they'll ever be at, or who have earned the privilege to play beyond this level. I want to be writing about how Notre Dame prep has come back from finishing just outside last year's playoffs in an unfairly stacked division, losing several players to transfer, and some of its most productive 2016 players to injury, to win their section.

I should be writing about Cole Fisher's performance against Desert Mountain, or Ricky Manning's defense against St. Mary's. I should be applauding Cameron Yowell's grit against North Canyon, or how Vincent Elrod set the tone for a great season against Shadow Ridge. Shoot, how about Blake Storey's four touchdown catches against Paradise Valley (on television!)? Or what about Jarod Aber playing much bigger than his 6-foot, 190-pound frame against La Salle?

Any and all of these things would be better than what the narrative about the Saints has been any time I jump on social media, or check my email, or hop on AZCentral to read the musings of Scott Bordow.

I can't talk about Notre Dame Prep without also engaging in a discussion about how your lights are too bright, or how you ran a PE class in violation of AIA bylaws, or how you violated recruiting rules with the way you promoted a skills camp, or that you potentially went out of bounds to entice certain players to come to, or stick around, the program.

Now that the AIA has handed down your consequence of no playoffs, and accepted your proposed penalty of sacrificing spring football; you've started a petition to get President Jim Gmelich fired, suspended head coach Mark Nolan, hired a lawfirm that to demand an appeal be filed, and decided to meet together tonight to demand changes be made.

Now, you might not like that I'm using the word "you" to describe the program in its entirety, especially since so many of you are scrambling to claim exactly who "you" are, who "you" will be, and who "you" will hold responsible for this mess.

Well, as the saying goes, you win together, and you lose together. Right now, you're doing a little of both. But let me address the groups separately, so that nobody can just check out and decide that what I'm writing doesn't somehow pertain to them.

To the players:

Heads up. Seriously. The playoffs won't define your season. Would it have been cool to host the first ever playoff game at Bemis field? Maybe with the 8th seed, against a team like Mesquite, for a chance to take on and possibly knock off #1 Cienega? That would have been amazing. And could you have pulled it off? Maybe.

Now, is what's happening to you fair? Of course not. I don't really like the word "fair" anyway. Something being unfair isn't really worth all this trouble. Perhaps maybe it would be if what happened to you was unjust, but justice is really a comparative matter. Are you missing the playoffs because of the actions of someone else? Yes. Is that worth more media attention and community unrest than kids at some public schools having textbooks that were published two decades before they were born because of factors outside their control? Probably not. I think you have every right to be upset about losing this opportunity, but let me shoot you some advice on "fairness" that I've lent out before:

As you move forward, under no circumstances should you expect me, or anyone else in this world to concern ourselves with your connotation of fairness. We will let you down, and that disappointment will kindle a fire that will consume and destroy whatever potential you have to be a truly satisfied person. If you obsess over what is, or isn’t fair, you’ll miss out on so much. To embrace the unfair is to understand grace. To feel comfortable in your blessings is to be free from the tyranny of guilt, and to truly know satisfaction. And do you know what you should be satisfied with?

That this 2016 team is the first to ever defeat Chaparral.

That you represented Arizona by taking La Salle into 3 overtimes.

That this team outpaced a Kurt Warner led offense in Desert Mountain.

That you upheld your undefeated record in a budding rivalry with St. Mary's.

That you put 76 on your division's defending runner up, on television.

That you went into halftime against Desert Edge down 48-0, and refused to quit, outscoring them 19-0 in the second half.

That you won your section.

You all have a lot to be proud of.

To the coaches and administration:

A football class? Honestly, it's genius. Does it give you a competitive edge? Of course. Why else would you do that? Should you have gone to the AIA to get the class approved? Absolutely. Did you avoid going to the AIA because you knew what they'd say? Another obvious yes.

What I don't understand is when you got caught and called to atone, you modeled the exact type of dodgy, excuse-making, responsibility shirking, immature and disrespectful "well actually, technically, other people" argumentative behavior that you'd undoubtedly shut down if any juvenile sitting in your school offices tried to justify their behavior by doing the same.

Your "I'm sorry" came too late. By the time you were ready to address the elephant in the room, the elephant had already trampled everyone.

Mark Nolan- your staff shouldn't be dancing too close to the fire when it comes to advertising their program. Especially when you've been a major college recruiting director before, and have had to self-report similar issues in Colorado.

And Jim Gmelich- you've faced more backlash than this after ousting Mullen High coach Dave Logan. You and then-president Ryan Clement faced criticism for what some saw as a failed attempt to gain Clement a coaching position, open a role for Mark Nolan, get rid of someone who was more famous than you'd like them to be, or smear Logan's name after his departure through recruiting accusations. And because you wouldn't talk to Colorado media about it, nobody ever had an opportunity to get your side of things.

When you were hired at Notre Dame Prep, you told Haley Madden of AZCentral: “My goal is to create a culture where they have voice and power to challenge each other, to challenge me and to challenge administration to get the things they think are important for the kids.”

The good thing is it seems like you accomplished your goal. The bad thing is that is that what they want, is you, gone.

To the parents and alumni:

I get it. You want to preserve the school's legacy, protect your children's experience, and you want to make sure you're heard. You think the players deserve to represent themselves with the playoff spot that they've earned. I have four kids. If someone else's actions caused my children to lose out on an opportunity, especially if that "someone" was an institution I was heavily invested in emotionally and financially, and that institution claimed to be representing my deeply held values, as well as helping to shape them in my offspring, I'd be pretty pissed off too.

BUT

This petition thing... I have to ask... football playoffs are the last straw? Really?

I read through every signature on that petition. Some are last names I recognize from staring at rosters year in and year out. Some, like "Chef," and "Gregg Popovich," made me laugh a little. I also read through every comment, and while some were crude, and some were psychotically hyperbolic, it's obvious that there's a lot of very real pain being felt by the Notre Dame Prep Community over several issues that fall outside the purview of high school athletics.

I'm going to tell you how this whole thing looks to me, on the outside looking in. Now, you didn't ask for my opinion. Maybe you won't care. Maybe you'll care enough to email me a rebuttal. Maybe you'll see my point of view. Maybe now is a good time to stop reading, but if you're with me after the end of this sentence, you're on the journey for the long haul, so buckle up.

How is "better late than never" so different from the actions of the administration that some of you want ousted?

So you've hired a law firm. And they've written a letter (And they almost spelled your school's name correctly). But I have a strong feeling this is all happening because your president, athletic director, and coaching staff failed to make their case in front of the AIA. Ask yourselves- if Jim Gmelich had given a rousing, emotional speech that convinced inquisitioning AIA board members of either the innocence, or contrition of the school regarding the issues at hand, would you still be petitioning the Diocese for his removal? Are you upset with the action, or the consequence? Had he erased the mistake that he helped to make, would he continue to be given a pass on all of the other grievances outlined in that petition, or are the alternate grievances meant to adorn a golden calf in the form of the 2016 5A state playoffs?

What I'm asking you to ask yourselves is what's motivating you to take this action? What's motivating you to ask for the jobs of men who relocated their families to return to Arizona, including one who is caring for a daughter with Cystic Fibrosis? Real people, with real issues. Flawed people who were just trying to give their school an edge by getting around the clearly defined guidelines. Is there a clear-cut villain here? Is what they did so much different than you trying to find a way to get a team on probation that participated in illegal practices, giving them an unfair competitive advantage, into the playoffs anyway? Does one act justify another? Isn't everyone involved serving their self-interest?

Even if it's as black-and-white as parents acting on behalf of wronged kids, the question still remains, why didn't it happen sooner? Maybe this is as simple as this particular offense being the last straw, and an unqualified, inept Notre Dame Prep administration needs to be held accountable. Or maybe we care about football too much. Maybe its both. Either way, this punishment is likely going to stand, and it's time to start thinking about how to move forward.

No matter what happens, your Saints gave you a heck of a season, and you should let them know you're proud.