High School Basketball Star Gets Busted, Is Secretly 25: Reports

DALLAS, TX — One 25-year-old man was arrested after nine months of pretending to be a 17-year-old student enrolled in a Dallas ISD high school.

Sidney Bouvier Gilstrap-Portley, known to his classmates as Rashaun Sidney Robinson, was jailed after a former coach from North Mesquite High School, Gilstrap-Portley's own alma mater, recognized him, KDFW reports.

The coach told Dallas ISD who, in turn, told the University Interscholastic League about the man's position on the Panthers basketball team at Hillcrest High School, the station wrote.

Authorities were alerted, and the man was arrested on a felony charge of tampering with government records for falsifying his enrollment documents.

Claiming to be a Hurricane Harvey Evacuee, Sidney Bouvier Gilstrap-Portley started attending Skyline High School around nine months ago. His classmates came to know him as Rashaun Sidney Robinson, KDFW reported.

Gilstrap-Portley later transferred to Hillcrest High School under the guise of homelessness.

“We have some liberal policies for homeless students, but he knew that,” Dallas ISD superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa told the news station. “And he took advantage of this opportunity to enroll in Hillcrest.”

District spokeswoman Robyn Harris told the Dallas Morning News that officials believe his primary motivation was to play basketball.

And play ball he did. The man was recently voted the district's 11-5A offensive player of the year, The News wrote.

Gilstrap-Portley was released from Dallas County Jail after making bail.

>>> Read more on this story via Dallas Morning News.

Lead image via Dallas County Jail