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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER NEWS
September 23, 2016 - Euclid, Ohio - Euclid high School Football Player Dies After Injury In Friday Night Game, reported by Ann Domeck, Fox News Channel 8, Cleveland, Ohio, September 25, 2016. This is the third high school football death this season. Click here for information on this death and the other two deaths.
---------------------------
September 23, 2016 - Arizona High School Boys Soccer Team Refuses To Play Team With Two Female Players, reported by Richard Obert, Arizona Republic, September 26, 2016. This is a clash between Title IX rights and a Christian school. The school with the two female players has no girls' soccer team; so the girls can play on the boys' team. If they didn't get to play on the boys' team, the girls could never play high school soccer. However, the team that refused to play against the girls is a Christian school that has historically refused to let its boys' teams play against teams that have a girl on the team. This type of conflict doesn't tend to occur at large schools, but at smaller schools that can't or don't field girls' teams, co-ed teams can occur more frequently and these types of conflicts can occur more often. These issues are the hallmark of The Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), a free speech organization, that appears to believe that Title IX enforcement imposes on students' First Amendment rights. FIRE devotes a lot of space to this issue on their website. Click here for details. But, FIRE is only one side of a complex set of issues. You can see this site's Title IX page for Title IX coverage and links to other Title IX organizations - such as the excellent Title-IX Blogspot.
------------------------------
September 22, 2016 - Little Rock, AR - Ejected Player Doesn't Like Suspension, Sues Arkansas Activities Association. Arkansas has a rule under which ejected players get suspended. A lot of States have such a rule. I'm sure that a lot of students don't like being suspended, but Pulaski High School's Allen Amuimuia has fought back, going to Court to fight his suspension. Will he win? Probably not. Courts don't tend to second guess officials' rulings on matters stemming from game calls such as whether a player merited an ejection. Allen will get an injunction, but ultimately he will likely lose this case. See Pulaski Academy Center Loses AAA Appeal of Suspension, reported by Jeremy Muck, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 22, 2016.
----------------------------------------------------
September 19, 2016 - Birmingham, AL - Trump Banner At Football Game: Racially Charged Statement, Inappropriate Intrusion of Politics At H.S. Football Game or Mere Student Hijinks? See Alabama High School Apologizes After Using Donald Trump's Campaign Slogan on Pre-Game Banner reported by Josh Bean, Alabama.com, September 19, 2016.
--------------------------------------
September 13, 2016 - Ex-Olympic Team Doc Accused of Sex Abuse, reported by Mark Alesia, Marisa Kwiatkowski, and Tim Evans, USA Today, September 13, 2016, page 1A. The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal grows as former team doctor Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics are sued.
--------------------------
September 13, 2016 - Concussion Legacy Foundation's National Concussion Education Day: Team Up Day!
-------------------
September 13, 2016 - Click here for preview of ESPN's Hazing: The Hidden Horror, Airing on September 13 on ESPN's Outside the Lines.
---------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Riverside, CA. Double Forfeits Declared In Fight Marred Football Game. See 2 Local High School Football Teams Must Forfeit Games After Brawl On The Field , reported by Rachel Kim, CBS-TV, Los Angeles, CA, September 13, 2016.
-------------------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Ventura, CA - Player Arrested In Assault On Ref During Ventura Football Game reported by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star, September 11, 2016. This incident was captured on film - one can clearly see a Mt. SAC player punch the official. Bernard Schimer, the alleged puncher, received a 5 year suspension, but plans to appeal on the ground that the punch was accidental. See Football Player Suspended Five Years For Hitting Referee reported by Beth Farnsworth, KEYT - KCOY - KKFX TV, Ventura, CA., September 12, 2016.
-------------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Will NFL Anthem protests hit high schools? See High School Players Taking Knee For National Anthem Across Country, USA Today High School Sports Section. It's only a matter of time before a public school cracks down on a protester, leading to First Amendment litigation. The school will lose this litigation. We must always remember that public schools are government entities. A private school, on the other hand, is not a government entity and will have a much greater chance of cracking down on a protester. But a private school can still lose a lawsuit. The lawsuit wouldn't be a First Amendment suit. But, most private schools publish conduct codes and the litigation would focus on whether the code was written sufficiently well to capture an anthem protest. The best guidance on high school anthem protests will probably come from law on students who have objected to standing for or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge is simply recited far more often than the National Anthem is sung, and so has a more developed body of law. See The Vanderbilt First Amendment Center for some examples of articles on the Pledge and the law. For more on this issue, see At Public High Schools, No Fear Of Punishment reported by Erik Brady and Josh Barnett, USA Today, September 13, 2016 Section C, page one. But, USA today may not have spoken to schools in Florida. Florida may provide the test case for anthem crackdowns as the State is highly aggressive in quashing patriotic protests. See Florida Schools Are Forcing Students To Stand During the National Anthem reported by Andy Campbell, Huffington Post, September 16, 2016. San Francisco and Seattle are at the completely opposite end of the protest spectrum. Both cities have schools that have protested the anthem with nary a bit of controversy. See Garfield Football Team Takes Knee During National Anthem Prior to Game Friday Night reported by Jayda Evans, Seattle Times, September 16, 2016; and As Kaepernicks's Protest Spreads, SF Prep Team Takes a Knee reported by Hamed Aleaziz, San Francisco Chronicle, September 16, 2016, page A-1 (headline is Protest Movement Rises As Athletes Take A Knee in the print edition).
-------------------------------
September 6, 2016 - Utah - Legislature Threatens To Override Utah High School Activities Association's Transfer Rules. See Proposed Rules Changes Could Drastically Alter Utah High School Sports reported by Amy Donaldson, Deseret News. Utah joins Florida, Louisiana and a number of other States that have seen their legislatures threaten to loosen transfer rules. The modern student and parent don't like to hear no. These families are finding a friendly voice in State Legislatures as athletic administrators struggle to maintain their eligibility rules. In decades past, legislatures viewed athletic administrators as preventing aggressive schools from taking advantage of athletes, now more and more legislatures view athletic administrators as stopping students from exercising their free choice of schools.
-----------------------------------
August 31, 2016 - Framingham Football Coach Returns Following Players' Blisters, reported by Paul Burton, CBS Boston - TV.
---------------------------------
August 27, 2016 - Ft. Pierce, FL - Ft. Pierce Football Fight Evacuates Entire Stadium, reported by Victoria Price, WTSP - CBS 12.
---------------------------
August 26, 2016 - Mentor, Ohio - Lake Catholic Forfeits First Football Game of Season After Hazing Allegations, reported by Darcie Loreno, Fox News Channel 8, Cleveland, Ohio.
----------------------------
August 23, 2016 - Oakland City, IN - Indiana Football Team Forfeits First Two Games Amid Horrific Hazing Allegations, reported by Ben Rohrbach, USA Today High School Sports.
----------------------------------
August 22, 2016 - ImPact Testing Gains FDA Approval. See FDA Allows Marketing of First-Of-Kind Computerized Cognitive Tests To Help Assess Cognitive Skills After A Head Injury, FDA Press Release.
------------------------------------------------
August 20, 2016 - The Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), a free speech organization, appears to believe that Title IX enforcement imposes on students' First Amendment rights. FIRE devotes a lot of space to this issue on their website. Click here for details. See our Title IX page for Title IX coverage and links to other Title IX organizations - such as the excellent Title-IX Blogspot.
--------------------------------
August 16, 2016 - Interesting ref story or slow news day? See To Cope With Stress, Volleyball Refs In Rio Hold Hands, Do Yoga, reported by Will Connors, Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2016.
-----------------------------------------------
August 15, 2016 - Can we make wood bats safer? One man says "yes." See Taking Swing At Safer Bats by Jon Saraceno, USA Today, August 15, 2016, page C-1.
----------------------------------------
August 11, 2016 - U.S. News and World Report Looks At High School Football Concussions In This Report on Second Impact Syndrome. See Sudden Death: The Mysterious Brain Injury That's Killing Young Athletes, reported by Alan Neuhauser, U.S. News and World Report, August 11, 2016.
--------------------------------------
August 11, 2016 - Lexington, SC - South Carolina High School Football Player Dies At Practice, Associated Press report in Fox News, August 12, 2016. Lewis N. Simpkins was a 14 year old sophomore defensive tackle at River Bluff High School in Lexington.
-------------------------------------
August 4, 2016 - California - California HS Football Participation Dropped By More Than 3, 000 Players In 2015, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today. The big question is, of course, whether the drop off is solely attributable to the concussion crisis or whether there are other factors involved.
----------------------------
August 4, 2016 - Sex Abuse Scandal Hits USA Gymnastics. Click here for USA Today coverage: See A Blind Eye To Sex Abuse: How USA Gymnastics Protected Coaches Over Kids By Failing To Report Allegations Of Misconduct, reported by Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim Evans, USA Today, August 4, 2016. Click here for Indianapolis Star Coverage under the same title. For more, see the follow up article by the same reporters, Sexual Predators Left Off List Of Banned USA Coaches, August 7, 2016. See Also: USA Gymnastics Ignored Stories Of Coaches' Child Sex Abuse For Years While Athletes Suffered, reported by Christina Cauterucci, Slate.com, August 5, 2016.
-------------------------------------
LATEST COLLINS ARTICLES/INFORMATION
Collins named the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), Mel Narol Medallion Award Winner for 2016. The Mel Narol Medallion recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of NASO. You can click the link above for more information and a list of past winners.
Collins quoted on fencing. See Massialis Wins Silver To Help Showcase San Francisco As Fencing Hub, reported by Harold Abend, Prep2Prep.com, August 8, 2016
FROM THE ARCHIVES
May 11, 2016 - For a thorough airing of transgender issues in sports, Title IX's impact on female college coaches and how schools cook the books to impact how athletes are counted for Title IX purposes, listen to The Center For Investigative Reporting's Reveal Radio Show's: Women's Sports: A Mans' Game. You can also find this podcast on the Reveal website, and see A Man's Game: Inside The Inequality That Plagues Women's College Sports, reported by Annie Brown, Reveal.org, for an in depth report on Title IX's impact on female college coaches
---------------------------------------
Collins Interviewed on Adult Violence In Youth Sports, reported by Karen Quant, Medill School of Journalism Newsmakers March 14, 2014.
September 23, 2016 - Euclid, Ohio - Euclid high School Football Player Dies After Injury In Friday Night Game, reported by Ann Domeck, Fox News Channel 8, Cleveland, Ohio, September 25, 2016. This is the third high school football death this season. Click here for information on this death and the other two deaths.
---------------------------
September 23, 2016 - Arizona High School Boys Soccer Team Refuses To Play Team With Two Female Players, reported by Richard Obert, Arizona Republic, September 26, 2016. This is a clash between Title IX rights and a Christian school. The school with the two female players has no girls' soccer team; so the girls can play on the boys' team. If they didn't get to play on the boys' team, the girls could never play high school soccer. However, the team that refused to play against the girls is a Christian school that has historically refused to let its boys' teams play against teams that have a girl on the team. This type of conflict doesn't tend to occur at large schools, but at smaller schools that can't or don't field girls' teams, co-ed teams can occur more frequently and these types of conflicts can occur more often. These issues are the hallmark of The Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), a free speech organization, that appears to believe that Title IX enforcement imposes on students' First Amendment rights. FIRE devotes a lot of space to this issue on their website. Click here for details. But, FIRE is only one side of a complex set of issues. You can see this site's Title IX page for Title IX coverage and links to other Title IX organizations - such as the excellent Title-IX Blogspot.
------------------------------
September 22, 2016 - Little Rock, AR - Ejected Player Doesn't Like Suspension, Sues Arkansas Activities Association. Arkansas has a rule under which ejected players get suspended. A lot of States have such a rule. I'm sure that a lot of students don't like being suspended, but Pulaski High School's Allen Amuimuia has fought back, going to Court to fight his suspension. Will he win? Probably not. Courts don't tend to second guess officials' rulings on matters stemming from game calls such as whether a player merited an ejection. Allen will get an injunction, but ultimately he will likely lose this case. See Pulaski Academy Center Loses AAA Appeal of Suspension, reported by Jeremy Muck, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 22, 2016.
----------------------------------------------------
September 19, 2016 - Birmingham, AL - Trump Banner At Football Game: Racially Charged Statement, Inappropriate Intrusion of Politics At H.S. Football Game or Mere Student Hijinks? See Alabama High School Apologizes After Using Donald Trump's Campaign Slogan on Pre-Game Banner reported by Josh Bean, Alabama.com, September 19, 2016.
--------------------------------------
September 13, 2016 - Ex-Olympic Team Doc Accused of Sex Abuse, reported by Mark Alesia, Marisa Kwiatkowski, and Tim Evans, USA Today, September 13, 2016, page 1A. The USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal grows as former team doctor Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics are sued.
--------------------------
September 13, 2016 - Concussion Legacy Foundation's National Concussion Education Day: Team Up Day!
-------------------
September 13, 2016 - Click here for preview of ESPN's Hazing: The Hidden Horror, Airing on September 13 on ESPN's Outside the Lines.
---------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Riverside, CA. Double Forfeits Declared In Fight Marred Football Game. See 2 Local High School Football Teams Must Forfeit Games After Brawl On The Field , reported by Rachel Kim, CBS-TV, Los Angeles, CA, September 13, 2016.
-------------------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Ventura, CA - Player Arrested In Assault On Ref During Ventura Football Game reported by Joe Curley, Ventura County Star, September 11, 2016. This incident was captured on film - one can clearly see a Mt. SAC player punch the official. Bernard Schimer, the alleged puncher, received a 5 year suspension, but plans to appeal on the ground that the punch was accidental. See Football Player Suspended Five Years For Hitting Referee reported by Beth Farnsworth, KEYT - KCOY - KKFX TV, Ventura, CA., September 12, 2016.
-------------------------------
September 10, 2016 - Will NFL Anthem protests hit high schools? See High School Players Taking Knee For National Anthem Across Country, USA Today High School Sports Section. It's only a matter of time before a public school cracks down on a protester, leading to First Amendment litigation. The school will lose this litigation. We must always remember that public schools are government entities. A private school, on the other hand, is not a government entity and will have a much greater chance of cracking down on a protester. But a private school can still lose a lawsuit. The lawsuit wouldn't be a First Amendment suit. But, most private schools publish conduct codes and the litigation would focus on whether the code was written sufficiently well to capture an anthem protest. The best guidance on high school anthem protests will probably come from law on students who have objected to standing for or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The Pledge is simply recited far more often than the National Anthem is sung, and so has a more developed body of law. See The Vanderbilt First Amendment Center for some examples of articles on the Pledge and the law. For more on this issue, see At Public High Schools, No Fear Of Punishment reported by Erik Brady and Josh Barnett, USA Today, September 13, 2016 Section C, page one. But, USA today may not have spoken to schools in Florida. Florida may provide the test case for anthem crackdowns as the State is highly aggressive in quashing patriotic protests. See Florida Schools Are Forcing Students To Stand During the National Anthem reported by Andy Campbell, Huffington Post, September 16, 2016. San Francisco and Seattle are at the completely opposite end of the protest spectrum. Both cities have schools that have protested the anthem with nary a bit of controversy. See Garfield Football Team Takes Knee During National Anthem Prior to Game Friday Night reported by Jayda Evans, Seattle Times, September 16, 2016; and As Kaepernicks's Protest Spreads, SF Prep Team Takes a Knee reported by Hamed Aleaziz, San Francisco Chronicle, September 16, 2016, page A-1 (headline is Protest Movement Rises As Athletes Take A Knee in the print edition).
-------------------------------
September 6, 2016 - Utah - Legislature Threatens To Override Utah High School Activities Association's Transfer Rules. See Proposed Rules Changes Could Drastically Alter Utah High School Sports reported by Amy Donaldson, Deseret News. Utah joins Florida, Louisiana and a number of other States that have seen their legislatures threaten to loosen transfer rules. The modern student and parent don't like to hear no. These families are finding a friendly voice in State Legislatures as athletic administrators struggle to maintain their eligibility rules. In decades past, legislatures viewed athletic administrators as preventing aggressive schools from taking advantage of athletes, now more and more legislatures view athletic administrators as stopping students from exercising their free choice of schools.
-----------------------------------
August 31, 2016 - Framingham Football Coach Returns Following Players' Blisters, reported by Paul Burton, CBS Boston - TV.
---------------------------------
August 27, 2016 - Ft. Pierce, FL - Ft. Pierce Football Fight Evacuates Entire Stadium, reported by Victoria Price, WTSP - CBS 12.
---------------------------
August 26, 2016 - Mentor, Ohio - Lake Catholic Forfeits First Football Game of Season After Hazing Allegations, reported by Darcie Loreno, Fox News Channel 8, Cleveland, Ohio.
----------------------------
August 23, 2016 - Oakland City, IN - Indiana Football Team Forfeits First Two Games Amid Horrific Hazing Allegations, reported by Ben Rohrbach, USA Today High School Sports.
----------------------------------
August 22, 2016 - ImPact Testing Gains FDA Approval. See FDA Allows Marketing of First-Of-Kind Computerized Cognitive Tests To Help Assess Cognitive Skills After A Head Injury, FDA Press Release.
------------------------------------------------
August 20, 2016 - The Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), a free speech organization, appears to believe that Title IX enforcement imposes on students' First Amendment rights. FIRE devotes a lot of space to this issue on their website. Click here for details. See our Title IX page for Title IX coverage and links to other Title IX organizations - such as the excellent Title-IX Blogspot.
--------------------------------
August 16, 2016 - Interesting ref story or slow news day? See To Cope With Stress, Volleyball Refs In Rio Hold Hands, Do Yoga, reported by Will Connors, Wall Street Journal, August 16, 2016.
-----------------------------------------------
August 15, 2016 - Can we make wood bats safer? One man says "yes." See Taking Swing At Safer Bats by Jon Saraceno, USA Today, August 15, 2016, page C-1.
----------------------------------------
August 11, 2016 - U.S. News and World Report Looks At High School Football Concussions In This Report on Second Impact Syndrome. See Sudden Death: The Mysterious Brain Injury That's Killing Young Athletes, reported by Alan Neuhauser, U.S. News and World Report, August 11, 2016.
--------------------------------------
August 11, 2016 - Lexington, SC - South Carolina High School Football Player Dies At Practice, Associated Press report in Fox News, August 12, 2016. Lewis N. Simpkins was a 14 year old sophomore defensive tackle at River Bluff High School in Lexington.
-------------------------------------
August 4, 2016 - California - California HS Football Participation Dropped By More Than 3, 000 Players In 2015, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today. The big question is, of course, whether the drop off is solely attributable to the concussion crisis or whether there are other factors involved.
----------------------------
August 4, 2016 - Sex Abuse Scandal Hits USA Gymnastics. Click here for USA Today coverage: See A Blind Eye To Sex Abuse: How USA Gymnastics Protected Coaches Over Kids By Failing To Report Allegations Of Misconduct, reported by Marisa Kwiatkowski, Mark Alesia and Tim Evans, USA Today, August 4, 2016. Click here for Indianapolis Star Coverage under the same title. For more, see the follow up article by the same reporters, Sexual Predators Left Off List Of Banned USA Coaches, August 7, 2016. See Also: USA Gymnastics Ignored Stories Of Coaches' Child Sex Abuse For Years While Athletes Suffered, reported by Christina Cauterucci, Slate.com, August 5, 2016.
-------------------------------------
LATEST COLLINS ARTICLES/INFORMATION
Collins named the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), Mel Narol Medallion Award Winner for 2016. The Mel Narol Medallion recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the betterment of NASO. You can click the link above for more information and a list of past winners.
Collins quoted on fencing. See Massialis Wins Silver To Help Showcase San Francisco As Fencing Hub, reported by Harold Abend, Prep2Prep.com, August 8, 2016
FROM THE ARCHIVES
May 11, 2016 - For a thorough airing of transgender issues in sports, Title IX's impact on female college coaches and how schools cook the books to impact how athletes are counted for Title IX purposes, listen to The Center For Investigative Reporting's Reveal Radio Show's: Women's Sports: A Mans' Game. You can also find this podcast on the Reveal website, and see A Man's Game: Inside The Inequality That Plagues Women's College Sports, reported by Annie Brown, Reveal.org, for an in depth report on Title IX's impact on female college coaches
---------------------------------------
Collins Interviewed on Adult Violence In Youth Sports, reported by Karen Quant, Medill School of Journalism Newsmakers March 14, 2014.
