SEPTEMBER, 2024
September 30, 2024 - Portland, OR - David Douglas HS Students Subjected To Racism At Football Games, Volunteer Coach Says, reported by Karli Olson, Fox 12 TV, Portland.
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September 27, 2024 - Indianapolis, IN - NCAA's Charlie Baker Urges Congress To Act Amid NIL Dysfunction, AP Wire Story on ESPN.com.
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September 27, 2024 - San Francisco, CA - California Ranks Last In High School Sports Safety. Would Athletic Trainer Bill Help? Reported by Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle.
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September 26, 2024 - Heat Is Killing Student Athletes Far Too Often. Experts Say We Can Reverse The Trend. Reported by N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today.
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September 25, 2024 - Las Vegas, NV - UNLV QB Quits Team: Alleges Unfulfilled NIL Promises. Is regulation needed? See QB Matthew Sluka Leaving UNLV: What We Know and What's Next, reported by Max Olson, ESPN.com.
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September 24, 2024 - Pinole, CA - Pinole Golf Coach Charged With Possession of Child Pornography, reported by Tony Hicks, NBC-Bay Area-TV.
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September 15, 2024 - New Brunswick, NJ - Rutgers Opens External Investigation Into Gymnastics Head Coach, reported by Surabhi Ashok, The Daily Targum (the Rutgers University student newspaper).
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September 13, 2024 - Charleston, SC - Burke High School vs. Hemingway Football Game Suspended After Fight Breaks Out, reported by Ian Kayanja, ABC - TV4 Charleston.
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September 13, 2024 - Oakland, CA - Oakland High School Football Game Abruptly Canceled After Physical Altercations, reported by Maggie Angst, San Francisco Chronicle.
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September 12, 2024 - Savannah, GA - Savannah High Football Fight Leads To Players Removed From Team, Stricter Rules For Fans, reported by AJ Sisson, WJCL-TV 22.
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September 12, 2024 - St. Helen's, OR - St. Helen's Cheer Coach Arrested, Faces Charges of Sexually Abusing Students, reported by Tatum Todd, The Oregonian.
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September 10, 2024 - Jensen Beach, FL - Fight on Martin County Football Field Leaves One Player Stabbed in The Stomach, reported by Viviana Lopez, ABC TV25 News, West Palm Beach, FL.
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September 8, 2024 - Machesney Park, IL - Players Run Off The Field During 'Scary' Incident At Illinois High School Football Game, reported by Matt Trowbridge, Peoria Journal Star.
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AUGUST, 2024
August 30, 2024 - Norristown, PA - 5 Taken Into Custody After Fights At Norristown-Upper Merion High School Football Game, reported by 6ABC.com TV, Philadelphia, PA.
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August 30, 2024 - San Rafael, CA - San Rafael School Probes Fight At Football Game, reported by Keri Brenner, Marin Independent Journal, September 4, 2024.
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August 30, 2024 - Casa Grande, AZ - Huge Fight Leads Police To Clear The Stands At Arizona High School Football Game. See Brawl Breaks Out at Casa Grande High School Football Game: "We Will Learn From This", reported by Lauren Clark, Fox TV 10, Phoenix, AZ.
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August 29, 2024 - Sunnyvale, CA - Sunnyvale Postpones Decision on Artificial Turf Ban, reported by Stephanie Lam, East Bay Times.
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August 29, 2024 - Kathleen, GA - School District Pays The Legal Price After Cheer Coach Calls Her Students the "N" Word. See Houston County Schools Settles Civil Rights Suit After 2020 Harassment Complaint, reported by Naomi Washington, WMAZ - Macon, Ga.
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August 24, 2024 - Fresno, CA - California High School Football Game Called Early After Fight, reported by Andy Buhler, SI.com.
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August 23, 2024 - Selma, AL - Alabama High School Football Player Dies After Being Injured During Game, reported by Ben Thomas, Al.com, August 24, 2024
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August 21, 2024 - Bakersfield, CA - Guardian Caps Coming to High School. But will they work? We may have to get through a season or two to know. See A Positive Step Forward: High Schools Adopt Helmets Seen in NFL, reported by Leslie Valle, Bakersfield Now.
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August 18, 2024 - Will we see Guardian Caps in NFL games this year? More importantly, will they help reduce concussions? See Why Some NFL Players Are Wearing Guardian Caps in Preseason Games, reported by Mark Maske, Washington Post.
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August 16, 2024 - San Francisco, CA - CTE Wave Is Coming In Women's Sports: Experts Cite Dire Need For More Research, reported by Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle.
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August 14, 2024 - Renton, WA - High School officials pilot body cams to stop attacks on officials. See Smile For The Cameras: Game Officials Test Body Cams To Reduce Abuses, reported by Michael Fletcher, ESPN.com.
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August 9, 2024 - Hoover, AL - Hoover Football Coach Drew Gilmer Placed on Administrative League, reported by Dennis Victory and Ben Thomas, Al.com. Note: Gilmer ultimately resigned. The video in the Al.com story makes it pretty clear why Gilmer resigned.
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August 11, 2024 - Boardman, OH - Coach Faces Assault Charge After Allegedly Punching Umpire At Baseball Game In Boardman, reported by WFMJ TV, Youngstown, Ohio, August 13, 2024.
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August 7, 2024 - Oregon - OSAA Cracks Down on Sportsmanship Concerns With Stiffer Ejection Policies, reported by Nik Streng, The Oregonian.
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August 3, 2024 - Los Angeles, UCLA Baseball Assistant David Berg Left After Facing Sanctions For Slapping A Player, reported by Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times.
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August 1, 2024 - Mike Keenan's Sports Blog Sums It Up, and youth sports is just too darned expensive. See The Average Cost of Youth Sports: A Full Breakdown For 2024, jerseywatch.com.
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JULY, 2024
July 30, 2024, Atlanta, GA - Collins Presents at NASO Summit
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July 21, 2024 - Augusta, GA - Sports In Extreme Heat: How High School Athletes Can Safely Prepare For The Start of Practice, And The Warning Signs of Heat Illness, reported by Samantha Scarneo-Miller, WJBF - TV6.
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July 21, 2024 - Alameda, CA - Teen Hurt During Youth Basketball Game When Player Stomps on His Head, reported by Stephanie Ellison, NBC News, July 25, 2024. NBC has video of the incident, but they sanitized it a bit. This was an attack on a prone player, and should be reported as such. The New York Post looks for tabloid headlines sometimes, and they're very good at conveying the true emotion of incidents such as this one. See California Basketball Player, 13, Stomps On Opponent's Head In Game In Disturbing Attack: 'Size of His Shoe On His Face.', reported by Richard Pollina, July 24, 2024.
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July 18, 2024 - Arizona - How Do Arizona Football Players Practice Safely In The Heat?, reported by Kristian Dyer, yahoo sports.
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July 15, 2024 - Wilson, NC - Cherryville Little League Coach Suspended After Fight With Umpire At State Tournament, reported by Daniel Pierce, WNCT - TV9 (Greenville, NC).
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July 11, 2024 - U.S. Appeals Court Ruling Leaves Open Possibility of College Athletes Being Considered Employees, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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July 7, 2024 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Fight Breaks Out at Cedar Rapids Youth Football Tournament, reported by Brian Tabick, KCRG - TV 2, Cedar Rapids, July 9, 2024.
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July 5, 2024 - Irmo, SC - 11-Year-Old Hopes To Be A Trailblazer For Black Umpires In Baseball: 'Just Be a Leader.", reported by Deric Rush and Emily Van de Riet, WSAZ TV 3, Huntington, W Va.
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JUNE, 2024
June 27, 2024 - Northwestern Hazing Scandal - One Year Update. See Northwestern Releases Report on Athletics Accountability and Culture, Implementation Plans, Northwestern Now.
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June 27, 2024 - American Canyon, CA - HS Principal Fails To Report Alleged Sex Abuse By Former Track Coach. See American Canyon Principal Accused Of Failing To Report Suspected Child Abuse Won't Be Returning Next Year, District Says, reported by Erika Zaro, Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
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June 25, 2024 - Beaverton, OR - Football Coach In Beaverton School District Resigns After Allegedly Shaking, Slapping Players At Camp, reported by Ashley Grams, KGW 8 - TV, Portland, OR.
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June 17, 2024 - Lake Oswego Coach Says District Ousted Him After Pushed Change In Transgender Law, reported by Barry Manigold, KATU TV 2, Portland, OR. This story gives us a First Amendment issue as a public school district allegedly terminated a coach for expressing his opinion to elected officials. It also gives us another transgender participation policy story as the coach was arguing for an open division for transgender athletes. Of course, the school district will contend that the termination had nothing to do with a policy disagreement, but was simply the district reinforcing the policy neutral rule that only the district's lobbyist can present to the legislature. I have a feeling that the coach will win on the First Amendment if he sues, but will have little ability to change state transgender policy. We shall see.
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June 16, 2024 - Milton, GA - Veteran Umpire Assaulted By Coach During Youth Championship Baseball Game, reported by Tyler Fingert, Fox Sports TV 5 Atlanta, June 20, 2024.
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June 12, 2024 - Poor Sportsmanship is a problem in America - but in Europe it sometimes turns deadly. See Germany Braced For Euro 2024 Trouble After Spate of Soccer Related Violence, AP report on thescore.com
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June 10, 2024 - Abbott Lab's Concussion Blood Test. A possible game changer. See Concussion Assessment: Here's How The Process Works, Abbott Labs Press Release.
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June 3, 2024 - The Positive Coaching Alliance's Oakland Sports Equity Coalition Shows How An Entire Community Can Help Expose A Great Number of Marginalized Youth To Sports. See the PCA's Case Study: Oakland Sports Equity Coalition. Click here for the Oakland Sports Equity Agenda.
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MAY, 2024
May 29, 2024 - Upland, CA - Upland High School Faces Hazing Allegations Involving Varsity Baseball Team, Fox 11 TV, Los Angeles.
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May 23, 2024 - Assaults On Officials Raise Doubts About The Future of Youth Sports, reported by Maya A. Jones and Sara Coello, ESPN.Com.
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May 22, 2024 - Proposed Settlement in NCAA's NIL Antitrust case may make it hard for smaller schools to function. See With $2.8B Settlement Looming, NCAA's Smaller Conferences Feeling Squeezed: What Other Options Are There?, reported by Ross Dellinger, Yahoo Sports.
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May 19, 2024 - Eugene, OR - Transgender High School Runner In Oregon Hears Boos From Crowd After Winning Girls 200-Meter State Title, reported by Ryan Morik, Fox News. And I note that however one feels about transgender girls winning girls races, there is something unsettling about a stadium booing a high school kid. The boos do work, though. There are a number of instances where negative crowd reactions have caused transgender high school athletes to simply not show up for some events. Sometimes unseemly crowd behavior is highly effective, but not always. After all, it didn't stop the Oregon runner in this instance.
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May 19, 2024 - NFL Creates Rare Friday Night Conflict With High School Sports. See Packed Friday Night: Northern Wisconsin HS Football Games Clash With Green Bay's NFL Opener, reported by Rick Suter, USA Today High School Sports.
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May 15, 2024 - Virginia Beach, VA - Racism, Hate Speech, Harassment Evident On Kempsville Baseball Team, VBCPS Says, reported by Brendan Ponton, Conor Hollingsworth, WTKR - TV, Hampton Roads, VA.
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May 7, 2024 - Miamisburg, OH - Police Called To Fight Between Parents, Umpires Following Miamisburg Softball Game, reported by Kristen Spicker, Dayton Daily News.
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May 6, 20224 - Memphis, TN - Middle School Track Meet At Collierville High Marred By Racial Threats From Lacrosse Spectators, reported by Mark Giannotto, Memphis Commercial Appeal.
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May 3, 2024 - Lansing, MI - Holt Boys Basketball Coach Facing Multiple Felony Charges, Including Child Sexually Abusive Activity, WILX TV 10, Lansing.
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APRIL, 2024
April 19, 2024 - Harrison County, West Virginia - Middle School Athletes Step Out Of Shot Put Against Transgender Girl Who Just Won Court Case, reported by Brad McIlhenny, West Virginia Metro News.
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April 16, 2024 - Fourth Circuit Rejects West Virginia Law Barring Transgender Girls From Student Athletics, ACLU Press Release.
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April 15, 2024 - North Dakota - Racist taunts against Native Americans plaque North Dakota High School sports. See ND Lawmaker: Racist Taunts Need to Stop, reported by Mike Moen, Minot Daily News.
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April 8, 2024 - Kansas City, MO - NAIA Bans All Transgender Athletes From Women's Sports, reported by Julie Kliegman and Jesse Dougherty, Washington Post.
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MARCH, 2024
March 28, 2024 - Bismarck, ND - Racial Taunting Incidents Persist at North Dakota Sporting Events, reported by Blake Nicholson, Bismarck Tribune (reprinted in the Jamestown Sun).
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March 27, 2024 - Shelton, WA - Shelton High School Football Coach Resigns After Unsanctioned Drill Injures Several, reported by Farah Jadran and Alex Didion, NBC TV5 (Seattle)
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March 27, 2024 - Sydney, Australia - Australian Soccer Team With 5 Transgender Players Goes Undefeated In Women's Tournament: 'Huge Difference In Ability', reported by Patrick Reilly, New York Post.
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March 24, 2024 - Watertown, MA - Referee Dies After Collapsing On Court At Middle School Basketball Game, reported by Christine McCarthy, KKTV - TV11 (Colorado Springs, CO).
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March 7, 2024 - Jacksonville, FL - Online Referee School Grows/Gains Publicity and Support. See Blowing The Whistle on Referee Shortage: How This Program Aims To Help Nationwide Issue, reported by Keith Dunlap, News4Jax.
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March 6, 2024 - Hartford, CT - CT Umpires Face Threats and Assaults. They're Looking For A New Law To Help, reported by Don Stacom, Hartford Courant.
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March 4, 2024 - Berks, PA - Player Charged With Hitting Referee Over Foul Call In a Soccer Game in Berks, reported by Steven Henshaw, The Redding Eagle (Redding, PA).
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March 2, 2024 - North Kansas City, MO - Shooting Disrupts Basketball Game At North Kansas City High School, KQ2.com-TV2 (St. Joseph, MO). See also, At Least 2 People Injured in Shooting Outside Missouri High School As Basketball Game Ends, Police Say, WPSD-TV6 (Paducah, KY), March 3, 2024.
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FEBRUARY, 2024
February 28, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - High School Soccer Teams Eliminated From CIF Play After Brawl At End of LA City Final, reported by Joy Benedict, KCAL-TV (Los Angeles).
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February 28, 2024 - Tampa, FL - FHSAA Proposal Would Allow High School Athletes To Sign NIL Deals, Make Money While Playing High School Sports, reported by Ariel Plascencia, Fox-13 TV (Tampa).
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February 26, 2024 - Atlanta, GA - Cam Newton, former NFL QB, involved in fight at youth 7 on 7 tournament. See Cam Newton Atlanta Fight: Atlanta PD Releases New Details After Video Goes Viral, reported by Fox 5 TV (Atlanta), February 29, 2024.
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February 21, 2024 - Lowell, MA - Safety Concerns Spark Gender Controversy Following Game Involving Lowell School, reported by Teddy Panos, InsideLowell.com.
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February 20, 2024 - Sacramento, CA - Sacramento Kings Announcer Matt Barnes Is Fired For Misconduct Towards an Official and a Student Announcer at a High School Basketball Game. See NBC Sports California Parts Ways With Sacramento Kings Announcer Matt Barnes, reported by Richard Ramos, CBS-13 TV Sacramento. See also, Watch: Former NBA Player Matt Barnes Gets Into It With A High School Student At His Son's Basketball Game, reported by Ahmad Austin, Jr., Mediaite.com February 6, 2024.
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February 17. 2024 - Tucson, AZ - Arizona Girl Wins In Boys' Division of State Wrestling Championship. See Sunnyside Wrestler Audrey Jimenez's Historic Win Highlights High School Championships, reported by Richard Obert, Arizona Republic.
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February 16, 2024 - Chicago, IL - Girls Flag Football I Officially A High School Sport In Illinois: 'This Is Just The Beginning Of Greatness.', reported by Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, reprinted on msn.com.
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February 12, 2024 - Huntington, W.VA - YMCA Ref Physically Assaulted During Huntington Youth Hoops Tournament, Officials Say, reported by WCHS-TV.
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February 13, 2024 - Spokane, WA - Bill Protecting Referees In Washington Passes House, Moves Onto Senate, reported by Vincent Saglimbeni, KXLY.com.
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February 10, 2024 - Scarsdale, NY - NY High School Girls Basketball Team 'Forfeited' After Players Reportedly Called 'Black N-Words' By Crowd During Game, reported by Steve Janoski, New York Post, February 13, 2024.
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February 6, 2024 - Richmond, VA - Bill Requiring Students To Play on Sports Teams Consistent With Their Sex Assigned at Birth Fails In House Subcommittee, reported by Tyler Englander, WRIC TV (Richmond, VA).
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February 5, 2024 - Hanover, NH - NLRB Official Rules Dartmouth Men's Basketball Team Are Employees, Orders Union Vote, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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February 4, 2024 - Charlotte, NC - NC Private School Leaders Approve Policy Allowing Athletes To Profit Off NIL, WBTV (Charlotte).
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February 2, 2024 - Oakland, CA - Not every program is run well or ethically. USA Today's articles on Lincoln University show sports at its worst. Even worse, the person in charge of the Lincoln University program had similar issues during a tenure as a high school athletic director and football coach. See: A College Football Start-up or The College Bishop Sycamore?, reported by Josh Peters and Tom Schad, USA Today; and Desmond Gumbs Juggles Boxing Deals, Suge Knight Project While Coaching Lincoln Football, reported by Josh Peters and Tom Schad, USA Today.
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JANUARY, 2024
January 30, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA - Why Youth Sports Drive Parents Crazy and 10 More Lessons From A Mom Who's Been Through It, reported by Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times.
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January 27, 2024 - Phillipsburg, NJ - Parents Brawl At Youth Wrestling Meet While Kids Compete In Wild Video, reported by Richard Pollina, New York Post, February 2, 2024.
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January 26, 2024 - Canby, OR - Oregon High School Coach Resigns In Protest of 'Boys Playing Girls' Sports': Wrong, reported by Ray Lewis, NBC TV, Montana.
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January 24, 2024 - Manchester, NH - Sports Officials Testify In Favor of Bill That Would Ban People Who Harass Them, reported by Jamie Staton, WMUR-TV9
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January 18, 2024 - La Jolla, CA - Parents Sue San Diego Unified Over Blackface Allegations Involving La Jolla Middle Schooler, reported by Jackie Crea, NBC 7 (San Diego). And, no, not everybody who wears black face paint is engaging in black face. The 13-year old white child who put black grease on his face in the stands at a football game: (a) did not look like Al Jolson or a parody of either Jolson or some cartoonish black person; and (b) likely did not wear the black grease on his face for reasons that had anything to do with race as his grease application doesn't look like the type of blackface applications that triggered historic concerns; and (c) has a viable explanation that he's imitating - albeit overimitating - football and baseball players who apply eyeblack (and fortunately don't apply enough of it to trigger blackface concerns.
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January 17, 2024 - California Gov. Newsom Says He Won't Sign A Proposed Ban On Tackle Football For Kids Under 12, reported by Adam Beam, AP Wire Service.
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January 10, 2024 - Minneapolis, MN - A huge brawl breaks out after a Minneapolis middle school game one night after a fight at a high school game. See Large Fights Reported At Minneapolis School Basketball Games Two Nights In a Row, reported by BringMeTheNews (Minnesota), January 11, 2024.
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January 9, 2024 - Parsippany, NJ - RHONJ Star Joe Gorga Ejected From North Jersey Wrestling Match After Confronting Wrestling Referee, reported by Lucas Frau, Northjersey.com.
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January 9, 2024 - Santa Fe, New Mexico - Lawmaker Files Bill Aimed At Preventing Hazing At Higher Education Institutions In New Mexico, reported by Fallon Fischer, KRQE-TV (Albuquerque).
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January 9, 2024 - Minneapolis, MN - Police: Girls Basketball Game At Minneapolis North HS Suspended After Opposing Players Fight, reported by Paul Walsh, Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 10, 2024..
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January 8, 2024 - California - Parents, Coaches Battling Proposed CA Law That Would Ban Tackle Football For Kids, reported by David Gonzalez, ABC TV7 (Los Angeles).
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January 5, 2024 - Santa Ana, CA - Low Moment in Sportsmanship in Southern California. J. Serra Coach Keith Wilkinson Runs Onto Court and Throws His Shoes Down In Fit of Anger at Prep Basketball Game. See Mater Dei Boys' Basketball Defeats J. Serra In Physical Game Marred By Coach's Ejection, reported by Dan Albano, Orange County Register.
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January 4, 2024 - Yonkers, NY - Antisemitism Hits NY High School Basketball Game. See NY Girls' HS Basketball Game Canceled After Antisemitic Slurs Hurled At Players, reported by Deirdre Bardolf, New York Post, January 6, 2024. The Coach Was Swiftly Fired. See Yonkers High School Boots Girls' Basketball Coach, Player After Antisemitic Slurs During Game, reported by Steve Janoski, New York Post, January 7, 2024.
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January 3, 2024 - Colorado - We hear a lot about abusive coaches, but what if it's an allegedly abusive teammate in a he said/she said case about slapping a teammate on the butt? Well, after two years of investigations, there's still no resolution of this case. Is this safety, protection or just a slow ride through the bureaucracy? See Teen's Promising Swimming Career In Limbo After He Is Accused of Slapping Teammate on the Backside, reported by Eddie Pells (Associated Press) Colorado Public Radio.
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DECEMBER, 2023
December 29, 2023 - Berkeley, CA - SafeSport suspends former Cal Swim Coach. See Fired Cal Swim Coach Teri McKeever Admits To Emotional Misconduct, reported by Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2023.
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December 29, 2023 - Columbus, OH - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Vetos Bill That Would Ban Transgender Health Care for Minors, Athletes In Women's Sports, reported by Laura Hancock, and Jeremy Pelzer, Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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December 19, 2023 - Beloit, WI - High-School Basketball Game Postponed After Referee Confrontation, Alleged Racism From Attendees, reported by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, December 21, 2023.
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December 18, 2023 - Washington, DC - See The Washington Post's Special Report: The Divided States of Football. See: The Changing Face of America's Favorite Sport, reported by Dave Sheinin and Emily Giambalvo; A Violent Clash of Football Haves and Have Nots, reported by Albert Samaha; In Football's Epicenter, A Shifting Landscape, reported by Dave Sheinin; In A Midwest Football Hotbed, An Economic Divide, by Dave Sheinin; and Where Tackle Football Still Reigns, reported by Dave Sheinin.
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December 17, 2023 - Los Angeles - "A Losing Hand:" Legal Experts Examine USC's Push Against Players Being Classified As Employees, reported by Luca Evans, Orange County Register.
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December 13, 2023 - Riverbank, CA - Former Riverbank Basketball Coach Facing Sexual Allegations Involving Minor, ABC-10 TV (Sacramento)
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December 12, 2023 - Lakewood, CO - Fight At Lakewood Youth Basketball Game Caught On Camera, reported by Samantha Jarpe, KDVR Fox-31 TV (Denver).
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December 11, 2023 - Willis, TX - High Schooler Benched In Basketball Game Attacks Coach In Parking Lot, Texas Cops Say, reported by Mike Stunson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
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December 2, 2023 - Oxnard, CA - Former Oxnard High School Track Coach Sentenced To Prison For Sex Crimes With Student, KCAL-TV (Los Angeles).
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December 1, 2023 - Eugene, OR - Oregon Title IX Lawsuit Puts NIL Collectives in Crosshairs, reported by Daniel Libit, Sportico.
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December 1, 2023 - Fentress County, TN - Fight Breaks Out At High School Football Semifinals In Fentress County on Friday, Leading To Players Being Ejected, reported by Chrissa Loukas, WBIR.com TV10.
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December 1, 2023 - Tempe, AZ - The most unsportsmanlike game of the year: Arizona State football championship game features 19 ejections. The local paper's buries the true lede and focuses on the failed two-point try at the end of the game. See Controversial Failed 2-Point Try Lifts Higley Over Desert Edge In 5A Title Game, reported by Zach Alvira, East Valley Tribune (Tempe), December 2, 2023. How'd the story look to anybody outside of Arizona? The USA Today High School Sports site's headline is, Arizona State Championship Features 19 Ejections, Near 30-Point-Comeback, and Controversial Call, reported by Logan Newman, USA Today High School Sports, December 2, 2023.
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NOVEMBER, 2023
November 29, 2023 - Chicago - After Hinsdale South High School cut an All-Conference basketball player who reported abusive coaching, the player's mom sued and won. See Hinsdale South Allows Star Basketball Player Back on Team After Family Sues Alleging Retaliation, reported by Patrick Fazio, NBC-TV 5.
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November 29, 2023 - White River Junction, VT - See Vermont School Banned From Activities Over Refusal To Play Team With Transgender Athlete Suing State Educational Authorities, reported by Skylar Harris and Jilian Sykes, CNN.
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November 28, 2023 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Monarch High School Principal, 2 Others Reassigned Amid Probe Involving Transgender Student Athlete, reported by Alfred Charles, Jacqueline Quynh, and Anna McAllister, CBS News, Miami.
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November 23, 2023 - Los Angeles - They Claimed Their High School Coach Sexually Abused Them, Now He's In Custody, reported by Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times.
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November 22, 2023 - St. George, UT - Utah Tech Women's Basketball Coach Receives Suspension After Investigation Into Misconduct Allegations, reported by Eric Walden, Salt Lake Tribune.
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November 19, 2023 - Concord, CA - Police: DA To Decide If Parent Who Went After Bay Area Youth Basketball Player Will Be Charged, reported by J.R. Stone, ABC-7 News (San Francisco), November 21, 2023.
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November 18, 2023 - Stewiacke, Nova Scotia - Coach in Nova Scotia Accused of Assaulting Referee During Minor League Hockey Game, reported by The Sports Network, CA. This alleged attack is even more unseemly when one realizes that this Canadian "minor" league game involved ten-year olds - in the States, we'd call it a youth league.
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Ohio - November 16, 2023 - OHSAA Relaunches Respect The Game Program To Address Bad Fan Behavior, NFHS.org.
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November 16, 2023 - New York, NY - NYC Flag Football Coach Paid At Least Four Kids As Much as $1.6K for Nude Pics: DA, reported by Priscilla DeGregory and Kyle Schnitzer, New York Post.
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November 14, 2023 - Reidsville, GA - Tattnal County High School Football Coach Holds Baptism For Players, Fired From Coaching, reported by Kaley Fedko, WSAV TV (Savannah, GA).
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November 12, 2023 - Salt Lake City, Utah - Utah Gymnastics Coach Tom Farden Placed On Administrative Leave, reported by Trent Wood, Salt Lake City Deseret News. Coach Farden is accused of verbal and emotional abuse.
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November 10, 2023 - Virginia - Virginia High School Football Team Routs Opponent 104-0 In State Playoffs, reported by Paulina Dedaj, Fox News.
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November 6, 2023 - California - NIL Lawsuit Granted Class Action Certification. $1.3 Billion at Stake in In re College Athlete NIL Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 4:20-cv-03919-CW. See US Judge Says NCAA Athletes Can Pursue Class Actions Seeking Over $1.3 bln, reported by Mike Scarcella, Reuters.
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November 6, 2023 - Tampa, FL - Video: Jesuit High School Assistant Football Coach Fired After Being Caught On Camera Punching Player, reported by Fox 13 TV, Tampa Bay.
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OCTOBER, 2023
October 30, 2023 - Oxnard, CA - Brawl Breaks Out After California High School Football Game, reported by Tarek Fattal, SB Live Sports, reprinted in SI,com.
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October 27, 2023 - Rancho Cucamonga, CA - Hazing or Horseplay? Los Osos Football Locker Room Video Sparks Mother's Outrage, reported by Scott Schwebke, Orange County Register.
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October 25, 2023 - Riviera Beach, FL - High School Football Fight Between Inlet Grove, Clewiston Under Investigation, reported by Chris Gilmore, WPTV (West Palm Beach, FL).
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October 21, 2023 - Irvine, CA - SoCal Soccer Team Kicked Out of League For Brawl At End of Irvine Game, reported by Jonathan Lloyd, NBCTV-Los Angeles, October 25, 2023.
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October 21, 2023 - Corona, CA - H.S. Basketball Ref Punches Coach After Verbal Altercation ... Arrested, reported by TMZ, October 27, 2023. Odds are that the referee, a gentleman named Brandon Knapper, will not be working any more high school games - at least for quite some time.
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October 20, 2023 - Vallejo, CA - Friday Night Fights: Vallejo Football Game Called, reported by Thomas Gase, Vallejo Times-Herald.
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October 20, 2023 - Teens Are Quitting Sports As Social Media Ups Body Image Concerns, reported by Amy Norton, US News - Healthday.
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October 18, 2023 - Brook Park, OH - When the State legislature dithered, the City of Brook Park, OH passed a sports official assault law. See Brook Park City Council Passes Ordinance To Protect Sports Officials and Referees, reported by Anna Meyer, WKYC TV (Cleveland).
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October 18, 2023 - Washington, D.C. - Sen. Maria Cantwell Says She Wants Any NIL Legislation To Also Address NCAA Athletes' Rights, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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October 18, 2023 - Sports Parents Are Out of Control and Officials Don't Feel Safe: Here's What's At Risk, reported by Stephen Borelli, USA Today, Section C, Page One.
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October 17, 2023 - Washington, D.C. - NIL Hearing Shows Desire To Pass Bill To Help NCAA. How It Gets There Is Uncertain, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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October 17, 2023 - Washington, D.C. - NCAA Focused On Employment Status of Athletes At Senate Hearing, AP Wire Service Story on ESPN.com.
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October 13, 2023 - St. Louis, MO - St. Louis Youth Football Coach Says He Was Shot By Parent Over Son's Playing Time, reported by Kim Bell, St. Louis Post Dispatch.
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October 12, 2023 - Bangor, MI - HS Soccer Referee Attacked In Michigan. See MHSAA Investigates Incident At Bangor vs. Bloomingdale Soccer Game, reported by Samantha May, WWMT - Channel 3 (Michigan).
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October 5, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - Narbonne Rallies For Win Over Banning In Game That Ends With A Fight, reported by Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times. This Narbonne vs. Banning football game had it all. Trash talk between the two coaching staffs right in front of the players. Visiting Narbonne irritating the Banning team by showing up in their home jerseys. A tight game that went down to the wire. And it all ends with a player celebrating the Narbonne win by carrying a Narbonne flag suddenly being chased around the field as all hell broke loose.
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October 4, 2023 - Indianapolis, IN - The NFHS Responds To The Threat of State Legislatures Taking Over High School Sports. See The NFHS Video Voice on youtube.
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October 3, 2023 - San Jose, CA - Gunshots in The Grandstands: Why Violence At High School Football Games Is Spiking and What Can Be Done, reported by Jason Mastrodonato, San Jose Mercury News, Page A-1.
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October 2, 2023 - Raleigh, North Carolina - Legislature Strips North Carolina High School Athletics Association Of Much of Its Authority. Power is placed in the hands of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction effective in the 2024-25 academic year. The superintendent of public instruction could opt to have the NCHSAA continue on, but it could be difficult. The NCHSAA is barred from accepting corporate sponsorships, and even giving scholarships to students. See New High School Sports Legislation Will Become Law Without Governor's Signature, reported by Nick Stevens of High School OT, for WRAL.
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October 1, 2023 - China - Athletics Official In Stable Condition After Being Hit By Hammer, reported by Martin Pollard, and Dylan Martinez, Reuters News Service.
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SEPTEMBER, 2023
September 29, 2023 - Monroe, NC - Fight Near Stadium Forces Monroe - Forest Hills Game To End Early, Officials Say, reported by Matthew Ablon, WCNC TV (Charlotte, NC).
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September 29, 2023 - Hattiesburg, MS - Hattiesburg, George County High School Football Fight Brings Punishment From MHSAA, reported by Sam Sklar, October 4, 2023.
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September 29, 2023 - Dallas, TX - Texas UIL Temporarily Removing Referee Who Ripped The Helmet Off A Whitney Student, reported by Megan Cardona, KERA News, October 2023.
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September 23, 2023 - Carthage, MO - Youth Referee Accused of Assaulting Child at Youth Football Game, reported by Mariah Monsour, KOAM News (Pittsburg, KS), October 5, 2023.
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September 22, 2023 - Oakland, CA - Broadcast Revenue Sharing NIL Case Moves Forward: Plaintiffs in In Re College Athlete NIL Litigation, Are Granted Class Action Certification. See Athletes In NCAA NIL Case Gain Class Certification For Part of Lawsuit, reported by Michael McCann, Sportico.com; and see NCAA, Conferences Could Be Forced Into Major NIL Change As Lawsuit Granted Class-Action Status, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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September 23, 2023 - Winchester, VA - Haley Van Voorhis Becomes First Woman Non-Kicker To Play In NCAA Football Game, reported by Alex Scarborough, ESPN. Van Voorhis plays for Division III, Shenandoah University.
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September 19, 2023 - Southwest Florida - WINK Exclusive: Football Coach Breaks Silence After Viral Video Berating His Own Players, reported by Michael Hudak, WINK TV. See also, Naples Prep School Football Coach Steps Away After Profane Video Shared On Social Media, reported by Dan DeLuca, Naples Daily News,September 9, 2023.
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September 15, 2023 - New Castle, PA - Laurel Approves Gender-Specific Athletic Policy, reported by Nicholas Vercilla, New Castle News. The Laurel School Board's policy is interesting in that it uses chromosomes as the definition for gender, meaning that at some point a high school may have to resort to chromosome testing for sports participation.
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September 15, 2023 - Blountstown, FLA - High School Football Player Slams Opponent's Head off Field, Hits Him With Helmet, reported by Stephen Douglas, The Big Lead.
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September 14, 2023 - Hanover, NH - Dartmouth Men's Team Files Union Paperwork, reported by Lorenzo Reyes, USA Today.
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September 14, 2023 - Birmingham, AL - High School Band Director Tasered and Arrested After Refusing To Stop Performance, Police Say, reported by Sumner Harrell, WBMA, republished on KATV (Arkansas), September 15, 2023. Somebody committed a bad act, here. However, it's not clear whether it's the band director obstructing the police or whether the police tased a person who didn't appear to pose a threat to anybody or anything.
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September 14, 2023 - Tuscaloosa, AL - Alabama High School Forfeits Football Game Over Gift Cards To Players: It Is 'School's Responsibility.', reported by Ben Thomas Al.com
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September 13, 2023 - Martinez, CA - Bay Area College Coach Charged With Pimping Women Into Prostitution, reported by Amy Larson and Phillippe Djegal, KRON 4 TV.
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September 12, 2023 - Boston, MA - Attorneys Call on High School Sports Agency To End Discrimination Against Black Athletes' Hairstyles, reported by Ivy Scott, Boston Globe.
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September 8, 2023 - Bethesda, MD - 5 Teens Arrested In Connection With Violent Brawl After High School Football Game In Bethesda, FoxTV5 (Washington, DC).
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September 2, 2023 - St. Louis, MO - Campus Violence Shuts Down Football Game at One School, and Forces Attendance Restrictions at Another in St. Louis. See 13-Year-Old Fires Gun After South City High School Suspends Football Game, Relocates Students Off Campus Due To Fighting, reported by Rheanna Wachter, KMOV4-TV (St. Louis); and Metal Detectors To Be Installed at Alton High School After Rash of Fights, reported by Russell Kinsaul, KMOV4-TV, September 1, 2023.
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September 1, 2023 - Baltimore, MD - CLICK HER FOR VIDEO: 12-Year-Old Shot Near Dunbar High School Stadium, Game Called Off Midway, reported by Josh Starkey and Khiree Stewart, WBAL-TV 11, September 2, 2023.
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AUGUST, 2023
August 30, 2023 - Group Protests At CIF Headquarters In Sacramento Over Trans Youth Participation In Girls Sports, reported by Andrew Haubner, CBS TV 13.
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August 26, 2023 - Atlanta, GA - High School Football Coach In Atlanta Strikes Player On Sideline During Game, reported by Talgat Almanov and Joshua Skinner, Atlanta News First.
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August 25, 2023 - Choctaw, OK - Teen Killed In Shooting At Oklahoma High School Football Game: Police, reported by Amanda Morris and Meredith Deliso, ABC News, August 26, 2023.
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August 24, 2023 - Transgender Athlete Laws By State: Legislation, Science More, reported by Katie Barnes, ESPN.
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August 22, 2023 - Portland, OR - Field At Grant Bowl To Be Replaced Due to Safety Concerns, reported by Chynna Greene, KGW8 TV. Schools that neglect turf upkeep and replacement schedules will eventually pay the price.
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August 21, 2023 - Brevard County, FL - Brevard County Sheriff's Office Investigating Alleged Viera High School Hazing Incident, reported by Jaclyn Harold and Mark Boxley, Bay News 9 (Tampa).
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August 19, 2023 - Washington, D.C. - Cheating Allegations In D.C. Little League Put High Powered Parents at War, reported by Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post. Sometimes, things get ugly when you get youth sports, and parents with money.
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August 18, 2023 - Jacksonville, FL - Football Game Shooting: Jacksonville Police Wound 15-Year-Old After Shots Fired Into Crowd, reported by Teresa Stepzinski, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, August 19, 2023.
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August 18, 2023 - Savannah, GA - Tiktok Challenge Shuts Down Game. See Benedictine vs. Jenkins Game Canceled After Multiple Crowd Disruptions, reported by Andy Cole and Wyman Bailey, WJCL TV 22.
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August 18, 2023 - Buford, GA - High School Football: Brawl Breaks Out As Buford Shuts Out St. Frances Academy, reported by Andy Buhler, SB Live content in The Georgia Sun, August 19, 2023.
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August 17, 2023 - Idaho transgender sports ban placed on hold. See Block on Idaho Law Banning Transgender Female Athletes Is Upheld By Federal Court, reported by Noble Brigham, Seattle Times (reprinting article from the Idaho Statesman). Click here for the US Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit's opinion in Hecock v. Little. See also U.S. Court Won't Let Idaho Ban Trans Athletes From School Sports, reported by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, August 19, 2023, page A-4.
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August 12, 2023 - Canada - QMJHL Bans Fighting In Historic Rule Change, reported by Jesse Thomas, CTVnews. Canadian junior hockey has finally had enough of all the fighting in hockey.
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August 10, 2023 - Green Bay, WI - Green Bay School District Addresses Concern About Trans Athlete, reported by Ben Krumholotz, Fox News TV 11.
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August 8, 2023 - Bradenton, FL - High School Football Teams Trying to Beat The Heat in Florida, reported by Katherine Smith, Bay News 9 (Tampa). Excellent information on how Florida schools use the Wet Bulb Globe Test Thermometer to enhance heat safety.
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August 4, 2023 - Baltimore, MD - A documentary shows how the "pay to play" youth sports model is impacting the City of Baltimore. See "We Used To Win Here": A Salon Film, article written by Alexandra Clinton and D. Watkins, Salon.com. See Also, We Used To Win Here, the Salon Documentary.
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August 2, 2023 - Reno, NV - Shortage of Nevada High School Football Officials Means Some Games Won't Be on Fridays, reported by Jim Krajewski, Reno Gazette Journal article published on msn.com
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JULY, 2023
July 27, 2023 - Tallahassee, FL - Leon High Places Head Volleyball Coach Angie Strickland on Leave Amid Investigation, reported by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat.
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July 26, 2023 - We already have two NIL bills in Congress. Now, here comes a third one from Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Lori Trahan. See New Congressional Bill Aimed At Confronting NIL Challenges Facing NCAA Athletes Released, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today.
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July 20, 2023 - Three U.S. Senators Unveil Discussion Draft of Bill Addressing NIL Issues for NCAA Athletes, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today (reporting on a bipartisan discussion draft from Sens. Booker, Blumenthal, and Moran. Would that life be so simple, though. On July 25, 2023, Sens. Tuberville and Manchin announced that they have introduced their own NIL bill. Right now, NIL is governed by a hodgepodge of State regulations. 50 State, 50 rules - or at least 50 rulemakers. Nothing's coherent, and it looks like a long slog through the Senate and House before the federal government gets behind one consistent set of NIL rules. Oh, and you thought the NCAA regulated college sports? Think again. See Tommy Tuberville, Joe Manchin Introduce Legislation to Address NIL in College Athletics, reported by Steve Berkowitz, USA Today, July 25, 2023.
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July 18, 2023 - California, California Extends Travel Ban to Three States After Transgender Student Restrictions on School Sports, reported by Joshua Nelson, Fox News.
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July 14, 2023 - Sonora, CA - Sonora Union High School District Faces 2 Sexual Misconduct Lawsuits, reported by Alex MacLean, The Union Democrat. A former coach and a counselor are the alleged perpetrators.
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July 13, 2023 - Santa Cruz, CA - A Coach Accused ,Again and Again, reported by Gus Garcia-Roberts, Washington Post.
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July 11, 2023 - Southwest Florida - Referee Shortage Putting Southwest Florida High School Football Schedule In Jeopardy, reported by Jaron May, NBC TV 2.
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July 10, 2023 - Franklin, TN - Tennessee Soccer Coach Charged After Videos On His Phone Show Boys Being Raped, Police Say, reported by Francisco Guzman, USA Today.
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JUNE, 2023
June 27, 2023 - NCAA Sets Up Confrontation With State Lawmakers Concerning NIL Guidelines, reported by Steve Berkowitz and Paul Myerberg, USA Today.
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June 23, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - 9-Year-Old Signs Six Figure NIL Deal With Sports Agency, reported by Iman Palm, KTLA - TV 5.
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June 22, 2023 - Michigan - Michigan Lawmakers Mull High School NIL Bill, reported by Andy Berg, Athletic Business.
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June 16, 2023 - New York, NY - High School Volleyball Player Speaks Out After Being Injured By Transgender Opponent, Fox News, June 16, 2023.
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June 15, 2023 - Mountainair, NM - Mountanair Games Were Cancelled After Police Were Told There Was A 'Rape Room', reported by T.J. Wilham, KOAT-TV 7.
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June 13, 2023 - Canada - Canadian Girl, 9, Verbally Attacked, Accused of Being Transgender At Track Meet, reported by Isabel Keane, New York Post, June 13, 2023.
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June 12, 2023 - An unintended consequence of NILs: rising medical insurance costs. See The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's Letter, Protecting Athletes and Team Physicians Who Care For Them Amid Rising Complexity and Liability Risk; and see Medical Groups: Liability May Limit Care For Top Athletes, reported by Stephania Bell, ESPN.
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June 8, 2023 - Taunton, MA - Taunton Little League Umpires Won't Return For Playoffs After Being Threatened, reported by Mike Sullivan, WBZ TV (CBS) Boston.
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June 6, 2023 - USFL Founder Launches High School Football League With NIL Appeal, reported by Andrew Cohen, FrontOfficesports.com.
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June 3, 2023 - Colorado Springs, CO - Disagreement Over a Soccer Game Leads To Brawl, Stabbing in Colorado Springs, reported by Aleah Burggraff and Lindsey Grewe, KKTV, June 5, 2023.
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June 2, 2023 - Budapest - Man Arrested After Referee Anthony Taylor Attacked by Roma Fans At Airport, reported by Simon Collings, London Evening--Standard
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MAY, 2023
May 31, 2023 - Germany - German Police Say Teen Injured in Post-Match Brawl with French Team Has Died, AP Wire Service.
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May 23, 2023 - Shaker Heights, OH - Communities Rally Against Rising Youth Sports Costs, Local Nonprofit Leagues See Increase In Participation, reported by Clay LePard, ABC TV 5 (Cleveland).
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May 20, 2023 - Dublin, CA - High School Track Star Appears To Give 'Thumbs-Down' After She's Pushed Out of State Champs By Transgender Competitor: 'Cheated.', reported by Richard Pollina, New York Post, May 22, 2023.
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May 14, 2023 - Alabama - Youth Baseball Coach Loses His Mind, Tackles Umpire In Completely Unhinged Scene, reported by Jacob Elsey, Brobible.
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May 8, 2023 - Oklahoma - Watch: Handshake Line Turns Violent Between Oklahoma Baseball Teams, reported by Tim Weaver, USA Today High School Sports, May 9, 2023.
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May 6, 2023 - Johnson City, TN - Benches Clear After Altercation at Unicoi, Elizabethton District 1-3A Playoff Game, reported by Faith Little and Nick Dugan, WJHL TV11, May 7, 2023.
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May 3, 2023 - Woonsocket, RI - Father Accused of Assaulting 3 At Woonsocket Baseball Field After Son Is Benched, WJAR - TV 10 (Cranston, RI), May 24, 2023.
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May 1, 2023 - Tampa Bay, FL - Florida High School Football Coach Steps Down After Assistants Fight At Practice: report, reported by Ryan Morik, Fox News, May 11, 2023.
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APRIL, 2023
April 29, 2023 - Manheim, PA - Fight Between Coach, Referee During Basketball Game At Spooky Nook Under Police Investigation, reported by Nebiy Esayas, Penn Live, May 3, 2023, See Also, Police Are Investigating After Video Of Fight Between Coach, Ref at Spooky Nook Sports Goes Viral, reported by Keith Schweigert, Fox 43 TV (Lancaster County, PA), May 3, 2023.
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April 27, 2023 - Kingfisher, OK - 'Wicked, Despicable, and Reprehensible': Kingfisher Public School Hazing Lawsuit Intensifies, reported by Kaylee Olivas, KFOR TV 4 (Oklahoma City).
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April 26, 2023 - Lakewood, CA - Mayfair, Norwalk Impose Punishment For Postgame Baseball Fight, reported by Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, April 28, 2023.
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April 22, 2023 - Deptford Township, NJ - Deptford Township Little League Starts New Rule To Cut Down On Spectators Yelling At Umps, reported by Trish Hartman, ABC TV 6 (Philadelphia, PA).
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April 20, 2023 - House Republicans Vote To Bar Transgender Athletes From Women's Sports, reported by Josh Christenson, New York Post. Click here to read the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, the new federal bill regarding transgender athletes in sports. The bill impacts any "recipient of federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, of facilitates athletic programs or activities." We'll continue to track the bill's progress.
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April 19, 2023 - Columbus, OH - Assault Charges Filed Against Man Accused In Umpire Attack At Columbus Softball Game, reported by Eric Halperin, NBC4 - Columbus, April 25, 2023.
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April 19, 2023 - Raleigh, NC - North Carolina House Approves Ban On Transgender Athletes, reported by Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press.
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April 19, 2023 - Oak Park, IL - Downright Ugliness as Youth Wrestler Fakes Handshake, Then Sucker Punches Opponent, reported by Charlie De Biase, Jr., Staten Island Live.
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April 18, 2023 - Kissimmee, FL - Video Captures Parent Sucker-Punching Umpire At Florida Baseball Game, Deputies Say, reported by Samantha Dunne, Local 10 - TV (Pembroke Park, FL), May 4, 2023; and See Florida Dad Slugs 63-Year-Old Umpire At High School Game In Shocking Video, reported by Selim Algar, New York Post, May 4, 2023.
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April 18, 2023 - Arizona - Transgender Girls Go To Court Over Arizona School Sports Ban, reported by Terry Tang, ABC News.
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April 12, 2023 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia High School Football Trainer's Racist Comments Spark Outrage, reported by Andy Buhler, SBLive. The video speaks for itself.
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April 6, 2023 - North Carolina - Too Much Time On Their Hands. See State Bill Proposes Eliminating Participation Trophies Here In North Carolina, reported by Jaelen Gilkey, WFMY TV (Greensboro, NC).
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MARCH, 2023
March 27, 2023 - Las Vegas, NV - Ex-Durango Coach Says Administrator's Racist Actions led To Resignation, reported by Sam Gordon, Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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March 21, 2023 - Wyoming - Wyoming Bans Transgender Youths From Girls' Sports Teams, NBC News.
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March 20, 2023 - Washington, DC - 12-year-old Transgender Student Athlete Fights West Virginia's Proposed Anti-Trans Sports Ban, reported by Devan Cole, ABC 7 Chicago, IL. This matter is before the US Supreme Court. We will follow it's progress through the Court.
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March 18, 2023 - England - To Track Abuse, Some Soccer Referees In England Will Wear Bodycams, reported by Michael Popke, sportsdestination.com
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March 13, 2023 - Muskego, WI - Muskego-Beloit HS Basketball Racism Allegations Prompt Protest, reported by Ashley Sears, Fox TV, Muskego.
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March 11, 2023 - Minnesota - Minnesota Ruling Allows Transgender Women To Compete In USA Powerlifting, reported by Kyeland Jackson, Minneapolis StarTribune.
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March 9, 2023 - Lexington, KY - 'We Take Care of Each Other.' Eastern Kentucky Band Playing for Neighbort School at Sweet 16, reported by Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader.
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March 5, 2023 - Houston, TX - Sports Bra Controversy: High School Student Calls Out Spring Branch ISD Over Dress Code, reported by Cory McCord, KHOU TV.
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March 2, 2023 - San Francisco, CA - Brawl Forces End of NorCal High School Basketball Playoff Game, reported by Jason Mastrodonato, San Jose Mercury News; and Look: Brawl Ends Inderkum At Riordan Northern California D1 Boys Basketball Regional Quarterfinal, reported by Mitch Stephens, SB Live.
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FEBRUARY, 2023
February 26, 2023 - Charleston, SC - Brawl Breaks Out Between Parents and Referee At Girls' Youth Basketball Game, reported by Natalie Spala, ABC News (Charleston), March 6, 2023. The reader should note that the headline of this story is misleading, and makes it appear as if the referee and the parents are engaged in mutual combat. In truth, the parents appear to have left the stands and attacked the referee.
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February 24, 2023 - Medford, OR - Basketball Brawl In Oregon. See North Finale Ends In No Contest, reported by Kris Henry, Rogue Valley Tribune, February 25, 2023.
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February 22, 2023 - Richland, VA - Officials To Investigate Incident Between Richlands Girls Coach and Spectator, Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph, February 25, 2023.
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February 21, 2023 - Dorset, VT - Girls High School Basketball Team Forfeits Tournament Rather Than Play Against Transgender Player, reported by Sara Smart and Jennifer Henderson, CNN, March 1, 2023.
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February 18, 2023 - Minneapolis, MN - Parents of Minneapolis Women Softball Players Name Foul, Leading to Title IX State Investigation, reported by Irene Garcia, Local Today News, Minneapolis.
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February 16, 2023 - Camden, NJ - Camden-Eastside Boys' Basketball Game Called Off After An On-Court Altercation, reported by Isabella DiAmore, Philadelphia, Inquirer. See 2 New Jersey High Schools Disqualified From State Tournaments After Fight In Boys Basketball Game, reported by Ryan Morik, Fox News, February 17, 2023.
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February 15, 2023 - Miami, FL - Antisemitic Taunts May Have Fueled Miami Brawl Between Jewish and Catholic High School Athletes, reported by Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 16, 2023.
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February 11, 2023 - Itta Bena, MS - MVSU Cheerleader Gets Ejected For Storming Onto The Court To Confront A Player, reported by Larry Leo, tigerdropping.com (LSU website in Baton Rouge, LA).
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February 8, 2023 - Burlington, KY - A NKY Mom Signed Up To Ref Her Son's Basketball Games. She Was Told She Couldn't Because She's Gay, reported by Christian LeDuc, WCPO TV 9 (Cincinnati, OH).
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February 7, 2023 - Nashua, NH - 10 Students Charged In Connection With Fight Following NH High School Basketball Game, reported by Marc Fortier, NBC Channel 10, Boston, MA, March 8, 2023.
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February 7, 2023 - Englewood, NJ - White Players Accused of Yelling Racial Slurs At Black Players Before All-Out Brawl At New Jersey High School Basketball Game, reported by Nick Caloway, CBS News (New York), February 10, 2023.
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February 7, 2023 - New Hanover County, NC - NHCSB Reverses Transgender Sport Team Freedoms, Meeting Recessed Over Clash Involving A Proud Boy, reported by Brenna Flanagan, Port City Daily (Wilmington, NC), February 8, 2023. This article has video, and you can see the disruption noted in the headline. You can also see the level of intimidation the Proud Boys projected at this meeting.
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February 6, 2023 - "Females may be more susceptible to concussion, and they also have worse and prolonged symptoms after their injury than men, according to a review of 25 studies of sport-related concussion published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine." See These Young Female Athletes Died By Suicide. They All Had Head Injuries in Common, reported by Amy Woodyat, CNN.
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February 4, 2023 - Fort Collins, CO - CU Students Chanting "Russia" at Ukranian Player Max Shulga Another Embarrassment, reported by Rich Kurtzman, MileHighSports.com.
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February 2, 2023 - South Bend, IN - School Officials Plan To Resume South Bend Washington-Riley Game Halted By Fan Brawl, reported by Justin Frommer, South Bend Tribune, February 3, 2023.
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February 2, 2023 - Jamestown, ND - Jamestown Students Disciplined For Racist Taunts at Bismarck Basketball Players, reported by David Velasquez, The Bismark Tribune.
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JANUARY, 2023
January 31, 2023 - Ypsilanti, MI - Ypsilanti JV Basketball Player Attacked By Spectator During Game, reported by Brett Kast and David Kalman, WXYZ TV (Detroit), February 1, 2023.
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January 31, 2023 - Cincinnati, OH - Citing Safety Concerns, Taft, Woodward Limit Fans For Friday's Varsity Basketball Game, reported by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer.
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January 31, 2023 - Alburgh, VT - Vermont Man Dies After Fight Breaks Out At Middle School Basketball Game, NBC 5 (Burlington, VT), February 1, 2023.
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January 31, 2023 -Berkeley, CA - Cal Fires Swim Coach Over Allegations of Long-Running Abusive Coaching. See UC Berkeley Fires Swim Coach Teri McKeever, reported by Scott Reid, The Orange County Register.
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January 30, 2023 - Richmond, VA - Virginia House Advances Ban on Transgender Women In School Sports, reported by Jakob Cordes, WRIC.com (Richmond)
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January 30, 2023 - Germantown, WI - Germantown High School Tournament Announcer Tells Fans to 'Shut Up', Sports Officials Applaud Message, reported by Gabriella Bachara, WDJT (Channel 58 - Milwaukee).
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January 27, 2023 - Eden Prairie, Minnesota - High School Players Take Stand After Opposing Coach Was Reinstated After Racial Slur. See North St. Paul Cancels Basketball Games Against Eden Prairie, reported by Alexandra Simon, KARE 11 TV (Minneapolis). Click here to hear the North St. Paul High School coach defend his players' decision to not play.
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January 27, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - Another famous parent loses control at an athletic contest. See Ex-Laker Robert Horry Escorted By Police From Youth Basketball Game, reported by Rudy Chinchilla, NBC-4, Los Angeles.
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January 24, 2023 - Corona, CA - Santiago-Centennial Girls Basketball Game Suspended, Declared a No-Contest, reported by Eric-Paul Johnson, Riverside Press-Enterprise, January 27, 2023; See Also California High School Girls Basketball Game Suspended Late In Fourth Quarter After Brawl, msn.com, January 26, 2023. One spectator lost control in a most troubling way during this game. See Man Punched Several Girls Basketball Players During Game, Brandished A Gun Police Say, reported by Hailey Branson, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 2023.
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January 24, 2023 - Danville, CA - Officials Respond To Racial Slur At San Ramon Valley High Basketball Game, reported by Jeanita Lyman, DanvilleSanRamon.com, January 28, 2023.
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January 24, 2023 - Vermont - Officials Confront Scourge of Racist Behavior At Vt. High School Sports Events, reported by Katherine Huntley, WCAX - TV (Burlington, VT). The story contains links to a number of racial incidents at Vermont high schools. This is a bit surprising only because one does not tend to think that Vermont has enough diversity to generate a lot of racist incidents at high school events. Indeed, Vermont is 90% white. There are so few minorities that one's initial thought is that there aren't many opportunities for racial incidents at Vermont games. In this instance, one would think wrong.
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January 23, 2023 - Berkeley, CA - UC Berkeley Pays Cheerleader Nearly $700K After Three Concussions Gave Her 'a 24-7 Headache', reported by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
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January 21, 2023 - Portsmouth, VA - Coaches Fired After 22-Year-Old Assistant Girls Basketball Coach Impersonates 13-Year-Old JV Player, reported by Craig Loper, WAVY-TV (Norfolk, CA), January 30, 2023.
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January 20, 2023 - Umatilla, OR - Student broadcaster thinks his mic is off; spews racist jokes for all to hear on air. Here's the Umatilla School District's Statement. For a report on the incident, see Superintendent Says Racist Comments During Umatilla High School Sports Broadcast Aren't A Laughing Matter, reported by Erick Peterson, Hermiston Herald (Hermiston, OR), January 23, 2023.
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January 19, 2023 - Santa Ana, CA - Is there something or nothing to look at, here? After allegations of hazing, assault and sexual misconduct by its athletes, Mater Dei High School Completes Investigation Into Its Athletic Culture, Does Not Release Details, ABC - 7 (Los Angeles).
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January 18, 2023 - Morristown, NJ - 'I Can Do More': NJ Kids With Physical Disabilities Struggle To Play, Compete, reported by Jane Havsy, Morristown Daily Record. Can para-sports program cover the needed costs? The expenses soar, reducing athletic participation.
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January 17, 2023 - Lyon (France) - Ex-Lyon Player Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir Wins Landmark Maternity Pay Case Against Club, ESPN.com.
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January 16, 2023 - Big Day for College Stunt. See NCAA Proposal Passes To Include STUNT As An Emerging Sport, NCAA Press Release on Davenport University website; and STUNT Moves Forward As Emerging Sport At the NCAA Level, Dallas Baptist University website.
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January 14, 2023 - Orange City, FL - University-Mainland Girls Basketball Game Suspended, Ruled Double Forfeit After Skirmish, reported by Chris Vinel, The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
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January 13, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - Discipline Handed Down To Burbank Boys' JV Soccer For Profane Banner, reported by Luca Evans, Los Angeles Times, February 1, 2023. The sign at issue said, "F___ Burroughs." Burbank unfurled the sign after beating Burroughs 4-1
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January 13, 2023 - Athletic Trainers Save Lives. But an Alarming Number of High Schools Don't Employ Them, reported by Lindsay Schnell, USA Today.com (ran in print edition on January 18, 2023)
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January 13, 2023 - Eunice, LA - KPLC Looking Into Fight Between Washington-Marion, Eunice At Basketball Game, KPLC - TV7, Lake Charles, LA, January 14, 2023.
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January 11, 2023 - Evanston, IL - Northwestern Investigating Hazing Allegation Within Football Program, reported by Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.
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January 10, 2023 - Georgetown, MI - Students Suspended As Result of Racist Taunts At Basketball Game, Jenison Superintendent Says, reported by Melissa Frick, MLive.
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January 9, 2023 - NWSL Permanently Bans Four Coaches, Including Paul Riley, and Drops The Hammer With Team Fines and Suspensions, reported by Sandra Herrera, CBS.com.
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January 8, 2023 - Kendall, FL - New Video Released Of Attack On Soccer Referee In Kendall, reported by Roy Ramos, Local10.com TV (Miami), January 25, 2023; See Also Soccer Player Arrested After Video Shows Him Attacking Referee In Kendall: Police, reported by Brian Hamacher, NBC TV Miami, January 24, 2023.
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January 6, 2023 - Honolulu, HI - 2 Adults Arrested For Assaulting Students In Stands At High School Basketball Game, Hawaii News Now, January 10, 2023.
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January 6, 2023 - Heath, TX - Texas High School Football Coach On Leave After Players Forced to Do Nearly 400 Push-Ups, reported by Mike Smith, KXAN-TV (Austin), January 13, 2023; see also Texas HS Football Players Hospitalized After Coach Made Them Do 400 Push-Ups As Punishment, reported by Mary Ann Martinez, New York Post, January 11, 2023.
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January 3, 2023 - Problems or Turnaround At USA Cheer? See Varsity-Backed Cheer Governing Body Faces Debt and Obligations, reported by Daniel Libit, Sportico.
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DECEMBER, 2022
December 28, 2022 - Massachusetts Referee Recovering After Being Punched By Student-Athlete In Cohasset, WCVB TV, Boston, December 29, 2022. The alleged assailant was from Boston's Excel High School. See Also, Referee Assaulted By Excel High Player At Cohasset High Basketball Game, Police Say, reported by Grace Gilson, Boston Globe, December 28, 2022.
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December 20, 2022 - Haverhill, MA - Coaches, Player Charged In Haverhill High School Football Hazing Incidents, reported by Thea DiGiammerino, NBC - Channel 10, Boston.
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December 19, 2022 - Does the Q-Collar Really Help Protect Athletes? See Will This Device Protect Athletes' Brains, Or Only Make Them Think It Does? reported by Matthew Futterman, New York Times, December 19, 2022.
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December 17, 2022 - Australia - Melbourne Soccer Match Abandoned After Goalkeeper Attacked, AP Wire Service Story on ABC News; see also Police Have Launched Investigation Into Australian Football's Darkest Day, reported by Tyson Otto, News.com.Au.
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December 16, 2022 - Orlando, FL - Youth Football League Launches Probe After Man Allegedly Shouts Racial Slurs At Opposing Team, reported by Paulina Dedaj, Fox News.
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December 13, 2022 - Laguna Beach, CA - Female Football Player From Orange County Adds Another First To Her List of Achievements, reported by Cameron Kiszla, KTLA TV (Los Angeles).
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December 9, 2022 - Current High School NIL Rules In Each of the 50 States (plus D.C.), reported by Rick Suter, USA Today High School Sports.
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December 7, 2022 - New Jersey - Youth Sporting Events With No Fans? Experts Warn It's Coming If Bad Behavior Continues, reported by Matthew Stanmyre, NJ.com.
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December 7, 2022 - Chicago, IL - Fight Mars First Game At Curie's Newly Renovated Gym, reported by Michael O'Brien, Chicago Sun Times.
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December 2, 2022 - Is there a hidden culture of domination and subjugation in our high schools? Well, that would explain the multiple "slave auctions" that we saw in the 2022 high school football season. See Student 'Slave Auctions' Shine Light on Hidden Culture of Domination, Subjugation in US Schools, Barbara Harris Combss, Recordnet.com (Stockton, CA).
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NOVEMBER, 2022
November 30, 2022 - Bellinghame, WA - Football Coach Resigns Amid Findings of Sehome Hazing Investigation, reported by Robert Mittendorf, The Bellingham Herald.
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November 23, 2022 - California - 'They Were In Tears': Unruly Fans Force California High Schools To Take Action, reported by Connor LeTourneau, San Francisco Chronicle.
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November 18, 2022 - San Antonio, TX - San Antonio High School Basketball Player Faces Racist Taunts During Marble Falls Game, reported by Michael Karlis, San Antonio Current, November 21, 2022.
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November 17, 2022 - Seattle, WA - Is this the next Lia Thomas? Is it no big deal? Or is it somewhere in between? See Transgender Female Cross-Country Runner Dominating New Competition After Struggling Against Boys, reported by Ryan Morik, Fox News. A brief note: the headline somewhat overstates how good the student is. She's not really dominant. However, she did go from being a low level male runner to being a top tier high school girls runner who can win league races and compete with the best high school girls' runners at the State/post-season level. This runner might be a litmus test as to where one feels the line should be drawn between letting transgender athletes compete and protecting women athletes from intrusions from transgender female athletes.
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November 17, 2022 - Haverhill, MA - Video Shows Alleged Hazing Incident That Ended Haverhill Football Team's Season, WCVB TV 5.
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November 11, 2022 - Indiana - Lawsuit over Indiana Transgender Sports Ban Heats Up. See Democratic States Support Challenge To Indiana Transgender Sports Ban, reported by Brendan Pierson, Reuters.com. Click here for the text of Indiana's House Bill 1041 (2022 session). Click here for the docket in A.M. v. Indianapolis Public Schools (US District Court, S.D. Indiana 2022).
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November 11, 2022 - Windsor, CA - Bay Area High School Football Team Ends Blowout Loss With Wild Cheap Shot, reported by Gabe Fernandez, sfgate.com, November 14, 2022.
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November 11, 2022 - Mike Pereira, the former head of NFL Officiating, works with military veterans to attack the officiating shortage. Click here for information on the Battlefields to Ballfields program. Click here to see How Battlefields To Ballfields Is Training Veterans To Become Football Officials, reported by Ryan McGee, ESPN.com, November 11, 2022. For more on Battlefields to Ballfields, click here for the San Diego Union Tribune's article, Military Seen As Hotbed For Recruiting Sports Referees, reported by Tod Leonard, June 28, 2017.
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November 10, 2022 - Talladega, AL - Talladega College Volleyball Team Receives 'Racially Motivated Picture', SSAC Responds, reported by Caleb Turrentine, ABC News, Birmingham, AL.
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November 5 2022 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Local School Responds After Coaches, Fans Go After Refs During Soccer Match, reported by Melissa Reid, Fox 8, Cleveland (Ohio), November 7, 2022.
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November 2, 2022 - Baltimore, MD - Baltimore High School Football Fight Leads To Teams' Suspension From State Playoffs, reported by Chantz Martin, FoxNews.com.
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OCTOBER, 2022
October 29, 2022 - Forks, WA - Forks Football Players Suspected of Hazing Fellow Player, reported by Paula Hunt, Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles, WA).
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October 29, 2022 - Upper Marlboro, MD - Bronny James, Sierra Canyon Rushed Off Court After Gun Scare During Game, reported by Joseph Zucker, Bleacher Report, October 31, 2022.
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October 26, 2022 - Mason, MI - Youth Referee, Coach Arrested For Sexual Assault of Minor, reported by Krystle Hollmen, WILX TV (Lansing, MI).
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October 24, 2022 - Landmark Title IX Case Could Change HS Sports Forever, reported by Andy Berg, Athletic Business. It is not clear whether this case will really change high school sports forever, but it's not clear why the defendants didn't settle a case that they likely can't win.
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October 21, 2022 - St. Paul, MN - Fight Leads To Playoff Ban For 2 St. Paul High School Football Teams, BringMeTheNews.com (Edina, MN).
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October 21, 2022 - Dothan, AL - Viral Video Shows High School Head Football Coach Pushing Assistant Down, reported by Michael Rinker and Robert Smith, Fox 8 TV, Greensboro, NC, Oct. 22, 2022.
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October 21, 2022 - Monroe, LA - Nine coaches suspended, arrest warrants issued for three of them after high school football brawl. See Franklin Parish Sheriff Issues Warrants To Three Carroll Football Coaches, reported by Josh Harvison, Brendon Fairbairn, and Aaron Dietrich, KNOE TV 8.
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October 19, 2022 - Cincinnati, OH - Hundreds Gather At Vigil For Youth Football Coach Killed Leaving Practice, reported by Danielle Dindak, WLWT TV.
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October 18, 2022 - Cherokee County, NC - District Cancels Girls Volleyball Games Against School With Trans Player, Cites Safety Concerns, reported by Alec Schemmel, TV 12 (New Bern, NC).
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October 12, 2022 - Black Hills, WA - Washington High School Football Team Threatens One-Year Ban For Parents Who Confront Coach, reported by Zach Shugan, SB Live.
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October 11, 2022 - McFarland Unified School District Cancels Athletic Events Following 'Rash of Violence', reported by Jacqueline Gutierrez, KGET TV (Bakersfield, CA).
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October 8, 2022 - Winston-Salem, NC - Person Hit In The Head With Sledgehammer Prop During Massive Fight At Youth Football Game At Glenn High School, reported by Brayden Stamps, Fox 8 TV, Greensboro, NC.
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October 7, 2022 - Oakland, CA - Monday Morning Lights: Why Mother's Email About McClymonds Hit Right Note, reported by Joseph Dycus and Alex Simon, San Jose Mercury News, October 10, 2022.
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October 7, 2022 - Whitmer, Ohio - Three Shot Outside Whitmer High School During Football Game, The Toledo Blade, October 8, 2022.
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October 6, 2022 - Cheating Can Occur In Any Competitive Venture! See It's Like The Godfather: Irish Dancing World Hit By Cheating Allegations, reported by Rory Carroll, The Guardian (US Edition). See also Miss USA Rocked By Favoritism, Cheating Claims As Contestants Storm Off State, reported by Mark Gray, Wonderwall, October 7, 2022.
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October 5, 2022 - Great Britain - British Rowing Chair Calls for Open Category For Transgender Athletes, Reuters Wire Report on ESPN.com.
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October 4, 2022 - Investigation Finds Systemic Abuse and Misconduct Within Women's Professional Soccer, reported by David Close and Eric Levenson, CNN. The report was commissioned by the US Soccer Federation. The worst part of this report is the finding that, "Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women's soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players." See also, FIFA Backs Executives After Failure To Tell Players About Sexually Abusive Coach, The Guardian, November 3, 2022.
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October 3, 2022 - Hogansville, GA - 2 Arrested After Fight Breaks Out At Youth Football Game In Hogansville, Fox 5 Atlanta, October 5, 2022.
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October 1, 2022 - Gilbert, AZ - Video Shows Parents, Coaches Brawl At Youth Football Game In Gilbert, reported by Michael Doudna, TV 12 (Phoenix), October 3, 2022.
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October 1, 2022 - Indonesia - Indonesian Soccer Match Stampede Leaves 125 Dead, Associated Press report on ESPN.com, October 2, 2022.
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SEPTEMBER, 2022
September 30, 2022 - Are things getting worse at our games? See 'A Quiet Phenomenon': The Rise of Gun Violence at School Sports, reported by Michael A. Fletcher, ESPN.
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September 30, 2022 - Yuba City, CA - There's trouble in Yuba City: Usually Schools Wait For The Game To Start Before They Commit Bad Acts, But River Valley High School Just Couldn't Wait to Show Their True Colors. See High School Football Team Forfeits Game After Video Surfaces Of Players Acting Out "Slave Auction." CBS 13 TV (Sacramento, CA).
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September 30, 2022 - Connecticut - 'No Chance of Winning': Four Female Athletes Challenge High School Transgender Policy, reported by Casey Harper, Thecentersquare.com. The case at issue, Soule v. Connecticut Ass'n of Schools, Inc., was dismissed on procedural grounds, and is currently on appeal. If the plaintiffs' appeal is successful, we could get a landmark decision sometime in 2023 or 2024. For a procedural update on this case, see 'Records Matter': Connecticut Athletes Appeal Decision To Toss Transgender Sports Lawsuit, reported by Bianca Quilantan, Politcopro.com, September 29, 2022.
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September 28, 2022 - Santa Clarita, CA - First Amendment Battle Averted at Saugus High School. See Saugus High School Dropping Tradition of Taking Field With 'Thin Blue Line' Flag, reported by Gina Silva, Fox TV 11 (Los Angeles).
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September 27, 2022 - Philadelphia, PA - Police Release Surveillance Video In Deadly Ambush Shooting Near Roxborough High School; 1 Dead, reported by Jacklyn Lee and Annie McCormick, ABC 6, September 28, 2022. Video shows five shooters attacking after a high school football scrimmage.
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September 25, 2022 - Malden, MA - Pop Warner Coach In Massachusetts Arrested After Assaulting Referee With Football, Police Say, reported by John Atwater, WCVB TV (Boston), September 26, 2022.
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September 24, 2022 - Chicago, IL - Kenwood vs. Morgan Park High School Football Game Ends With 18-20 Players Ejected After Post-Game Fight, reported by Michael O'Brien, Chicago Sun Times. The headline understates the ugliness of this game, which was marred by incidents throughout.
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September 23, 2022 - La Verne, CA - Ugly postgame fight after Bishop Amat vs. Damien football game leads to coach suspension. See Bishop Amat Football and Richie Munoz Too Much for Damien (During Postgame, Both Teams Were Involved In Pushing and Shoving), reported by Fred Robledo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 23, 2022; see also Bishop Amat Football Playing Without Head Coach, Top RB One Week After Post-Game Altercation With Damien, reported by Fred Robledo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 30, 2022.
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September 22, 2022 - Linden, NJ - Linden High School Football Player Dies Weeks After Game Injury, District Announces, reported by Suzanne Russell, mycentraljersey.com.
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September 21, 2022 - Senators Demand Answers From Dept't of Defense After Reports of JROTC Instructor Abuse, reported by Deepa Shivaram, NPR.
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September 20, 2022 - Sutter Creek, CA - Prep Football: Amador Suspends Season After Discovery of Players' 'Disturbing' Group Chat, reported by Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, September 20, 2022. UPDATE: Amador's season was canceled on September 27, 2022. See Amador High School Varsity Football Out for Rest of Season After 'Highly Inappropriate Group Chat Thread,' KCRA TV 3 (Sacramento).
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September 19, 2022 - Montgomery County, MD - Man Stabbed In Fight Involving 30 People At Maryland Soccer Game, reported by Brian Farrell, dcnewsnow.com.
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September 17, 2022 - Montgomery County, MD - Football Operations Temporarily Suspended At Gaithersburg, Northwest High School After Large Fight During Game, reported by Chioma-Emilia Ahaghotu, WUSA 9 (Washington, DC). Click here for coverage and video of the fight.
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September 16, 2022 - Laurens County, GA - A group of high school students known as the 'Rowdy Raiders' confused racism with cleverness (or maybe they just meant to be racist). The group went to a high school football games with shirts that spelled out the "N" word. And, the boys were quite proud of themselves as they posed for a photo, which is now on-line, meaning that for the rest of their lives these rowdy boys will always be one click away from future employers, prospective friends, and - one day - even their own children seeing them in their rowdy, racist glory. See Laurens County Neighbors Want Action From School After Students Take Offensive Photo At Football Game, reported by Kamilah Williams, WMAZ TV (Macon, GA), September 19, 2022.
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September 15, 2022 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Area High School Football Game Canceled, Coach on Leave Amid Allegations of Assault In Locker Room, reported by Bodie De Silva, MSN.com; See Also Massive Outrage, Support At Protest For Teen Assaulted At Vista High School, reported by Liberty Zabala, Fox 5 TV
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September 15, 2022 - Chicago, IL - Female Football Coaches At Chicago High Schools Meet In History-Making Game, reported by Will Jones and Rob Elgas, ABC 7 TV (Chicago).
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September 12, 2022 - Click here for PBS's documentary, Hazing, directed by Byron Hurt.
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September 8, 2022 - Fort Worth, TX - Players and Fans Duke It Out At HS Football Game. See Fight Breaks Out On Field Between Fort Worth, Dallas High School Football Teams, reported by Paul Wedding, WFAA TV (Dallas), September 15, 2022. Yes, like so many things, this fight was captured on video.
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September 7, 2022 - A win for Alice Dearing and her Soul Cap. See Olympic Swimmer Wins Fight To Reverse Ban On Cap Made For Black Hair, reported by Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post.
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September 6, 2022 - Mobile, AL - Shocking Video Allegedly Shows Blount High School Head Football Coach Spanking Player, reported by Emily Pounds, NBC News Channel 15.
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September 5, 2022 - Lauderdale Lakes, FL - 'Kids Still Traumatized": Father Says Son Among 4 Injured At Boys' Football Game In Broward, reported by Alex Finnie, Parker Branton, Bridgette Matter, and Andrea Torres Local10.com (South Florida); and see 3 People Shot at Sporting Event In Lauderdale Lakes, reported by Yarden Ben-David and Terrell Forney, Local10.com.
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September 3, 2022 - Greenville, SC - New Rockstar Cheer Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse, Attacks Competitive Cheerleading Culture, reported by Clare Amari and Kathryn Casteel, Greenville News.
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September 3, 2022 - Lubbock, TX - High School Football Player Dies After Suffering Head Injury In Game, reported by Daniel Bates, MSN.com
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September 2, 2022 - Katy, TX - Fans Jeer Volleyball Players With Monkey Noises. See Mother Blasts Texas School For Allowing Students to Make Monkey Noises At Black Athletes, reported by Angel Saunders, Revolt TV, September 7, 2022; See Also Katy ISD Students Heard Making Monkey Sounds To Other Students During Volleyball Game: Video, reported by Gabby Hart, Fox 26 TV, Houston, September 7, 2022.
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September 1, 2022 - San Jose, CA - Police: Volleyball Ref Arrested For Child Sex Assault, reported by John Ferrannini, KRON TV4, September 7, 2022.
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AUGUST, 2022
August 31, 2022 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Youth Football Team Fled Gunfire Twice But Won't Be Crushed By Violence, reported by San Francisco Chronicle, (the article ran on page A-1 under the headline, "Football Is A Game; It's A Game of Life.").
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August 30, 2022 - East Peoria, IL - Sometimes the problems in the community spill over to the game. See Video Surfaces of Brawl At East Peoria High School Football Game, reported by Jon Schoenheider, Channel 25 News.
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August 27, 2022 - Sometimes schools don't react well when they see girls on the opposing football team. See If Christian School In California Won't Play Football Against Girls It Can Stay Off the Field, Editorial in Fresno Bee.
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August 26, 2022 - Strasburg, VA - Shenandoah Co. High School Football Game Canceled Over Social Media Comments, WHSV TV (Harrisonburg).
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August 26, 2022 - Windsor, CA - Huge Fight at Front Gate of High School Football Game. See Parents Join High School Football Game Brawl, California Cops Say. Two Adults Arrested. Reported by Paloma Chavez, Sacramento Bee, August 29, 2022.
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August 26, 2022 - South San Francisco, CA - Is High School Football Endangered? Inside a Bay Area Coach's Fight To Save His Team, reported by Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle.
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August 25, 2022 - Vicksburg, MS - Prominent High School Coach Fights Fan At HS Football Game. See Watch: Jimbo Nowell Gets Into A Fight At A Game, reported by Keith Phillips, Vicksburg News; see also High School Football Coach Bloodied In Brawl In Stands In Mississippi, reported by Jenna Lemoncelli, New York Post, August 26, 2022.
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August 24, 2022 - Alamo Heights, TX - Hazing Incident Prompts Suspensions For 21 Alamo Heights Football Players, Source Tells KENS 5, KENS 5 San Antonio.
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August 23, 2022 - Slow Football Equipment Reconditioning Plagues High School Sports In Some Parts of the Country. See High School Sports Teams Missing Equipment Due to Supply Chain Issues, reported by Lesya Feinstein, WSAZ Channel 3 (Huntington, WV)(reporting on an Ironton, Ohio high school with a reconditioning issue).
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August 19, 2022 - Atlanta, GA - The Controversy Over The Proposed Biden Changes To Title IX Continues. Transgender Women Are the Primary Battleground. Rob Jenkins from Georgia State University states his case. See FMR. Collegiate Athletic Director: Biden's Proposed Changes To Title IX Will Harm Women, Professor Rob Jenkins, Campus Reform, August 19, 2022.
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August 19, 2022 - Utah - Youth Sports Transgender Politics Come To Utah. First, Utah passed a transgenderban. See Utah Legislature Overrides Governor’s Veto of Transgender Sports Ban, reported by Katie McKellar, Salt Lake City Deseret News, March 25, 2022. Once State legislation was passed, the Utah High School Activities Association had to enforce the law. Unfortunately, they walked right into the worst possible cases – parents whining that the girls who beat their daughters must have been transgender. Well, so far the girls that parents have complained about haven't been transgender. The basic allegation in the complaints boils down to parents complaining that their daughter lost to a girl who doesn’t look all that feminine. It’s governance by rumor, and one of the cases just hit the news. See Utah Officials Secretly Looked Into Female Athlete’s Gender, AP Wire on MSN.com, August 18, 2022. Well, you can guess what came next: that’s right, a lawsuit and an injunction. See Transgender Girls In Utah Can Compete Again After Judge Grants Injunction Blocking State’s Sports Ban, reported by Courtney Tanner, Salt Lake Tribune, August 19, 2022.
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August 19, 2022 - Female Collegiate Athletes Stiffed On Scholarship Money, Press Reader report from USA Today, reported by Kenny Jacoby, Rachel Axon, Lindsay Schnell and Steve Berkowitz, August 19, 2022.
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August 17, 2022 - Georgia - How Georgia Reduced Heat-Related High School Football Deaths, reported by Molly Samuel, All Things Considered Show on NPR News.
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August 13, 2022 - Lancaster, TX - Footage Allegedly Shows Former NFL CB Aqib Talib's Brother Involved In Deadly Shooting At Youth Football Game, reported by Darrelle Lincoln, totalprosports.com, August 14, 2022; see also, Man Accused of Fatally Shooting Lancaster Coach Surrenders Monday, NBC 5 Dallas/Fort Worth, August 15, 2022..
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August 12, 2022 - Middletown, PA - Football Hazing Hits Middletown. See Middletown Board Gets An Earful Over Response To Accusations of Hazing, reported by Ivey DeJesus, Pennlive.com, and Scott Acri Resigns As Middletown Football Coach; District Plans To Release Hazing Investigation Info, reported by Brian Linder, Pennlive.com.
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August 12, 2022 - Canada - Calls For Accountability And Changes Within Canadian Hockey Mount In The Wake of National Scandal, reported by Karen Pauls, CBC News; See also Sexual Assault Revelations Turn Canada's National Game Into The Nation's Shame, reported by Ian Austen, New York Times, August 14, 2022.
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August 10, 2022 - Michigan - Judge Rules Michigan State Not Title IX Compliant, But Doesn't Have To Reinstate Swimming, reported by Chandler Engelbrecht, Detroit Free Press. Note: Don't let the headline fool you. Michigan State will have to get Title IX compliant. They simply have the option of doing so in a number of ways. It does seem cruel to the swimmers who lost their program in a Title IV violation, but Title IX protects the overall interests of the student body/school; it does not necessarily mean that the sport that generates the complaint has to be the sport that gets saved.
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August 9, 2022 - Waco, TX - This Little League World Series Hug After A Batter Was Hit In The Head Is Perfect Sportsmanship, reported by Ricky O'Donnell, SB Nation.
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August 5, 2022 - Pac-12, Northeast Conference To Pay Basketball Referees Equally; Data Found 22% Gap Last Season Among Top D-1 Conferences, Associated Press Wire Story, ESPN.com.
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August 1, 2022 - Argentina - A Soccer Player Was Arrested On The Field After Sucker-Punching a Woman Ref Over Minor Foul Call, MSN.com.
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JULY, 2022
July 31, 2022 - Oakland, CA - 3 Shot During Youth Football Game At Oakland Tech, NBCBayArea.com; See also 3 Injured In Shooting During 'Pee Wee Football Game' at Oakland Tech High School, reported by Amy Graff, SFGate.com, August 1, 2022. Note: The shooting happened behind the bleachers, and appears to have had nothing to do with the game.
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July 31, 2022 - Omaha, NE - Persistent Women's Athlete Gap Prompts Title IX Review By Trey Alberts and Nebraska, reported by Henry Cordes, Omaha World Review.
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July 29, 2022 - Montana - Massive U of Montana Title IX Lawsuit Grows. See More Women Sign Onto Title IX Discrimination Lawsuit Against University of Montana, reported by Keila Szpaller, The Daily Montanan.
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July 25, 2022 - Oxnard, CA - Port Hueneme Man Dies From Injuries Suffered In Fight At Adult Soccer Game In Oxnard, reported by Jeremy Childs, Ventura County Star. See Also, Soccer Player Dies after Being Injured In On-Field Brawl During Game, CBS News, July 26, 2022.
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July 22, 2022 - Columbus, OH - Hilltop Shooting Victim Issa Jeylani, 15, Was A Rising Soccer Star, Community Leader Says, reported by Abby Bammerlin, The Columbus Dispatch, July 23, 2022.
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July 22, 2022 - More on Soccer Headers and Concussions. See Does Soccer Still Need The Header?, reported by Rory Smith, New York Times, July 22, 2022.
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July 16, 2022 - Edmond, OK - This is a most unusual incident. The official was attacked, but responded in full - to say the least. See Another Basketbrawl: Referee Knocks Out Man, reported by Gary Lee, Ozark Radio News. Click here and here for video
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July 19, 2022 – England - In America, we wonder why there are so few black players in baseball. Now, we see England wondering why they’ve suddenly lost so many black players in women’s soccer. The common thread appears to be a sport that was once popular at the grassroots level becoming a club sport that requires a big financial investment to develop youth players. American baseball, and English women’s soccer have wonderful players, but are they the best they can actually be? See Does England’s Euro 22 Squad Have A Diversity Issue? How FA Aims To Reconnect With Grassroots. Reported by Mark Ogden, ESPN.
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July 18, 2022 - Baseball Diversity Highlights Early Stages of 2022 MLB Draft, reported by Dedrick Hendrix, callofthepen.com. Four of the first five MLB draft picks are black. So, has baseball solved the problem of so few African-Americans in baseball? Not really. These guys are the sons of former MLB players. They're one offs. The structural problem still exists.
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July 16, 2022 - Odessa, TX - Fan Hits Player With Metal Chair During Insane Indoor Football Brawl, reported by David Scott, New York Post, July 18, 2022.
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July 16, 2022 - San Antonio, TX - SA Youth Basketball Coach Arrested, Accused of Failing To Disclose He's A Registered Sex Offender, reported by Dillon Collier, KSAT.com TV.
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July 14, 2022 – New Jersey – New Jersey Program Successfully Recruits New Football Officials. There’s Still A Severe Shortage of Officials In New Jersey and Nationwide. Program Expansion To Come. See Initiative to bring in more, diverse HS football referees shows early signs of success. Reported by Darren Cooper, Northjersey.com
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July 14, 2022 – Colorado – Fixing The Officiating Shortage In Colorado Is No Easy Task. Reported by Alissa Noe, Colorado Springs Gazette.
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July 12 2022 - Lamar, AR - Audio Recording In Locker Room Results In Students' 10-Day Suspension, reported by Paige Eichkorn, Forth Smith (AR) Times Record.
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July 9, 2022 - Houston, TX - Youth Baseball Coach Fired After Misconduct In Post-Game Handshake Line. See Youth Baseball Coach Removed After Rough Encounter With Opposing Players After Loss, reported by Xavier Walton, KHOU-11 TV, July 11, 2022. Things got worse for Coach Kenneth Wendt. He wasn't just removed from coaching. He's now facing discipline from his employer. See Harris County Pct. 5 Sergeant Relieved of Duty Pending Investigation Into Youth Baseball Incident, reported by Chloe Alexander, KHOU-11 TV, July 13, 2022.
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July 8, 2022 - NIL Rules Mean That Some High School Athletes Can Sell Their Own NFTs. VerifiedLink leaps into this void with a site that lets high school athletes keep the proceeds from their very own NFTs.
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July 5, 2022 - Boston, MA - Black Girls Left Behind By Title IX: One Coach Trying To Level The Playing Field Explains Why, WBUR: Here and Now Show.
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July 5, 2022 - Staten Island, NY - Legislation Would Make Threats, Attacks At Youth Sports Games More Serious Crimes; Could A Similar Law Work In NY? reported by Joseph Ostapiuk, SIlive.com
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July 3, 2022 - The shortage of officials will be particularly pronounced in the upcoming school year. This may be the time to approach our military veterans, and remind them of the Battlefields 2 Ballfields program. Mike Pereira, the former head of NFL Officiating, has been working with military veterans to try to make a dent in the officiating shortage. Click here for information on the Battlefields to Ballfields program.
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July 1, 2022 - Where Title IX and NIL's Intersect - Dating app, Bumble, celebrates Title IX, enriches some athletes, and positions itself as more than just a dating app all in one big splash. See Bumble Signs NIL Deals With 50 Female Student-Athletes To Celebrate Title IX, reported by Nicole Miller, swimswam.com
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JUNE, 2022
June 28, 2022 - Ames, Iowa - ISA Suspends Hockey Club Over Hazing, reported by Marshalltown Times-Republican.
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June 28, 2022 - A Diagnosis Brings C.T.E. Into American Pro Soccer, reported by Andrew Keh, New York Times. The late Scott Vermillion is the first American pro soccer player diagnosed with CTE. Most readers understand that where there is contact, concussions and CTE may follow. However, most would be surprised to see CTE in a non-contact sport like, for example, bobsledding. Well, think again. See Concussions In Sledding Sports and The Unrecognized "Sled Head": A Systematic Review, by Melissa McCradden and Michael Cusimano, Frontiers In Neurology, September 18, 2018.
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June 28, 2022 – This site reports on sportsmanship issues. However, we take note that the incentive to cheat goes well beyond athletics, and can be found anywhere where you have a zero sum game or strong financial incentives to win. We usually report on academic fraud, but in this case we see large scale cheating at a major accounting firm. No, cheating is not limited to sports. See Ernst & Young To Pay $100 Million Fine After Auditors Cheated On Ethics Exam, reported by Matthew Goldstein, New York Times.
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June 28, 2022 - Yahoo Sports Draws A Connection Between Colin Kapernick and Joseph Kennedy, the Bremerton High School Coach who kneeled in prayer at the end of his football games. I'm not sure I see the connection, but you can draw your own conclusion. See The Supreme Court Takes A Knee, Jay Busbee, yahoosports, June 28, 2022.
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June 27, 2022 - Boston,MA - Your genetic makeup can increase/decrease your chance of getting concussions. See Association of APOE Genotypes and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Kathryn Atherton, Xudong Han, and Jaeyoon Chung, Journal of The American Medical Association. See also, the Boston University Press Release
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June 27, 2022 – Supreme Court Sides With Bremerton’s Praying Coach. Read the full opinion here, reported by Anika Varty, Seattle Times. This case has been a long slog. Joseph Kennedy's (the Bremerton coach who took a knee) first attempt at this case didn’t go so well. See High School Football Coach Fired Because He Prayed On Field. See Supreme Court Denies Bremerton Coach Kennedy’s Prayer Case, MyNorthwest.com, January 22, 2019. You can click here to see the Supreme Court’s 2019 denial of certiorari in this case (scroll to page 8 of the list of denied cases). Kennedy’s latest attempt, though, has succeeded and will create turmoil for schools dealing with this issue as this ruling will force public schools across the country to change how they approach praying coaches. For the full Supreme Court opinion without the Seattle Times story, click here. Would the Supreme Court back a Muslim coach? The question has been raised ... a test case is sure to come. See What If The Coach Praying On The Football Field Is Muslim? reported by Jonathan Zimmerman, The Charlotte Observer, June 30, 2022.
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June 26, 2022 - Miami, FL - Report: A Miami Commit May Have Accepted $9.5 M NIL Deal - And Left More On The Table, reported by USA Today High School Sports.
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June 24, 2022 - Prince William County, Virginia - Referee Shortage Disrupts High School Friday Night Football Schedules For Local Teams, reported by Dave Fawcett, Insidenova.com.
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June 2022 – Berkeley, CA – Chaos At Cal. Abusive Swim Coach and Doctor or Unfair Students and Administrators? See the following articles on Cal’s Women’s Swimming Program:
See: Cal Women’s Swim Coach Put on Leave After Allegations Of Bullying Students, reported by Nanette Asimov and Andres Picon, San Francisco Chronicle, May 26, 2022; and Ex-UC Berkeley Swimmer on McKeever: I honestly didn’t know how far she would go’, reported by Scott Reid, Orange County Register, May 28, 2022; and Attorney Alleges UC Berkeley Coach Teri McKeever is the Victim of Gender Bias, reported by Scott Reid, Orange County Register, June 25, 2022; and the coach is not alone as the team doctor faces accusations also - see: More Turmoil In Berkeley As Cal Team Doctor Faces Allegations of Misconduct, reported by James Sutherland, swimswam.com, June 24, 2022, and Former Cal Swimmer Pens Personal Essay Describing Teri McKeever's Alleged Abuse, reported by Riley Overend, swimswam.com, July 3, 2022.
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June 23, 2022 - Boston, MA - Title IX, 50 Years Later: Why Female Athletes Are Still Fighting For Equality, WBUR, On Point Show.
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June 23, 2022 - Title IX impacts more than sports. The planned Biden regulatory amendments will have both athletic and non-athletic impacts. See Sweeping Title IX Changes Would Shield Trans Students, Abuse Survivors, reported by Moriah Balingit and Nick Anderson, Washington Post.
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June 23, 2022 - Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy prepares the Fair Play for Women Act, a new Title IX Bill. See As US celebrates 50 years of Title IX, a new bill aims to improve gender equity in sports, reported by Lindsay Schnell, USA Today.
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June 22, 2022 - Tucson, Arizona - "It Has No Place In Our Game" Arizona Youth Sports Seeing Referee Shortage Due to Abuse, reported by Tina Giuliano, KGUN TV.
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June 22, 2022 - Delmar, NY - Shortage of Officials Has Reached A 'Critical Point', reported by Jim Franco, Delmar, NY Spotlight News.
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June 20, 2022 - Morristown, NJ - Special Olympics Unified Sports Give Athletes A Stage. But Is The Program Inclusive Enough? Reported by Jane Havsy, Morristown, Daily Record.
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June 19, 2022 - Riverside, CA - California Youth Basketball Coach Accused of Sexual Assault, reported by Bradford Betz, Foxnews.com.
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June 16, 2022 - See USA Today’s Complete Special Report on Title IX. Title IX: Falling Short At 50.
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June 13, 2022 - Utah - "Epic Proportions': UHSAA Puts High School Boys Soccer On 3-Year Probation Due To Rising Ejections, reported by Patrick Carr, Ogden Standard Examiner.
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June 9, 2022 - Texas - Putting a Spotlight on Parents at a Youth Baseball Game. See So Embarrassing For The Parents. Good For The Ump': Parents Get Into Fight With Umpire At Children's Baseball Game, reported by Tricia Crimmins, The Daily Dot.
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June 4, 2022 - Branchburg, NJ - N.J. Youth Baseball Umpire Violently Attacked By Coach, Needed Surgery For Broken Jaw, reported by Matthew Stanmyre, NJ.com, June 14, 2022. The attack came three months after Stanmyre wrote a lengthy report on poor sportsmanship at New Jersey athletic contests. See It's Never Been Uglier on N.J. Sports Fields As Bad Behavior Explodes, March 29, 2022.
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June 2, 2022 - NDAs vs. Title IX? See 'Gag order' against assault: Schools bully young accusers into waiving rights, lawyers say, reported by Sara Ganim, USA Today.
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June 1, 2022 - Current High School NIL Rules In Each of the 50 States (plus DC), reported by Rick Suter, USA Today High School Sports.
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FEBRUARY 2021 TO JUNE 2022
SITE INACTIVE DURING PANDEMIC
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2021
January 19, 2021 - Illinois - IHSA: Winter high school sports to resume, with exception of basketball, WGN Radio- Chicago. Some readers may wonder what happened to wrestling. Illinois wrestling will be held from April to late June. See IHSA pauses winter sports: Wrestling moves to summer season, reported by Lily Wells and Keyshawn Byers, NCHS Inkspot (Normal, Illinois), December 11, 2020.
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January 18, 2021 - Mission Viejo, CA - High Schools Begin Playing Football Games In Violation of State Health Guidelines, reported by Eric Sondheimer, LA Times.
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January 8, 2021 - Arizona - Arizona Cancels Its Winter High School Sports Season on Friday. Parents complain. The vote gets reversed the next Tuesday. See AIA Board Votes To Cancel High School Winter Sports Season Amid Surging COVID-19 cases, reported by Richard Obert, Arizona Republic, Jan. 8, 2021; and Play Ball: AIA Executive Board Reverses Decision, High School Winter Sports Season Back On, reported by Richard Obert and Dana Scott, Arizona Republic, Jan. 12, 2021.
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January 5, 2021 - Ohio - Where Other States Stand With High School Sports Amid Pandemic: Analysis, reported by Chris Lilstrung, Ohio News-Herald.
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December 17, 2020 - Battle over paying college athletes goes from a fight over name and likeness rights to a battle over profit sharing. See Inside the Landmark College Athletes Bill of Rights Being Introduced in Congress, reported by Ross Delllenger, SI.com.
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December 16, 2020 - Concussion Substitute Trials Get Go-Ahead and FA Ready To Act In Cup, reported by Paul MacInnes, The Guardian.
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December 11, 2020 - The price we pay to play. See College Sports Has Reported At Least 6,629 Virus Cases, There Are Many More, reported by Alan Blinder, Lauryn Higgins, and Benjamin Guggenheim, New York Times, republished in South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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December 3, 2020 - Edinburg, TX - High School Referee Fred Gracia Victim of Blindside Attack by Player. Edinburg High School Player Facing Assault Charge For Knocking Over Ref; Team Removed From Texas Football Playoffs, reported ESPN.com, December 4, 2020. For local coverage, see Bittersweet: Bobcats beat Bears for 6A playoff berth, lose star defender, reported by Andrew McCulloch, McAllen Monitor, December 3, 2020. The school administration withdrew their team from the playoffs after the attack. See Edinburg High forfeits playoff spot following ugly on-field incident, reported by Andrew McCulloch, McAllen Monitor, December 4, 2020. The high school governing body then suspended the player for the remainder of the year. See Texas football player banned from state high school sports after attacking referee, reported by Tyler Calvaruso, USA Today High School Sports, December 17, 2020.
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NOVEMBER, 2020
November 27, 2020 - Apopka, FL - FHSAA Penalizes Wekiva Following Football Playoff Game Melee, reported by J.C. Carnahan, Orlando Sentinel, December 3, 2020. The coach ultimately lost his job as the school took a stand. See Wekiva Fires Football Coach Following Playoff Altercation, Joins Lyman and Tohopekaliga With Vacancies, reported by
J.C. Carnahan, Orlando Sentinel, December 7, 2020
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November 17, 2020 - How One High School Football Game Led 62 Players and Coaches To Quarantine, reported by Andrew Boryga and Adam Lichtenstein, South Florida Sun Sentinel.
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November 16, 2020 - As youth hockey emerges as coronavirus threat, families fight to stay in the game, reported by Laura Romero and Lucien Bruggeman, ABC News.
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AUGUST, 2020
Collins Presents at National Association of Sports Officials Virtual Summit, August 2020. See Virtual Summit Focuses On Why Officiating Is So Important, NASO Advisor, August 2020, page 1 (National Association of Sports Officials). The 2020 NASO Virtual Summit is free - click on www.naso.org to register and view the Summit.
August 24 - 27, 2020 - Collins To Appear At NASO Summit. Click Here For Summit Details.
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August 11, 2020 - Russia - 'Disgusting' Attack From Ex-Russia Captain Leaves Referee In Hospital, reported by Andrew Reid, Yahoo Sports, Australia.
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August 10, 2020 - Miami, OK - Referee Shortage Keeps Getting Worse, reported by Jim Ellis, Miami News Record. The poor economy is not leading to a surge in officials in the time of the pandemic.
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Tough Calls For Top High School Athletes, reported by Michael Cabanatuan, San Francisco Chronicle, August 2, 2020, page 1.
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JULY, 2020
July 14, 2020 - A Majority of Youth Football Helmets Do Not Fit Properly, A Risk Factor For More Severe and Lengthy Concussions. The National Athletic Trainers' Association, July 14, 2020 press release on research to be published later this year.
February, 2020
February 4, 2020 - Newark, NJ - Shabazz High School JV Basketball Players Attack Their Own Coach. Why? He tried to stop them from picking on another student. See: New Jersey high school basketball coach attacked by own players after trying to defend student, reported by Michael Sheridan, New York Daily News, February 7, 2020; and High school’s JV basketball players attack, beat their coach following a game, reported by Matthew Stanmyre, NJ.com, February 6, 2020.
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DECEMBER, 2019
December 12, 2019 - Palo Alto, CA - This Helmet Will Save Football. Actually, Probably Not, reported by Michael Powell, New York Times.
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AUGUST, 2019
August 14, 2019 - Clayton County, GA - High School Basketball Player Dies After Practice In Extreme Heat, Sources Say, reported by Tom Jones, Channel 2, Atlanta, GA.
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August 14, 2019 - Cleveland, OH - 18-Year-Old Charged With Rape For Hazing Incident At CWRU Football Camp, reported by Drew Scofield, ABC News Channel 5.
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August 13, 2019 - Wynne, Arkansas - We've heard of some strange things, but this may be the first case of someone being stopped for fundraising while black. See Jail Administrator's Wife Accused of Pulling Gun On Students Going Door-to-Door For School Fundraiser, reported by Kendall Downing, WMC TV 5, Memphis, TN.
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August 14, 2019 - Hanover, NH - Cutting Injuries and Concussions the High Tech Way. See Virtual Reality and Robotic Tackling Dummies - How Dartmouth Is Shaping The Future of Football, reported by Hallie Grossman, ESPN.com
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August 12, 2019 - Salt Lake City, UT - Real Salt Lake Fires Coach Mike Petke Over Homophobic Tirade Against Referees, reported by Alex Vejar, Salt Lake Tribune.
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August 11, 2019 - Are we pricing out some kids from sports? See Kids Aren't Playing Enough Sports. The Culprit? Cost., reported by Kelly Cohen, ESPN.
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August 8, 2019 - The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) was the subject of a June 2019 Title IX complaint over its transgender policy by three high school girls claiming the CIAC's transgender policy discriminates against cisgender girls, denying them the chance to win, and an opportunity for scholarships. See Connecticut High School Athletes File Complaint Over Transgender Policy, reported by Alex Putterman and Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, June 18, 2019. Some Connecticut transgenders reacted to the complaint by speaking out. See Connecticut High School Transgender Athletes 'no longer want to remain silent" Following Title IX Complaint, reported by Dan Brechlin, Hartford Courant, June 20, 2019. Click here for the complaint. August 8, 2019 UPDATE - We're off to court in what could be a landmark high school Transgender Athlete Case. See Federal Office of Civil Rights Agrees To Investigate Connecticut's High School Transgender Athlete Policy, reported by Dan Brechlin, Hartford Courant.
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August 4, 2019 - The Aspen Institute's Project Play Launches Its Don't Retire Kid Project in conjunction with ESPN. The new project will hopefully counter attrition in youth sports where a Project Play survey shows that the average child quits by age 11.
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JULY, 2019
July 2019 - Click Here For The NASO Sports Officials Legislative Scorecard.
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July 31, 2019 - Sonoma, CA - California's Sonoma and Petaluma areas experience a Growing Referee Shortage, reported by Greg Clementi, Sonoma West Times and News.
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July 20, 2019 - Baton Rouge, LA - Louisiana already had a law criminalizing batteries upon sports officials. But what about all the misconduct that scares, intimidates, threatens, and harasses officials? Well, a new Louisiana law addresses that. See Blame Games? New High School Sports Harrassment Law Takes Aim At Fan Abusing Officials, reported by Robin Fambrough, The Advocate (Louisiana).
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July 19, 2019 - Philadelphia, PA - Former West Catholic Football Coach Brian Fluck Charged With Theft, reported by Aaron Carter, Philadelphia Inquirer.
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July 12, 2019 - Strasbourg, France - Where there is an incentive to win, there is cheating. This time it surfaced in chess. See Chess Grandmaster Accused Of Cheating After Using Phone On Toilet During Tournament, reported by Leon Watson, The London Telegraph.
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July 11, 2019 - Overuse Injuries Impact Basketball. See ESPN's Special Report. Part I: These Kids Are Ticking Time Bombs: The Threat of Youth Basketball, reported by Baxter Holmes, ESPN.com; and Part II: Under The Knife: Exposing America's Youth Basketball Crisis, reported by Baxter Holmes, ESPN.com, July 12, 2019.
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July 9, 2019 - Hayward, CA - Tennyson High School Coaches File Sex Discrimination Complaint Over Field, Equipment, reported by Betty Yu, CBS Channel 5.
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July 3, 2019 - New Orleans, LA - The incentive to cheat goes beyond sports. See State Probe: Alleged Grade Fixing Just One Of Several Issues at Kennedy High, reported by Della Hasselle, Times-Picayune.
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July 1, 2019 - Oregon. Can the Oregon legislature solve the sportsmanship crisis? They're giving it a shot - Oregon's sportsmanship bill goes into effect on July 1, 2019, but not everybody wants the legislature to interfere with high school sports. See Editorial: Give OSAA Group Time To Work, The Bulletin (Central Oregon), April 15, 2019. Also, Click here to see the legislation:
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JUNE, 2019
June 26, 2019 - Uniontown, PA - Hazing Gone Wrong: Student Sues Uniontown School District After Alleged Assault During Pre-Season Football Camp, June 21, 2019, reported by David Kaplan, WTAE - Channel 4 (Pittsburgh).
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June 26, 2019 - Want Your Kids To Make More Money When They Grow Up? Put The In Team Sports, Science Says, reported by Dakota Shane, Inc. Magazine.
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June 21, 2019 - Flint, MI - One Person Shot During Basketball Event At Carman-Ainsworth High School, NBC 25 News Flint, MI
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June 20, 2019 - Columbus, OH - Gay Teen Sues Ohio School Officials; Alleges Harassment, reported by Kelli Weir, Canton Repository, Gatehouse Media Ohio, Columbus Dispatch.
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June 20, 2019 - Mouthguard Information. Click here for a comprehensive guide to Mouthguards.
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June 20, 2019 - Connecticut - The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) is the subject of a Title IX complaint over its transgender policy by three high school girls claiming the CIAC's transgender policy discriminates against cisgender girls, denying them the chance to win, and an opportunity for scholarships. See Connecticut High School Athletes File Complaint Over Transgender Policy, reported by Alex Putterman and Lori Riley, Hartford Courant, June 18, 2019. Some Connecticut transgenders are taking a public stand. See Connecticut High School Transgender Athletes 'no longer want to remain silent" Following Title IX Complaint, reported by Dan Brechlin, Hartford Courant, June 20, 2019. Click here for the complaint. Where'd it all start. Right here: See Some Calling For Rule Change After Transgender Track Stars Smoke Competition, reported by Amy Hudak, WTNH-TV (New Haven, CT), June 13, 2018. This Connecticut high school complaint comes on the heels of the Caster Semenya IAAF Case. See Olympic Gold Medalist Caster Semenya Loses Appeal Against IAAF Testosterone Rules, reported by Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, April 30, 2019.
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June 19, 2019 - Los Angeles, CA - Track Coach, Subject of OTL Investigation, Arrested on Charges Of Molesting A Former Athlete, ESPN.com.
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June 19, 2019 - Lakewood, CO - Parents Brawl Over A 13-Year-Old Umpire's Call At Youth Baseball Game. Police Say They're Disgusted, reported by Sophia Sherry and Christina Zdanowicz, cnn.com, June 20, 2019; and The Real Lesson of Idiot Parents Brawling Over 13-Year-Old Ump's Call, reported by Jeff Pearlman, KDRV.com (Medford, OR), June 21, 2019.
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June 17, 2019 - Spokane, WA - Collins Presents At National Association of Sports Officials Summit, July 2019. See Learn Leadership Lessons At Summit Lunch Breakouts, NASO Advisor, June 2019, page 3 (National Association of Sports Officials
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June 15, 2019 - New Jersey - New Jersey Coaches May Get Protection From The Angry Sports Parents Who Go After Coaches' Jobs. See Rah, Rah! H.S. Coach Protection Bill Getting Cheers In Legislature, reported by Matthew Stanmyre, NJ.com.
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June 14, 2019 - DC Court of Appeals Rules Sports Officials Are Independent Contractors, Referee Magazine on referee.com, June 19, 2019. Click here for the DC Circuit's decision.
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June 12, 2019 - Providence, RI - R.I. League Bans La Salle Parent Who Allegedly Hit Coach, reported by Eric Rueb, Providence Journal. The title of this article Will Not Convey The Scope of the Ban to non-Rhode Islanders. The "League" referred to in the title is the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, which governs the State of Rhode Island's high school sports. This ban was a life-time ban, barring a parent from attending any game in Rhode Island for life. Witnesses say that the parent ran down from the stands and hit an opposing team's assistant lacrosse coach because the parent thought his son was the subject of an illegal hit in a game played on June 2. Criminal charges are pending also.
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June 7, 2019 - Midvale, Utah - 2 Utah High Schools Fined In Racism Sportsmanship Case, reported by Amy Donaldson, Salt Lake City Deseret News. The Utah High School Activities Association imposed these penalties after a heated January basketball game, which was marred by racial slurs, taunts, and threats from spectators. The response from school administrators was deemed inadequate by the Activities Association.
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June 1, 2019 - Louisville, KY - Coach Investigated - And Eventually Terminated - For Not Stopping Racial Taunting. See JCPS Investigates Butler Coach After Players Reportedly Directed Slurs At Teammate, reported by Billy Kobin, Louisville Courier Journal.
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MAY, 2019
May 29, 2019 - Chambersburg, PA - Soccer Player Molested By Coach Sues Central Pa. School District In Federal Court, reported by Matt Miller, Pennlive.com.
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May 22, 2019 - Venice - Female Referee Suffers Disgusting Sexist Abuse As Player, 14, Exposes Himself To Her In Italy, reported by Joe Miles, London Sun, May 29, 2019 (click here for New York Post reprint - Kid Exposes Himself To Taunt Female Referee ), See Also, Teenager In Italy Is Banned For Insulting A Female Referee, reported by Mat Davis, BBC Sport, May 30, 2019
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May 15, 2019 - Rocklin, CA - Video Shows Parent Trip Player During Youth Basketball Tournament In Rocklin, reported by Charmaine Nero, Fox TV Channel 40 - Sacramento.
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May 1, 2019 - Tom Farrey from the Aspen Institute has advocated the Norway youth sports system where 93 percent of children grow up playing organized sports. Recently, Farrey published an April 28, 2019 New York Times article that is referenced in this article in the Deseret News. See Youth Sports In the U.S. Are Time-Consuming, Expensive and Stressful. Here's Why Norway May Have The Answer. Reported by Erica Evans, Salt Lake City Deseret News, May 1, 2019.
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APRIL, 2019
April 18, 2019 - Boulder, CO - Will a University's Board Stand Up To An Old-Fashioned Football Coach Who Wants Players to "Hit, Hit, Hit."? See At Colorado, A Breach In Football's Wall, reported by Michael Powell, New York Times.
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April 17, 2019 - Denver, CO - A Giant Laid Low By Too Many Blows To The Head, reported by Michael Powell, New York Times.
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April 10, 2019 - First Step To Finding CTE in Living People. See Abnormal Levels of A Protein Linked To CTE Found In NFL Players' Brains, Study Shows, reported by Ken Belson and Benedict Carey, New York Times.
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MARCH, 2019
March 28, 2019 - Portland, OR - Former High School Football Star Sues Over Concussions, reported by Sergio Olmos, Investigate West.
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March 27, 2019 - Argentina - Referee Rosana Paz Has "Serious Burn' After Fan Throws Boiling Hot Water At Her, reported by Christopher Simpson, BleacherReport.com
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March 27, 2019 - Reese, MI - Reese High School Football Coach Headed To Trial On Embezzlement Charge, Mlive.com.
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March 26, 2019 - Highland Heights, KY - NK Players Accuse Women's Basketball coach Of Bullying, Abuse, and Having a 'Crying Couch'., reported by Kate Murphy, Sarah Brookbank, and James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer,.
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March 16, 2019 - Pittsburgh, PA - Coach Loses It In Youth Wrestling Tournament. See Eric Angle Charged With Assault After Lifting Youth Wrestler By His Neck, reported by Tom Ley, Deadspin.com, March 19, 2019.
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March 8, 2019 - Chicago, IL - Farragut-North Lawndale Game Stopped By Brawl, Both Teams Disqualified From Playoffs, reported by Michael O'Brien, Chicago Sun Times.
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March 2, 2019 - Brookfield, WI - Video: Referee Punched In The Head During Soccer Game Brawl In Brookfield, reported by Tori Bokios, CBS58 News, Milwaukee, March 6, 2019.
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FEBRUARY, 2019
February 27, 2019- Racine, WI - WIAA Files To Appeal Judge's Ruling To Allow Waterford's Hayden Halter To Wrestle After Suspension, reported by Jonathan Sadowski, Racine Journal Times.
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February 26, 2019 - Green Bay, WI - Mike McCarthy, the former Green Bay Packers' Coach, Launches "Vulgar Tirade" Against High School Basketball Refs at His Stepson's Game. See McCarthy Incident: How Rare Is WIAA Complaint? Only 15 to 20 per Year, reported by Ben Krumholz, Fox 11 News Green Bay, February 28, 2019.
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February 26, 2019 - Bill Would Ban Youth Tackle Football In Massachusetts. Polling Shows Voters May Support It. Reported by Steve Koczela, WBUR, Boston, MA.
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February 17, 2019 - Cypress, TX - Softball Brawl: Coach Allegedly Attacked 60-Year-Old Grandmother in Cypress, reported by Deborah Wrigley, ABC TV-13, Houston, February 18, 2019.
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February 8, 2019 - Racine, WI - Strange But True: Wisconsin Judge Overturns A Sports Official's Judgment Call. See Judge Overrules WIAA, Halter Gets To Wrestle, reported by Adam Rogan, Racine Journal-Times. Parents and schools have gone to court before to dispute calls that decide games or result in an ejection, but they almost never win. The prevailing judicial logic was best expressed by Oklahoma Judge in a 2014 case. Jones said,"This slippery slope of solving athletic contests in court instead of on campus will inevitably usher in a new era of robed referees and meritless litigation due to disagreement with or disdain for decisions of gaming officials.” That about said it all .. but it didn't say it all in Wisconsin where a judge literally became the referee and reversed an official's call.
The sad thing about the Wisconsin case is that the official didn't have to overturn the official's judgment call. It wasn't legally necessary to do so. This case involves a wrestler who was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. The wrestler was ejected for flexing and allegedly swearing to celebrate a win. The ejection resulted in a suspension. The school then claimed that it entered the wrestler in a JV tournament to have him serve the suspension. This didn't pass muster with the WIAA, which required the varsity wrestler and defending State champion wrestler to serve the suspension in his next varsity match, which was round one of the State tournament; effectively resulting in the wrestler being DQd from the tournament.
The judge ruled that the wrestling officials made a bad call ... but that meant that the judge became a wrestling referee. This is poor work by the judge, and it wasn't necessary. There are two grounds of attack that the judge passed on. First, the judge could have ruled that WIAA rules aren't clear on whether the suspension could be served at the JV level. Second, the judge could have ruled that it is not clear whether WIAA rules clearly define this action as unsportsmanlike (which is a bit of a shaky argument, but far less damaging than having judges become referees).
This poor ruling did result in an NASO editorial on February 11th. NASO properly notes that judges becoming referees places us all on a slippery slope. The NASO is correct. The judge issued a results based decision, and could have gotten that result in a better manner. You can see the WIAA and NASO's position in the following article. Referees, WIAA Fear Wrestling Court Ruling Will Have Problematic Statewide Implications, reported by Adam Rogan, Racine Journal Times, Feb. 12, 2019. Now, this case isn't necessarily over. The current ruling is a temporary injunction. The standard for the judge is to determine whether to suspend the WIAA's decision by balancing the chance of irreparable harm to the wrestler against the WIAA's likelihood for success on the merits of the case. Generally, if an agency follows its rules, it will win on appeal, which generally means that the wrestler would have had a very slim chance for success. If the WIAA appeals, they probably win, but this creates the issue of what to do about their wrestling tournament. Do they postpone it? Do they let the wrestler compete, and then forfeit him out later? There are no good options here. Bad law creates real world problems.
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February 7, 2019 - Oregon - Investigate West Goes Beyond The Concussion Numbers - And Finds Out That Certified Athletic Trainers Are Very Important. See Rattling The Data: Concussion Investigation Gleans Lessons From Public Documents, reported by Jacob Fenton and Lee Van Der Voo, Investigate West.
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JANUARY, 2019
January 31, 2019 - Columbia, MO - Mizzou Football Team Banned From Bowl this Season As Part Of Academic Fraud Penalties, reported by Blair Kerkhoff, Sam McDowell, and Alex Schiffer, Kansas City Star.
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January 31, 2019 - Atlanta, GA - Grady High School Suspends Cheerleading Team For Bad Behavior, reported by Vanessa McCray, Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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January 28, 2019 - Wyandanch - Long Island, NY - 1 Hurt, 1 Arrested In Wild Brawl During Wyandanch High School Basketball Game, ABC - TV (New York), January 29, 2019.
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January 27, 2019 - Where are the football players going? The answer might surprise you as parents who pull their kids from football are placing them in other high concussion risk sports. See Wealthy Parents Are Shying Away From Football, But Not From Low-Concussion Sports, reported by Bob Cook, Forbes.com. And, the reader should note that the headline should read, "Not From High - Concussion Sports" as the whole point of Cook's article is that parents who are pulling their kids from football because of its high concussion risk are placing the children in other high concussion risk sports. It's enough to make a football fan a little paranoid. But, maybe the point is that football is unacceptably high risk to the wealthy parents who are the subject of the article while other high concussion sports may have a high risk, but that high risk is deemed acceptable for any of a great number of reasons.
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January 26, 2019 - Farmington, ME - Alleged Racial Slur Roils Maine High School. See Mt. Blue Investigating Alleged Racial Incident In Boys' Basketball Game Against Cony, reported by Drew Bonifant, Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal.
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January 22, 2019 - The Fight Over The Future of Football Has Become a Battle For California's Soul, reported by Michael Weinreb, The Ringer
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January 22, 2019 – Seattle, WA - Legal – High School Football Coach Fired Because He Prayed On Field. See Supreme Court Denies Bremerton Coach Kennedy’s Prayer Case, MyNorthwest.com.
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January 19, 2019 – Fairfax, OH - Parents Charged After Fight Outside Youth Basketball Game, reported by Dan Griffin, WLWT – TV (Cincinnati) ------------------------
January 13, 2019 – Portland, Me - Certified Trainers Keep Athletes Safe From Injury. So Why Do So Few Maine Schools Have Them? reported by Steve Craig, Portland Press Herald.
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January 12, 2019 - Richmond, CA - What Will Football Helmets Look Like In Future? UC Berkeley Scientists May Know, reported by Al Saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle. The promise of that magic helmet looms large. We want this, but the promise of the perfect helmet has led many people to fall prey to bad equipment and bad advertising. Hopefully, this one's different.
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January 10, 2019 – Tucson, AZ – Basketball Official Who Reportedly Asked For Pueblo High Team’s Green Cards Fired, reported by Norma Gonzalez, Arizona Daily Star.
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OCTOBER, 2018
October 17, 2018 - Lebanon, OH - Another Youth Sports League Out Thousands; How To Prevent Theft From Your Organization, reported by Karin Johnson, WLWT Channel 5, Cincinnati, OH.
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October 16, 2018 - Youth Sports Still Struggling With Dropping Participation, High Costs and Bad Coaches, Study Finds, reported by Jacob Bogage, Washington Post,
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October 12, 2018 - Penn Hills, PA - Charges of racism from elite white school lead to tension at contests. Connellsville High School's opponents didn't take too kindly to Connellsville's alleged racism. Some schools didn't want to play Connellsville. Others play, but clearly there's racial tension. The high school governing body found the allegations against Connellsville to be "reasonably credible" but could not substantiate them. Connellsville has started bringing armed guards to their away games. They claim this is a routine practice for big games, but their opponents say that this is a racist assumption about their opponents. See Armed Security Escorting Pennsylvania High School's Athletes Amid Racial Slurs Allegations Against Its Soccer Team, AP report in Pennsylvania Morning Call, October 12, 2018.
October 12, 2018 - Dayton, OH - Ponitz To Forfeit Friday's Game After On-Field Altercation, reported by Marc Pendleton, Dayton Daily News, October 18, 2018.
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October 11, 2018 - Lansing, MI - Why Referee Shortage May Have Long-Term Consequences For High School, Youth Sports, reported by Eric Lacy, Lansing State Journal.
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October 5, 2018 - Brownsville, TN - Army Vet Stops Shooter Outside High School Football Game, WFLA (Florida), October 9, 2018.
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October 4, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - Racist, Sexual Comments Shouted During High School Volleyball Game, reported by Kristin Leigh, WSOC TV 9.
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October 3, 2018 - Wise, VA - Coaches Brawl Erupts On Field At Pee Wee Football Game, NBC Nightly News, October 4, 2018.
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October 3, 2018 - Zebulon, GA - Pike County HS Linebacker Seriously Injured In Football Game Dies, reported by Michael King, Adrianne Haney, 11 Alive News, Atlanta.
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October 2, 2018 - Gunnison, UT - Teen Charged With Sexually Assaulting Fellow Students In Hazing Incidents, reported by Pat Reavy, Deseret News. And it gets worse. See More Victims Come Forward In Gunnison High School Sexual Assault Case; Two More Teenagers Charged, reported by Paighten Harkins, Salt Lake City Tribune, October 6, 2018.
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October 2018 - Find The Sport That Meets Your Health Needs. See The Aspen Institute's Healthy Sport Index. Click here to see how the Healthy Sport Index works.
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SEPTEMBER, 2018
September 30, 2018 - If Football Dies, It'll Be Through Attrition, Not Legislation, reported by Bob Cooke, Forbes.com.
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September 28, 2018 - Pittsburgh, PA - Plum High School Football Player Allegedly Assaulted By Coach, CBS-TV (Pittsburgh), September 29, 2018.
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September 22, 2018 – Chapel Hill, NC - If football dies, this is how it will start. See ‘The Sport Is Literally Dying’: Local High Schools Grapple With Football’s Decline, reported by Jack Frederick, The Daily Tar Heel (The University of North Carolina’s student paper).
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September 13, 2018 - Knoxville, TN - Anderson County, Clinton Football Coaches Suspended Following Altercation After Rivalry Game, reported by Tom Kreager, Knoxville News Sentinel. You read it right. The coaches fought each other in the post-game handshake line. The losing coach thought the winners left their starters in too long.
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September 11, 2018 - Beauregard, LA - Parents, Coaches Lead To Officials Shortages Across State, reported by Chris Schoonover, Beauregard Daily News.
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September 7, 2018 - Holmdel, NJ - Former NFL Player Turned High School Coach Threatens Transfer Student. See Ex-NFL Player Charlie Rogers Fired From High School Job For Threatening 11-Year-Old In Voicemail, reported by CBS Sports.
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September 6, 2018 - Penn Hills, PA - Connellsville Students Accused of Yelling Racial Slurs During Game Against Penn Hills, reprted by Brenda Waters, CBS Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA - September 12, 2018.
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September 1, 2018 – Monroe, LA – Umpire Who Says He Was Assaulted By A Coach At Monroe Youth Softball Game Speaks Out, reported by Connor Ingalls, myarklamiss.com, September 5, 2018.
AUGUST, 2018
August 11, 2018 - Antioch, TN - Angry father allegedly shoots coach for breaking up his son's fight at a football practice. See Police: Youth Football Coach Shot Twice At Antioch H.S., Suspect At Large, reported by Marion Kirkpatrick, WSMV-TV (Nashville, TN).
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August 8, 2018 - Yuma, AZ - Yuma County's Teacher of The Year Ousted By Angry Sports Parents - The Issue Appears To Be Playing Time. See Gila Ridge High School Teacher Dismissed From Coaching Positions, reported by Crystal Bedoya, KYMA - TV.
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August 6, 2018 - Palo Alto, CA - Using Virtual Reality To Fight Concussions. See Stanford Researchers Start Concussion Study With High School Athletes (published in print as A Close Eye On Concussions), reported by Rebecca Aydin, San Francisco Chronicle, August 6, 2018, page D-1.
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August 2, 2018 - Morristown, NJ - Turning A Bad Concussion Story Into a Good Concussion Story. See Former West Morris football player turns traumatic brain injury into inspirational podcast, reported by Jane Havsy, Morristown Daily Record. Kevin founded the Heads 'N Tales podcast, which "share[s] inspiring stories of perseverance and the latest innovations in sports health."
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JULY, 2018
July 31, 2018 - Durham, NC - Where the "N" Word Collides With The Law. A North Carolina football got caught on video using the "N" word. His fellow students are offended, but there are limits to schools' ability to penalize off-campus conduct. See Can Schools Punish Students For Off-Campus Racist, Sexist Rants? reported by Greg Childress, Durham (NC) Herald Sun, August 1, 2018. The football player's fellow students may have a solution: shun the offender and boycott all of his activities, including his football games. See Student’s N-word video could cause boycott of Jordan High football, lacrosse games, reported by Greg Childress, Durham (NC) Herald Sun, July 31, 2018.
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July 22, 2018 - “This Was Preventable” : Football Heat Deaths and The Rising Temperature, reported by James Bruggard, InsideClimateNews.org
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July 18, 2018 - Tulsa, OK - Parents Behaving Badly: A Youth Sports Crisis Caught on Video, reported by Bill Pennington, New York Times. This is an excellent story about how one man is fighting back by airing videos of sports parents behaving badly - especially where they badger and bully the boys and girls, and men and women who officiate their children's games.
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July 18, 2018 - Iowa - Officials Shortages hit Iowa - and Iowa Fights Back. See Add One: How One State Is Examining The Shortage of Officials, NFHS.org.
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July 8, 2018 - Emerson, GA - Players, referees involved in ugly on-court brawl at AAU tournament, reported by Myron Medcalf, ESPN.com, July 8, 2018
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JUNE, 2018
June 24, 2018 - Atlanta, GA - At least 40 people involved in brawl at basketball tournament, parents say, reported by Tom Jones, WSB-TV 2 Atlanta, June 29, 2018
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June 21, 2018 - New York, NY - NYC High School Sports Shut Out Black, Latino Kids: Lawsuit, reported by Noah Manskar, New York City Patch.
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June 21, 2018 - Red Creek, NY - Red Creek Parent Is The Latest To Find Out That Courts Do Not Exist To Act As Review Boards For Officials' Calls. See Judge tosses Red Creek parent's lawsuit over basketball player's ejection, reported by Jeff DiVeronica, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. DiVeronica quotes New York Supreme Court Judge Scott Odorisi, who wrote, "Courts are valuable tools to resolve disputes," Odorisi wrote in his decision, which was released Thursday, "but they should not be transformed into a Replay Command Center or GameDay Central for every school, or even recreational, sporting squabble." Despite Odorisi's wise counsel, it's only a matter of time before some other parent sues to reverse an official's call.
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June 16, 2018 - Kingsport, TN - Parents Brawl During Youth Sports Tournament at Brickyard Park, reported by Matthew Lane, Kingsport Times-News, June 19, 2018.
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June 15, 2018 - Kent, OH - You've Gotta Have Money To Play Youth Sports - Even In Middle-America. See Has Playing Youth Sports Become A Luxury, reported by Michael Leonard, MytownNeO.com.
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June 14, 2018 - Pennsylvania - Guilty Plea Entered In The Hazing Death of Penn State University Fraternity Pledge, reported by Darran Simon, CNN. For details on this incident, see Death At A Penn State Fraternity, reported by Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic, November, 2017.
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June 8, 2018 - Chicago, IL - Sexual Abuse Crisis Hits Chicago Public Schools - And It Goes Well Beyond Abusive Coaches. See Betrayed: Chicago Public Schools Fail To Protect Students From Sexual Abuse, Leaving Lasting Damage, reported by David Jackson, Jennifer Smith Richards, Gary Marx, and Juan Perez, Jr., Chicago Tribune. System-wide failures, including weak background check procedures, and weak child abuse reporting procedures played a major role in this crisis.
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June 7, 2018 - Lockport, Ill - Illinois high school starts an officiating class to address severe shortage of officials. See Lockport High School Class To Address 'Worst Shortage of Officials' For Youth Sports, reported by C.R. Walker, Chicago Tribune's Daily Southtown Newsletter.
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June 4, 2018 - Connecticut - Will Feelings On Transgender Athletes' Participating Change When The Transgender Athletes Win? We're seeing it in Connecticut where two transgender girls won State track medals. This is different than the Texas wrestling case where a transgender boy on medical testosterone couldn't participate as a boy because Texas makes you compete in your birth gender. The transgender boy won the State girls' wrestling championship - showing the limits of restrictions on transgender athletes. But, Connecticut embraces transgender athletes. They're not Texas. However, they have a Texas problem as some Connecticut coaches who were pleased to have transgender athletes compete may not be all that happy now that transgender athletes are starting not only to compete, but to win. See No Easy Answers When It Comes To Transgender Athletes, reported by Jeff Jacobs, Connecticut Post. And it didn't take long for the backlash to come! Indeed, some people do feel differently when the transgender athletes win. See Some Calling For Rule Change After Transgender Track Stars Smoke Competition, reported by Amy Hudak, WTNH-TV (New Haven, CT), June 13, 2018.
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MAY, 2018
May 31, 2018 - Louisiana - Louisiana Enacts Tough New Hazing Law. Hazing goes from a misdemeanor to a felony, and the legislature provides a definition for hazing. See Louisiana Toughens Laws Against Hazing After Student's Death, AP Wire Story in usnews.com. See Also Louisiana House Unanimously Supports Making Hazing a Felony, BestofNewOrleans.com, April 2, 2018. Click here to see the actual Bill.
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May 23, 2018 - Knoxville, TN - Spring Fling 2018: Deaf umpire can still call 'em like he sees 'em, reported by Diana C. Nearhos, Knoxville News.
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May 23, 2018 - Washington, D.C. - U.S. sports leaders face angry questions at congressional hearing, reported by David Wharton, :Los Angeles Times.
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May 22, 2018 - Boston, MA - Massachusetts School Adopts New Gender Inclusive Rule for Sports Teams, reported by David Bienick, WCVB-TV.
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May 17, 2018 - Detroit, MI - Officiating Shortages Worsen In Michigan. See Ref Shortage In Metro Detroit Spells Trouble For Youth Sports, reported by Matthew Smith, WXYZ-TV
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May 17, 2018 - Dallas, TX - 25-Year Old Man Poses As HS Student To Regain Basketball Glory. See How could a 25-year-old athlete enroll as a high school freshman in Dallas ISD?, reported by Julieta Chiquillo and Sara Coello, Dallas Morning News.
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May 16, 2018 - Forney, TX - Sexual Hazing at Forney High School In Texas. See Hazing is a crime. Why aren't high schools doing more to stop it?, reported by Tanya Eiserer, WFAA-TV, Dallas, Tx.
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May 6, 2018 - Indianapolis, IN - Caught on camera: Coach and parent fight at youth baseball game in Indianapolis, reported by Lindsey Eaton, Fox TV 59, May 7, 2018.
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May 5, 2018 - New Jersey, The Director of the Sports Concussion of New Jersey Questions Whether the Recent Multi-State Legislation To Ban Youth Tackle Football Before Age Is Premature. See Concussion expert: Should we ban tackle football before the age of 12?, by Rosemarie Moser, Ph.D., Opinion Column in NJ.com.
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May 4, 2018 - Mt. Zion, IL - Serious Injury Prompts Talk of Softball Masks, reported by Joey Wagner, Matoon, Il. Journal Gazette & Times Courier. This article is a follow up to Wagner's article in the Decatur Herald & Review, covering the injury. See Mount Zion Junior Ally Bruner Home After Line Drive To Face, April 24, 2018.
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May 3, 2018 - Mobile, AL - Ritualistic Beating of High School Football Player Rodney Kim, Jr. See Alleged Hazing Attack By High School Football Team Caught On Camera, reported by Stephanie Wash, ABC News.
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May 2, 2018 - Dalton, GA - No suspensions for Bruins after brawl with LaGrange, reported by Jacob Hoag, Dalton (GA) Daily Citizen-News. Sometimes you get away with one - no suspensions appear to have been issued in a post-game handshake baseball fight.
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May 1, 2018 - Haddonfield, NJ - Haddonfield School Cancels Boys Lacrosse Season After Racial Slur, reported by Tom Davis, Haddonfield Patch. See Also, Beyond boys' lacrosse, on Haddonfield sports teams, racial slurs 'just happened all the time,' parents say, reported by Melanie Burney and Phil Anastasia, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 18, 2018
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APRIL 2018
April 27, 2018 - Jacksonville, FL - Click here for The Florida Times-Union's Special Report: Football's Concussion Crisis: Attention Is Focused But Progress Is Slowed, reported by John Reid.
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April 19, 2018 - Ohio - OHSAA Sportsmanship Data Trending In Wrong Direction. See OHSAA data show sportsmanship is an escalating problem | Opinion, reported by John Kampf, Ohio Morning Journal, April 19, 2018.
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April 14, 2018 - Old Rochester, MA - One-Sided Result For Old Rochester, reported by Dan Ventura, Boston Herald. Indeed, the score was one-sided as Old Rochester posted an 82-0 baseball win, raising the question when is enough enough.
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April 10, 2018 - Dover, NH - Girls can play baseball and they do. But, sometimes the boys make them pay a heavy price. In New Hampshire, the price was the threat of pain. See Parents: Baseball Coaches Talked of Beaning Daughter, reported by John Doyle, Foster's Daily Democrat. But contrast the boorish behavior of the New Hampshire coaches to the support a girl received in Mount Kisco, NY. See - A Young Girl Worried Baseball Was Only For Boys. Her Father Asked Twitter For Help. Reported by Jacob Boggage, Washington Post, March 3, 2018. And, yes, in 2018 girls play baseball. Click here for the girlsplaybaseball website.
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April 9, 2018 - Bergen County, NJ - Bergen Catholic wrestling program accused of sexual and verbal abuse in lawsuit, reported by Keidy Ortiz and Abbott Koloff, Northjersey.com. The coaches are fighting back and a lot of players are backing their denials. What's it all mean? Time will tell. See 'It's all a big lie': Bergen Catholic wrestlers defend coach amid bombshell accusations, reported by Patrick Lanni, NJ.com
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April 7, 2018 - Middleburg, FL - Middleburg youth football coach charged in post-game brawl, reported by Destiny McKeiver, Channel 4 TV, Jacksonville.
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April 4, 2018 - Four States Considering Youth Tackle Football Bans, reported by Jacob Feldman, SI.com.
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April 3, 2018 - Florida - Concussion Fears Are Impacting Tackle Football Participation, But Girls' Flag Football Thrives In Florida. See Girls Flag Football Thrives In Florida While Tackle Football Deals With Concussion Drama, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today High School Sports.
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MARCH 2018
March 21, 2018 - Albuquerque, NM - Racially Motivated Brawl and a Parent Allegedly Groping a 15-Year Old Girl During the Brawl. Low moment for the Duke City Soccer League. See Girl Reportedly Choked By Parent In Soccer Match Fight, reported by Russell Contreras, KOB Channel Four (Albuquerque), March 22, 2018.
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March 6, 2018 - East Bridgewater, MA - Superintendent Apologizes After Girls Basketball Team Trounced Opponent by 86 Points, Associated Press Wire Service report in North Andover Eagle Tribune.
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March 6, 2018 - Buffalo, NY - Anti-violence group member hurt in high school basketball fight. See Buffalo Peacemaker Injured During Fight At High School Basketball Game, reported by Aaron Besecker and Miguel Rodriguez, The Buffalo News, March 7, 2018.
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FEBRUARY 2018
February 19, 2018 - Charlotte, NC - 4th Grade Basketball Coach Accused of Attacking Referees, reported by Alex Shabad, WCNC TV.
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February 16, 2018 - Greenville, SC - Even bowling has been hit by an abusive coach. See Deputies: Youth Bowling Coach Arrested For Criminal Sexual Conduct With a Minor, reported by Savannah Sondov, WHNS - Fox Carolina, Greenville.
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February 15, 2018 - South Brunswick, NJ - Where's Waldo? Volunteer youth soccer coach Waldo Milla-Guerra joins the rather lengthy list of youth coaches allegedly involved in sexual misconduct. See Volunteer Soccer Coach Arrested On Child Porn Charges, reported by Jeff Goldman, NJ.com.
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February 15, 2018 - Arvada, CO - Ralston Valley Suspended 4 Girls Basketball Starters For Cyberbullying; Todd Casebier Takes Castle View Football Job, reported by Kyle Newman, Denver Post.
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February 14, 2018 - Columbia, SC - See US High Schools Continue To Drop 'Redskins' Mascot (report on national trend of dropping Native American imagery and nicknames), reported by Adam Zielonka and Dylan Sinn, The State (Columbia, SC).
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February 13, 2018 - Liverpool, England - England's version of the Larry Nasser/USA Gymnastics' scandal. Barry Bennell, a former English youth soccer coach, convicted of sexually abusing multiple players. See Paradise For Young Boys: Perv Ex-Soccer Coach Guilty on 36 Charges, Associated Press report in New York Post.
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February 13, 2018 - Columbus, Ohio - Post-game handshake spitting after college tennis match. See Tennis Match Ends In Disgusting Spitting Incident, New York Post.
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February 11, 2018 - Utah - Racism In Utah High School Sports. Yes, it happens in Utah more than you'd think. See When Fans Hurl A Racist Slur, Utah High School Players Try To Roll With It. But That Doesn't Mean They Think It's OK, reported by Maddie Lee, Salt Lake Tribune.
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February 9, 2018 - Forbes's Excellent Youth Sports Columnist Bob Cook Asks, What's Behind All The Racism At Youth Sports Events?, Forbes.com.
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February 9, 2018 - Maryland - Maryland Tackle Football Bill Absorbs Early Hits, reported by Jeff Barker, Baltimore Sun. This is one of a number of Bills to limit or ban youth contact sports. This Bill bars tackle football until high school, and addresses heading in soccer and checking in youth lacrosse and ice hockey.
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February 9, 2018 - California - Youth Tackle Football Could Be Banned In California By Next Year, reported by Ted Andersen, San Francisco Chronicle. California joins New York and Maryland with proposed legislation to ban youth tackle football. The Maryland Bill does not look like it has strong political support. The proponent of the California Bill has won on other youth sports issues.
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February 9, 2018 - Scottsdale, AZ - Higley-Saguaro state playoff basketball game ends when fight breaks out, reported by Richard Obert, Arizona Republic, February 10, 2018.
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February 8, 2018 - Pittsburgh, PA - Cops Called After Wild Brawl During High School Basketball Game In Pittsburgh, reported by Pete Blackburn, CBS Sports. The police had to use pepper spray to break up this 60 person riot.
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February 2, 2018 - Cincinnati, Ohio - Elder Students Aim Racial Taunts at 2 St. Xavier Basketball Players, reported by Chris Mayhew, Cininnati Enquirer, February 6, 2018. The alleged taunt from the Elder High School students was a taunt about an Asian player's eyes combined with another chant of "P.F. Chang." The Elder principal issued an apology and convened a student assembly to reinforce the seriousness of this transgression.
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JANUARY 2018
January 24, 2018 - Larry Nassar Sentenced Up to 175 Years In Prison For Decades of Sexual Abuse, reported by Eric Levinson, CNN.
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January 8, 2018 - What would you do if the opposing team called themselves the "Wet Dream Team" and showed up wearing uniforms that said, "Knee Grow" and "Coon"? Well Cincinnati area youth league basketball teams were put to the test when this occurred. See Team Kicked Out of League for Offensive Basketball Jerseys, reported by Chris Mayhew, Cincinnati Enquirer.
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January 4, 2018 - Raytown, MO - Fans disagreed with a high school referee’s calls. Then one punched him in the face, reported by Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, January 9, 2018.
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DECEMBER 2017
December 30, 2017 - San Pasqual, CA - California High School Football Player Can't Be Forced To Stand For National Anthem, Court Rules, reported by Adam Elmahrek, Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2017. The big question in this case is why the San Pasqual Valley Unified School District's attorneys thought they could win this case. It's pretty well established that the first amendment bars public schools from forcing students to stand for the anthem. There are probably some internal politics behind this. See the national coverage of this story at Court Rules In Favor of High School Student Banned From Kneeling During National Anthem, reported by Jason Owens, yahoosports prep rally, December 30, 2017.
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December 21, 2017 - New Jersey Bills Would Increase Co-op sports programs, and open the door for private school students to play on public school teams. Athletic administrators worry about unintended consequences. See Bills Could Alter Shape of New Jersey High School Athletics, reported by Darren Cooper, northjersey.com .
NOVEMBER 2017
November 30, 2017 - The Orlando Sentinel interviews Wake Forest Law Professor Gregory Parks from hazingprevention.org . See Commentary: How To Stop Hazing: What Colleges Need To Know (Everyone Else Too), reported by Michael Joe Murphy, Orlando Sentinel.
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November 29, 2017 - Lancaster, PA - Author, non-profit leader, and former college profession John Gerdy argues that it's time to separate amateur sports from educational institutions, noting that the concussion crisis goes against everything that we stand for in education. See High School Football: The Folly of Trying To Sustain The Unsustainable, Johngerdy.com.
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November 27, 2017 - Chicago, IL - New Studies Show Brain Impact of Youth Football, Radiological Association of North America.
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November 15, 2017 - Chicago, IL - Former NFL Player Confirmed As 1st Diagnosis of CTE in Living Patient, reported by Julio Jacobo, ABC News.
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November 14, 2017 - Sacramento, CA - How do you stop poor sportsmanship? You stand up and demand it, and let it be known that there are consequences when coaches and players don't meet the standard. The principal of Sacramento's Del Oro High School held a coach accountable by suspending him from a playoff game. The coach didn't get ejected, cause a fight or do anything that would make this website's "bad acts" page. But, he constantly complained, and his complaining riled up the crowd, which also complained. See, 'No Excuses': Del Oro Suspends Football Coach During Run For Another Title, reported by Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee.
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November 4, 2017 - San Mateo, CA - We've discussed the potential harm of energy drink consumption for years in high school sports. But, the modern student may have moved well beyond energy drinks. Carlmont High School junior, Talia Fine notes that today's student-athlete can take "workout drinks, gel pods, pills, energy shots and, in more extreme cases, concentrated caffeine powder that can be snorted, yielding a quicker rush..." Houston, we've got a problem. Adults are still debating how to handle energy drinks, and today's student-athlete is using gel pods. We've got some catching up to do. See Student-Athletes Taking Caffeine For Performance, reported by Talia Fine, San Mateo Daily Journal.
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November 7, 2017 - Trumbull, CT - Windsor Superintendent Calls For Investigation Into Reports Of Racial Taunts During Girls Soccer Game, reported by Steven Goode, Hartford Courant, November 21, 2017. Windsor High School is alleging that St. Joseph High students racially taunted their African-American students by chanting, "Where are you from ... Africa", sung to the tune of Toto's hit song Africa.
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November 2017 - Minnesota - We're used to seeing schools treat refs poorly. The Minnesota State High School League is countering that with its Thank A Ref campaign. See Minnesota Starts Program To Thank Officials For Service, reported by Tim Leighton, NFHS High School Today.
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November 2017 - Illinois - After AED Saves Son's Life, Family Raises Money for More Units, reported by Matt Troha, NFHS High School Today.
OCTOBER 2017
October 31, 2017 - Think Child Sex Abuse Can't Happen in Your Youth or High School League: Think Again. We mostly hear about the most prominent incidents - like USA Gymnastics' and USA Swimmings' scandals. But, here are a few small town abuse cases: See Former Coach Charged With Child Sex Abuse Was Go-To Guy In Community, reported by Tanya Eiserer, WFAA (Kaufman County, TX), October 31, 2017 (multiple allegations of abuse against Edward Mann, a long-time youth baseball coach); Southern Nash HS Teacher, Coach and Alum is Charged in Raleigh With Student Sex Crimes, reported by Ron Gallagher, Charlotte (NC) News and Observer, October 31, 2017 (allegations of statutory rape against Joshua Sessoms, a science teacher and coach); HIV Positive Ex-School Aide Indicted on More Sex Abuse Charges, WUSA - Channel 9, Charles County, MD, October 23, 2017 (multiple allegations of abuse against Carlos Bell, a middle school teachers' aide and high school track coach).
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October 27, 2017 - Monroe Township, NJ - Ernie and Anthony Lunardelli told representatives from Colts Neck and Monroe High School that they'd walk off the field if any player protested the anthem. They were true to their word. See N.J. High School Football Refs Walk Off Field In Protest After Players Take Knee During Anthem, reported by Greg Tufaro, northjersey.com, October 28, 2017; see also Two Refs Refuse to Work New Jersey High School Game After Anthem Protest, AP Wire Service Story on WABC-TV New York, October 28, 2017. Yes, this is a clear breach of contract by the officials. Also, this was a public school game so the schools don't have a legal right to bar the student protests, meaning that any official who couches his officiating on a school quashing a protest is asking the school to violate the Constitution. In short, this official was contractually out of line and tried to force a school to violate the Constitution. Now, the question is what actions will the officials' Association or the New Jersey State Interscholastic Association take. We will see. We do know that an official who walked out of a game after an athletic protested the anthem earlier this month received an 18 month suspension. See Indianapolis, IN - Air Force One Vet Turned Ref Walks out After Athlete Kneels, is Suspended for 18 Months, reported by Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, October 19, 2017.
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October 20, 2017 - Arlington, TX - Football radio announcer Mark Banton tosses out racial slur and then insults a cheerleader during the Cleburne vs. Seguin high school football game. Banton referred to Seguin players as "cougroes", combing the school nickname Cougars and the word negroe. Seguin is about one third black. Their opponent is only 3% black. Later in the broadcast, Banton suggested that a Seguin high school cheerleader needed to go on a Jenny Craig diet. One interesting note: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram quotes Banton as saying, “I am aware of the accusations and I have nothing to say about it.” This is what one would typically say when a matter is in dispute. The problem for Banton is that the Star-Telegram has embedded the offensive parts of his broadcast onto the electronic version of their story (not to mention that everybody who listened to the game heard the comments). Banton either doesn't realize that he made his comments on the air and that tape exists or he's trying to suggest that we shouldn't believe our lying ears. See Cleburne Broadcaster Ousted After Calling Arlington Seguin Players "Cougroes", reported by Ryan Osborne, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 26, 2017. Banton lasted one week after his offensive statements. See Announcer Who Called Arlington Athletes 'Cougroes' Fired from Cleburne Sportscast, reported by Marc Ramirez and Eline de Bruijn, Dallas Morning News, October 27, 2017.
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October 19, 2017 - Gray, ME - Maine High School Football Coach Duane Greaton Resigns Under Pressure After Allegedly Telling His Team To Say, "Who's Your Daddy?" To Opponent With Two Lesbian Parents. See Gray-New Gloucester Coach Resigns; Allegedly Told Players To Taunt Opponent, reported by Mike Lowe, Portland (ME) Press Herald, October 19, 2017; See also District Was Asked Not To Hire Gray-New Gloucester Football Coach Who Urged Taunt, reported by Steve Craig, Portland (ME) Press Herald, October 21, 2017; A High School Coach's Order Led To His Resignation. Here's What He Told His Players To Do, reported by Aaron Colen, The Blaze, October 20, 2017.
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October 19, 2017 - State Laws Have Reduced Concussion Risks In High School Kids, Study Finds, reported by William Wan, Washington Post. The Post is reporting on a study in the American Journal of Public Health. To read that study, click here.
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October 18, 2017 - Pleasant View, UT - Utah School Investigates Video Showing Teen Girls Using Racial Slurs, CBS News. This story went national because the girls who used racial slurs tried to "cleverly" disguise what they were doing by saying, "F--k Nig--s" backward and then loading the backwards phrase into an app that plays video backwards, allowing those in the know to hear the offensive phrase while everybody else heard what appeared to be a nonsense phrase. For a local follow up, see Update: Weber High Students Who Recorded Racist Video Resign From Cheerleading Squad, reported by Benjamin Wood, Salt Lake City Tribune, October 23, 2017.
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October 16, 2017 - Hillsborough, NC - Orange High School Football Player, 14, In Coma, but Family Hopeful After Recent Test, reported by Colin Warren-Hicks and Tammy Grub, Durham Herald-Sun.
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October 7, 2017 - College Park, GA - Parents Fed Up After Brawl At Youth Football Game, reported by Audrey Washington, WSBTV (South Fulton County, CA), October 13, 2017. This fight happened after a coach taunted the losing team and the parents reacted by launching a brawl.
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October 7, 2017 - Portland, OR - Free Baseball Clinic Brings Awareness of Decline In Youth Sports Participation, reported by Lyndsey Hewitt, Portland Tribune.
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October 4, 2017 - Springfield, MO - Drury Bans Hazing, Sets Stiff Penalties For Students Engaged In Hazing, reported by Claudette Riley, Springfield News-Leader.
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SEPTEMBER 2017
September 29, 2017 - Chester, PA - In Chester, The Struggles of Playing Youth Football In One of The Country's Most Dangerous Cities, reported by Erin McCarthy, Philadelphia Inquirer.
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September 28, 2017 - What's Lost When Only Rich Kids Play Sports, reported by Linda Flanagan, TheAtlantic.com.
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September 28, 2017 - Bossier, LA - 34 Schools In Louisiana Told By District That Athletes Should Stand For Anthem: It's a Lawsuit Waiting To Happen, reported by Sebastian Murdock, Huffington Post. It is indeed a lawsuit waiting to happen. Public schools cannot advocate for or against anthem protests. We must 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.
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September 26, 2017 - England - Concussion Concerns Hit English Youth Rugby. See Tackling and Scrums Should Be Banned From School Rubgy Government Urged, reported by Mark Waghorn, Bexhill-On-Sea Observer.
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September 25, 2017 - Roger Pielke, the Director of the University of Colorado's Sports Governance Center, asks, Has the United States Reached Peak (American) Football?, Commentary Section, playthegame.org.
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September 24, 2017 - Students Have A Right To Protest During National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, reported by Evie Blad, Education Week.
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September 23, 2017 - Denver, CO - Confederate Flag, Racial Slurs Spark Conflict at Weld Central v. Manual High Football Game, According to
Principal, reported by Ann Lauricello, Fox 31 TV. Citing a lack of evidence, Weld Central denies that their fans displayed a confederate flag. So far, no video evidence has been found as this ugly situation devolves into a he said/she said morass. See Racism Allegations from Manual HS Principal Prompt Rebuttal from Weld Central, reported by Kevin Massey, Dan Grossman, Katie Eastman and Jacob Rodriguez, KUSA TV9.
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September 22, 2017 - Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Dwyer High School ended their 2016 with an ugly brawl after a playoff loss. Click here for details.
Think they'll aim for good sportsmanship in 2017? Think again. It may be early in 2017, but Dwyer's in end of year form, refusing to shake hands with Palm Beach Gardens High School, not after a heated contest, but prior to the game. See Fla. Player Kicked Out of Captains' Meeting For Refusing To Shake Hands, reported by Wells Dusenbury, Florida Sun-Sentinel article republished in USA Today.
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September 22, 2017 - San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco Chronicle makes the case for licensing athletic trainers, and asks why California is the only State that doesn't do so. See How California Puts High School Athletes At Great Risk (titled Safety Sidelined in the paper edition), reported by Al Saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, page A1. The Chronicle is not the only paper to notice that California is the only State that doesn't license certified athletic trainers. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has picked up on the story, too. See Local Athletic Trainers Back Push For State Licensing Program, reported by Lori A. Carter, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, March 11, 2017. Part of the reason that California doesn't license athletic trainers is because California's Governor has vetoed previous legislation. It is possible that the Governor may not know what an athletic trainer is. That's about the only rational explanation for vetoing a fairly non-controversial proposal that has passed in every other State. Note: It's nice to see the mainstream media picking up on this story; I've been on top of this for years. See California Sports Administrator Puzzled By Governor Brown’s Veto of AB 1890, MomsTeam.com, August 4, 2014.
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September 19, 2017 - Boston, MA - New Boston University Study Links Youth Football To Significant Health Risks Later In Life, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today.
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September 19, 2017 - Wheaton, IL - 5 Wheaton College Football Players Face Felony Charges In Hazing Incident, reported by Christy Gutowski and Stacy St. Clair, Chicago Tribune.
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September 17, 2017 - New York, NY - Boy Killed By Falling Soccer Goal Post In Midtown, Police Say, reported by Alison Fox, AM New York.
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September 10, 2017 - Fashion Over Function: A Safer Helmet Battles the 'Cool' Factor, reported by Sheil Kapadia and Tim McManus, ESPN.com
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September 8, 2017 - Little Rock, AR -1 Juvenile Shot After Fight Outside NLR High School Football Game, reported by Price McKeon, Arkansas Matters.
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September 7, 2017 - United Kingdom - Head's Gone: Shocking Moment Rugby Player Mark Meafua Hits Referee As He Was About To Be Carded That Saw Him Banned For Ten Years, reported by John Hutchinson, The Sun. A 19-year old junior rugby player loses it when carded and punches an 18-year old ref. The player will pay a steep price for launching his blow against the ref as he has received a ten year ban from rugby.
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September 4, 2017 - You've got to have money to play this game! See Kid Sports Inc: How Your Child's Rec League Turned Into A $15 Billion Industry, reported by Sean Gregory, Time Magazine, page 42 (note - the online version of the article is entitled How Kids' Sports Became A $15 Billion Industry).
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September 1, 2017 - Concussion Research Might Be Gradually Finding Ways to Cure CTE .... In Mice. Humans will have to wait at least a decade if the science advances. See The Race Is On For A 'Concussion Pill" As New NFL Season Begins, reported by Mike Tanier, Bleacherreport.com.
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September 1, 2017 - Kansas City, MO - The Park Hill School District requires all elementary and middle school students attending its football games to be accompanied by an adult in the aftermath of a number of spectator brawls. See Adult Supervision Required at High School Football Games After Park Hill School District Fight, reported by Ariel Rothfield, KSHB TV, September 8, 2017; and A Fight in The Stands at Park Hill Causes High School Football Game to End Early, reported by Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, September 1, 2017.
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September 1, 2017 - Where are all the poor kids in youth sports? How come there aren't more blacks in baseball? How come the private schools keep beating the public schools? Well, sports appear to have gotten so expensive that the poor folks got priced out, and now the middle class folks are feeling the crunch, too. See Parents Speak Out About The Skyrocketing Cost of Youth Sports, ABC News.
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September 1, 2017 - Bogart, GA - Girl Not Allowed to Play Football, Prompts Debate At Private Schools, reported by Todd Holcomb, Atlanta Journal Constitution. You may think there's a Title IX issue here, but the Prince Avenue School appears to be a Christian school that receives absolutely no federal funding, making it exempt from Title IX. The short version of this is that Prince Avenue is a Christian school and doesn't let boys and girls play on the same sports team. But, there is a long-winded, pompous version promulgated by the most distinguished Col. Seth Hathaway, the head of School. Col. Hathaway argues that the combination of Prince Avenue being a K - 12 school and a Christian school prevents the school from letting girls and boys play on the same team. But, Col. Hathaway doesn't just come out and say this, oh no. Col. Hathaway came out and said this, according to the Journal Constitution: “While the school recognizes the changing roles of girls in organized sports, its covenantal partnership does not support the belief that mixed athletic contact sports should traverse a spectrum from high school varsity all the way down to the second grade,” Hathaway said in the statement. “This is a challenge unique to a PreK-12 school that is not a factor in traditional 9-12th grade high schools.” And when you put it that way, who's going to dispute it?
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AUGUST 2017
August 29, 2017 - Washington, D.C. - WTOP radio in Washington, D.C. is running a multi-episode piece on the concussion crisis. Click here for Part 1 of the Bad Brains Special Report, reported by Noah Frank.
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August 26, 2017 - Westminster, CA - Boy, 13, Dies During Soccer Game in Westminster, reported by Timoya Shimura, Orange County Register, August 27, 2017. 13-year old Felipe Andres De La Cruz asked to be subbed out of a youth soccer game, and then collapsed on the bench and died. The cause of death was not determined at press time.
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August 25, 2017 - Denver, CO - Cheerleading Coach Fired After Being Caught on Video Forcing Teens Into Splits, CBS News Denver.
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August 23 2017 - Is the bell tolling for football? It's too early to tell, but anecdotal data shows the potential for a severe drop in participation in 2017-18 and statistical data showed a drop in 2016-17. See More Ominous Signs For Football, reported by Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, August 11, 2017 page B-1; Study on CTE Has Many Football Coaches, Players Reassessing Their Sport, reported by John Altavilla, Hartford Courant, August 3, 2017; and Hail Mary? Senator Seeks Legislation to Save Football Program, reported by Joe Zedalis, NJ.com, August 2, 2017 (reporting on a New Jersey State Senator's attempt to override State athletic rules to allow two schools to combine their failing football programs). Also, see High School Sports Participation Increases For 28th Straight Year, Nears 8 Million Mark, NFHS News, August 7, 2017 (while high school sports participation increased, the media focus was on a decline of 25,503 players participating in high school football nationally); Worth the Risk? Players, Coaches and Parents Wonder if Football Can Be Saved From Dangers of Hits to The Head, reported by Matthew De George, PA Prep Live, August 22, 2017; and Top New Jersey High School Drops Varsity Football Team Amid Slump in Players, Nationwide Debate, NBC-TV4, New York, NY., August 23, 2017.
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August 23, 2017 - Bremerton, WA - Court upholds firing of football coach for postgame on-field prayers. The court found that a public school coach, by virtue of his leadership position, would be tacitly imposing his religious views on the community by conducting a postgame prayer. This violates the First Amendment since the coach worked at a public school. The school had asked the coach to stop and he wouldn't; so the school terminated him. The court agreed with the school officials. It should be noted that this was a highly predictable ruling. Still, it is a controversial social and religious matter. The public likes seeing coaches lead postgame prayers - until we get a Muslim coach doing it (and that's the point). See Appeals Court Refuses to Reinstate Bremerton Coach Who Prayed after Games, reported by Mike Carter, Seattle Times, August 23, 2017.
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August 21, 2017 - Palo Alto, CA - Another reminder that Title IX covers more than just sports. The Palo Alto School District had a series of reports of sexual violence, and now it's paying well into the six figures to meet its obligations to investigate. See District To Spend More on Title IX Investigations, reported by Elena Kadvany, Palo Alto Weekly.
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August 18, 2017 - Adrian, MI - Officiating shortages hit Michigan and Wisconsin. See High School Officials Becoming Tough To Find, reported by Doug Donnelly, Adrian Daily Telegram.; and Nationwide Referee Shortage Felt In Wisconsin, reported by Saira Anwer, WMTV - 15, Madison, WI., August 17, 2017.
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August 16, 2017 - Davis, CA - Remember when sports was billed as the way to go from ghetto to glory? Well, now the socio-economics of sports is a whole lot more complex. Indeed, these days the rich folks do a lot more winning than the poor folks, and almost nobody goes from the playgrounds to the pros as almost nobody plays playground sports. Even inner city basketball is hyper organized these days. What do all the changes in how we play mean? Jeffrey Sacha, a post-doc fellow at U.C. Davis, has studied the new socioeconomics of youth sports. You can read about his work in the Davis Enterprises article, Can High School Sports Transcend Socioeconomic Status, reported by Ben Hinshaw. Sacha concludes, “Privilege and marginalization are more often than not reflected in high school sports ... which raises important doubts about the ability for sports participation to undermine structural educational inequality.”
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August 16, 2017 - Kingsport, TN - Why do we need to run background checks on coaches? See 11 Men Including Middle School Coach Charged in Human Trafficking Sting in Kingsport, reported by Lauren Hoar, WBIR TV. In case you're curious, the sting consisted of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation posting web ads for sex with underage girls. The coach was one of four people facing felony charges for a sting operation that lasted only four days. That's a lot of bad actors caught in a limited amount of time.
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August 15, 2017 - Boston MA - The Concussion Legacy Institute Rolls Out its Team Up Speak Up program: the program has coaches "speak up" with a brief concussion awareness speech, and teammates pledge to speak up if they see a teammate take a hit to the head. Another step toward changing the concussion culture. For a report on the program see Tell Coach If Your Teammate Takes A Hit, Concussion Program Urges, reported by Rob Ferguson, Toronto Star.
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August 14, 2017 - Chicago, IL - United Center Evacuated After Fights During Basketball Championship Game, reported by Liz Nagy, ABC-TV 7. Multiple large brawls break out inside and outside of United Center during summer youth basketball championship game. The crowd was capped at 10,000 for the event, but far more fans came to see the championship of the ironically titled "West Haven Community Safe Summer Basketball League." The brawls featured folks who were being kicked out, folks who couldn't get in, gang bangers, and a bunch of twelve and thirteen year-old kids who appeared to play a major role in the violence. Also see, Organizers: Kids As Young As 12 Behind United Center Basketball Brawl, reported by Stefano Esposito, Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2017.
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August 14, 2017 - San Gabriel, CA - Strange but true. A former high school baseball player is suing his former school because the coach benched him. These cases are generally dismissed on the ground that sports participation is not a right but a mere privilege. But, this one has a twist. The student is alleging that the benching and the coach's demeanor are tantamount to bullying. This still sounds like it's on shaky legal ground, but it's not far from bullying to charges of racial or some other type of discrimination; so Robbie Lopez, the student bringing the suit, may fool us all and get past a motion to dismiss if he can just slip some charges of discrimination into his case. We will see. See Former Los Altos Baseball Player Sues Coach After Being Benched, Claims Bullying, reported by Hayley Munguia, The San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
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August 10, 2017 - Indianapolis, IN - NCAA To Require Education In Sex-Abuse Awareness, reported by Ralph D. Russo, Associated Press Wire Service Story in San Francisco Chronicle.
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August 10, 2017 - New York, NY - Long Island High School Football Player, 16, Dies After Log Being Used In Practice Drill Fell On His Head, reported by Aaron Showalter and Graham Rayman, New York Daily News.
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August 8, 2017 - Does anecdotal information about pro football players with CTE get in the way of statistical reality? MomsTeam's Brooke de Lench argues that it does. See CTE: Is The Media Scaring Young Athletes to Death?, Huffington Post.
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JULY 2017
July 28, 2017 - Las Vegas, NV - LaVar Ball, famous for being the father of NBA player Lonzo Ball, demanded that a female referee who gave him a technical foul be replaced during a summer Adidas basketball tournament. Adidas actually caved in to Ball, leading to the company that supplied the referees refusing to work the tournament in the future. Adidas took negative press for caving in to what appears to be a misogynistic demand. Ball took heat too, as he launched a verbal tirade against the female official not being good enough to work a men's game. See Adidas Apologizes, says Removing Female Ref After LaVar Ball Complaint Was 'Wrong Decision', reported by Scott Gleeson, USA Today, July 31, 2017; and Referee Company Cuts Ties With Adidas After LaVar Ball Has Female Official Removed From Game, reported by Eduardo Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2017.
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July 26, 2017 - Crawfordsville, IN - Are We Nearing Crisis Mode With the Number of Athletic Officials?, reported by Jim Johnson, Crawfordsville Journal Review.
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July 25, 2017 - Dr. Ann McKee studied 111 brains of deceased former N.F.L. players. 110 had CTE. You can read about McKee's research on the 111 N.F.L. brains and 91 other brains of deceased non-N.F.L. players. See 110 N.F.L. Brains, reported by Joe Ward, Josh Williams and Sam Manchester, New York Times. See also Ann McKee, MD; Jesse Mez, MD, MS1,2; Daniel H. Daneshvar, MD, PhD1,3; Patrick T. Kiernan, BA, Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football, Journal of American Medical Association, July 25, 2017.
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July 21, 2017 - Miami, FL - Miami Dolphins To Fund Concussion Testing for Miami-Dade Public Schools, reported by Armando Salguero, Miami Herald, July 21, 2017
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July 20, 2017 - San Mateo, CA - What Does An AD Do? Plenty, reported by Nathan Mollat, San Mateo Daily Journal.
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July 18, 2017 - Louisville, KY - Kentucky Becomes First State To Require Face Protection For Softball, USA Today report published in Louisville Courier-Journal.
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July 16, 2017 - New York, NY - Lawyers Make Their Pitch After NFL Concussion Suit. See After NFL Concussion Settlement, Feeding Frenzy of Lawyers and Lenders, reported by Ken Belson, New York Times.
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July 14, 2017 - Southern Utah - Click here for The Spectrum's special report on Is Specializing In Sports Worth It?, reported by Justin Giles.
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July 13 and 14, 2017 - Nashville, TN - Click here for information on the 2017 Youth Sports Safety Conference and Celebration Gala at Vanderbilt University.
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July 12, 2017 - Cambridge, MA - Harvard Takes Stand on Hazing, Sexual Abuse and Alcohol Abuse. Fraternities Cry Foul. See Harvard Proposal Would Ban Fraternities and Sororities, Associated Press Report in New York Times. This proposal comes from the Faculty Committee. The big question is whether Harvard's President accepts the Faculty Committee's recommendation. The AP reports that the Harvard ban is based on similar bans at Williams College and Bowdoin College.
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July 11, 2017 - Ft. Myers, FL - Riverdale Player Dies After Suffering Heat Stroke At Football Practice, reported by Adam Regan, News-Press.com (Naples, FL).
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July 5, 2017 - South Carolina - The South Carolina Youth Soccer Association institutes a month-long "Silent September" to control unruly and verbally abusive crowds. Silent September is part sportsmanship measure and part officials' retention tool as the SCYSA officials' data shows that poor sportsmanship by spectators is making it hard to retain new officials. See Poor Behavior Leads Officials To Silence Youth Fans, reported by Bob Castello, Greensville On-Line, July 5, 2017.
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July 3, 2017 - Wisconsin - Study of 3,904 former Wisconsin high school football players from 1957 finds that the football players were no worse off neurologically than their non-football playing counterparts. See Late in Life, Former High School Football Players No Worse Off Mentally, reported by Andrew Seaman, Reuters News Service. This study mirrors the findings of a Minnesota study that found that high school football players from one school that was studied from 1956-1970 did not have an increased risk of degenerative brain diseases compared with their non-football playing counterparts. See High School Football Players, 1956-1970, Did Not Have Increase Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, reported by Susan Barber Lindquist, Mayo Clinic Press Release.
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July 2, 2017 - NWCA Assembles Blue Ribbon Task Force To Tackle High School Wrestling's Participation Slide., reported on Trackwrestling.com
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July 1, 2017 - New York, NY - The factors that lead to cheating and poor sportsmanship in athletes also affect schools. New York is but the latest example. See This NYC High School Has a Big Grade Fixing Problem, reported by Susan Edelman, New York Post, July 1, 2017, and when New York City principals and teachers don't fix grades, the schools sometime rig the game by lowering the standards. See Regents Math Test Is Easier To Pass Thanks To Low Standards, reported by Susan Edelman, New York Post, June 25, 2017.
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JUNE 2017
June 28, 2017 - San Diego, CA - Mike Pereira, the former head of NFL Officiating, works with military veterans to attack the officiating shortage. Click here for information on the Battlefields to Ballfields program. Click here for the San Diego Union Tribune's article, Military Seen As Hotbed For Recruiting Sports Referees, reported by Tod Leonard.
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June 28, 2017 - Bossier, LA - Local Youth Sports: Shortage of Officials? KTBS TV, Louisiana.
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June 22, 2017 - Nashville, TN - Tennessee First State To Set Up Safety Ratings For Youth Sports Leagues, reported by Tom Wilemon, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Reporter. Tennessee parents can use the Safe Stars Safety Rating System to see if youth sports leagues in Tennessee follow sports safety protocols.
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June 16, 2017 - Forbes's Bob Cook notes that increasing the number of female officials can help with the shortage of youth sports referees. See Women Are Largely Untapped Resource In Alleviating Youth Sports Referee Shortage, Forbes.com
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June 16, 2017 - Washington, D. C. - Verbal Abuse From Parents, Coaches Is Causing A Referee Shortage In Youth Sports, reported by Nick Eilerson, Washington Post.
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June 14, 2017 - Knee Surgery Rates Soaring Among Teen Girls, reported by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters News Service.
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June 12, 2017 - Idaho - They're Out! Umps, Refs Have Had Enough of Your Yelling, reported by Michael Katz, Idaho Statesman.
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June 4, 2017 - Springfield, NB - Strange But True:8 Year-Old Girl Disqualified From Soccer Game; She 'Looks Like A Boy.', reported by Brandon Scott, WOWT News.
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MAY 2017
May 10, 2017 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Abuse, Pay Driving Referees Away In Public High Schools, reported by Frank Scandale, Poughkeepsie Journal.
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May 10, 2017 - NY - Money May Not Be Enough To Grow Ranks For High Schools, reported by Nancy Haggerty, LoHud.com. Can schools pay enough to make it worth an official's while? Does verbal abuse offset any monetary benefits of officiating youth and high school sports?
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May 10, 2017 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Refs Say A Culture of Abuse Has To Change, reported by Mike Zacchio, Poughkeepsie Journal.
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May 10, 2017 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Number of Officials Fails To Add Up, With Age A Concern, reported by Stephen Haynes, Poughkeepsie Journal. Where are the young officials? They're becoming harder to find in the Poughkeepsie area. And rest assured, Poughkeepsie is not the only place having trouble attracting and retaining sports officials.
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May 8, 2017 - Sexual Assault or Hazing? Are schools inadvertently classifying sexual assaults as hazing? The thin line between a bad act (albeit at times an extremely bad act) and a crime. See Sex Assaults In High School Sports Minimized As Hazing, Associated Press report on Minneapolis Public Radio.
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May 8, 2017 - Omaha, NB -Nebraska High School A.D. Writes Column About the Racism His Students Face, reported by Marjie Ducey, Omaha World-Herald
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APRIL 2017
April 14, 2017 - Albuquerque, NM - The Albuquerque Public Schools just cut their middle school sports program, leading to a rebuke (but not to more money) from the Governor. See Martinez 'Outraged' Over APS Cutting Middle School Sports, reported by Kim Burgess, Albuquerque Journal.
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April 13, 2017 - Alomosa, CO - Adams State Signee Thought To Be First Top-Level Scholarship Female Football Player, reported by Nick Rosenberg, yahoosports.com. Arizona high-schooler Becca Longo signs with Adams State University in Colorado. Becca isn't the first woman to play college football but she is believed to be the first woman to receive a college football scholarship.
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April 12, 2017 - NFHS highlights sports officials identity theft problem. See Identity Theft - A Potential Problem For Sports Officials, reported by Ken Devoe, NFHS.org.
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April 12, 2017 - Philadelphia, NY - Indian River Baseball Coach Accused of Putting Student In Choke-Hold, WWNYTV.com. The headline doesn't quite say it all. The coach decided to demonstrate a choke-hold to students engaged in MMA style horseplay, and the demo went all wrong as the coach's demo caused a student to lose consciousness, fall to the ground, and strike his head on a door.
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April 11, 2017 - Greensburg, PA - Jail Time For Woman Who Threatened Youth Football Officials, Associated Press Report on Fox News.
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April 6, 2017 - MLB Announces First-Ever 'Trailblazer Series' To Celebrate Girls Baseball, reported by Liz Roscher, yahoosports.com.
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April 6, 2017 - After a year in which a number of States had severe shortages of officials, the NFHS launches a national officials recruitment campaign. See NFHS Launches National Officials Recruitment Campaign, NFHS.org.
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April 5, 2017 - Pittsburg, KS - The same forces that lead to fraud in athletics also lifts its heads in academics. The usual forum is high-stakes test fraud. But, the journalists at Pittsburg High School in Kansas found a principal who committed resume fraud. See These High School Journalists Investigated a New Principal's Credentials. Days Later, She Resigned. Reported by Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post.
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April 4, 2017 - Paterson, NJ - New Jersey High School Embroiled In International Recruiting Scandal. See Broken Promises and Disposable Players: The Remarkable Story Behind A High School Sports Scandal, reported by Matthew Stanmyre and Steve Politi, NJ.com. This story is just the tip of the iceberg. The story of Paterson's Eastside High School's recruiting went on to include allegations of transcript doctoring, and human trafficking. Worse, there's a possibility of a multi-state international recruiting ring. Click here for links to all the articles in the Eastside High School Basketball Scandal.
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March 2017
March 30, 2017 - Number of Women Coaching In College Has Plummeted In Title IX Era, reported by Jere Longman (republished on newsOk).
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March 29, 2017 - Death Threats To Final Four Ref. See Death Threats To A Ref - The Lunatics Are Threatening To Overtake Kentucky's Fan Base, reported by Pat Forde, yahoosports. You might ask yourself whether there was a highly controversial call that led to the death threats. Nope. You might wonder whether there was a massive foul disparity. Nope - the fouls were 19 to 18. This is just another case of classless fans and an official who has to bear the brunt of their wrath.
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March 27, 2017 - La Vernia, TX - Massive Sexual Hazing Scandal Uncovered At Texas High School. Multiple Arrests/Accusations of Hazing Going Back to 2014. See La Vernia Police: 9 Students Arrested For Sex Assault, Give 'Black Eye' To City With Hazing Scandal, reported by Caleb Downs, San Antonio Express-News
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March 26, 2017 - Albuquerque, NM - Coaches Brawl At Youth Basketball Tournament. See Albuquerque Youth Coaches Get Into Brawl During Championship Game, reported by Jeannie Nguyen, KRQE Channel 13, March 28, 2017; and Watch: Coaches Brawl At Youth Basketball Championship Game, CBS TV Channel 46 (Atlanta, GA) March 30, 2017.
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March 17, 2017 - Sports May No Longer Be The Way Out Of Poverty. Think of sports as a set of skills that you purchase. People who either have more money or more access have a better chance of buying the skills ...or to put it another way, as youth sports become more and more organized, those who organize better win. Want evidence? Well, let's start with NCAA basketball. NCAA data shows that "[f]ewer than 1 in 5 students playing Division 1 hoops, and 1 in 7 in all Division 1 sports, come from families in which neither parent went to college. And their numbers are declining." See The Gentrification of College Hoops, reported by Tom Farrey, The Undefeated, March 17, 2017. Farrey reports, "athletes awarded scholarships in big-time college sports are more likely to come from advantaged backgrounds than the wider student body."
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March 15, 2017 - Napa High School Head Football Coach Quits Amid Hazing Scandal, KGO News Channel 7 (San Francisco). The coach's resignation and possible student expulsions prompted the Napa School District Superintendent to publicly address an ugly hazing incident that took place in November, 2016. See Head of Napa School District Speaks Out About Hazing Scandal, reported by Wayne Freedman, KGO News Channel 7, March 16, 2017.
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March 10, 2017 - Hatfield, PA - Police Launch Investigation After School Hockey Game Ends With On-Ice Brawl, reported by Cleve Bryan, CBS Channel 3 (Philadelphia). In this hockey match, four players from the Ridley Township hockey club appear to have targeted Shawn Phillips, a player from the opposing team. Ridley's school superintendent is quoted in the article as saying that the Ridley hockey team is not affiliated with the school.
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March 7, 2017 - Cobb County, GA - Disciplinary process begins after post-match attack at Georgia State High School wrestling championships. See School Considers Discipline Following Incident At Georgia State Wrestling Tournament, Fox 5 Atlanta, GA; and click here for video.
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March 3, 2017 - Gaithersburg, MD - Hijab Rule Keeps High School Junior From Playing In Regional Title Basketball Game, WCVB, March 16, 2017. National Federation of High School basketball rules bar players from having headwear.
This is a safety rule. However, there is a religious exception under which a state association can approve the headwear. Clearly, the administrative solution for this rule is for a school to request a religious exemption from the State at which point most States would send a letter letting everybody know that the student at issue could play. This is actually a rational solution ... if the schools would make their requests and trigger the States to send release letters. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way.
Too often, schools don't ask for an exemption letter from this safety rule. Then, officials let the student play even though the student doesn't have the exemption letter. Finally, some official enforces the rule and then there's a negative story at which point everybody realizes they have a problem.
Clearly, the groups to blame when this occurs are the school that didn't file the request and the officials who let the child play all year, leaving it to some poor official who is officiating that big game at the end of the year to enforce the rule and take the heat. And, that's exactly what happened here. The school said they didn't know about the rule. This is probably true. Of course, one would think that people in Maryland would know about this rule since Maryland had a high profile religious uniform case in 2008 where a Muslim girl was barred from a track meet due to her leggings. See When the Rules Run Up Against Faith, reported by Alan Goldenbach, Washington Post, January 16, 2008.
Ultimately, people blame the officials. That's exactly what happened here where an NFHS spokesman is quoted as saying, "Unfortunately, the officials made a strict interpretation of the ... playing rules for basketball instead of the spirit of the rules..." Well, the officials didn't make a strict interpretation. There's no room for interpretation. The rule says, "Head decorations, and headwear, are prohibited." The only exception is where the athlete has the required state association exemption letter. In other words, what's really happening is that everybody ignores the rule until some official enforces it and then everybody goes nuts and then forgets about the matter until the next Muslim or Jew comes along and gets in trouble for wearing a hijab, leggings or a yarmulke. In all fairness, the NFHS spokesman is really noting the futility of having a well written rule that doesn't work because people don't take iit seriously until ... all of a sudden .... someone does.
Instead of blaming the one official who enforces the rule, it's time to fix the rule. It's an easy fix. Simply write in an exemption for yarmulkes and hijabs. Presume them as safe unless they fall off. And, then, have a review panel for those religions that we don't know about because members of their faith are on teams that never advance very far.
February 2017
February 24, 2017 - ACL Injuries On The Rise For Kids and Teens, reported by Jeff Albaugh, PT, Philly.com
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February 21, 2017 - Missouri - The costliest punch. The Missouri State High School Activities Association, Missouri's high school sports governing body, does not have a state rule addressing players ejected for fighting, leaving it up to individual schools and districts. The schools and districts treat their actions as school discipline and won't discuss it. This has created a disconnect where a legislator wanted information after a basketball fight, and couldn't get it. Missouri State Rep. Keith Cookson, the legislator, has proosed legislation requiring an annual report from the MHSAA. Can this legislation pass? Is it written well enough to get the information that Rep. Cookson wants? Time will tell, but the punch that was thrown in a Van Buren, MO girls' basketball game may be the costliest punch of all from a sheer political perspective as the legislator may not stop with just one Bill, but may begin an ongoing review of Missouri high school sports. We will see. See Apparent Punch At Girls Basketball Game Propels Lawmaker Into Action, reported by Pat Pratt, Southeast Missourian.
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February 20, 2017 - Allen, TX - High School Transgender Wrestler Wins TX Regional Title, WOWK TV. Mack Beggs, a transgender student, is transitioning from female to male. Under Texas high school rules, a student must compete in the gender listed on their birth certificate. Beggs won the Texas girls 110 pound championship by forfeit after the runner up refused to wrestle. Beggs would prefer competing against boys - and clearly a number of the girls who were matched against him would prefer him wrestling against boys too. The transgender controversy is compounded by a testosterone controversy as Beggs takes testosterone as he transitions from female to male. However, Texas rules allow testosterone where taken with a doctor's prescription. Could the Texas wrestling story happen anywhere else? Possibly. You can see transathlete.com's list of transgender policies to see how all 51 State high school athletic associations would have handled the Texas wrestler or any other transgender athlete.
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February 17, 2017 - Kenilworth, NJ - Successful End To The Sydney Phillips Story. Sydney played on the St. Theresa CYO girls' basketball team. When the girls' program couldn't field a team, she sought to play on the boys' team and the school denied her. Then, all heck broke loose. The boys refused to play in protest. Sydney sued for the right to play. The school expelled her for suing. Finally, a New Jersey Superior ruled that Sydney's expulsion must be reversed and she must be allowed to play. See Girl Can Play on Boys' Basketball Team, Judge Says, After Changing His Mind, reported by Tom Haydon, NJ.com, February 17, 2017. And, yes, there's a feel good moment at the end of this story. See Sydney Phillips Scores Big In First Basketball Game on Boys' Team, reported by Reuven Fenton, New York Post, February 19, 2017.
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February 16, 2017 - Pittsburgh, PA - Former West Mifflin Football Player Files Concussion Lawsuit, reported by Andrew Goldstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Shane Skillpa, the former player, sued his school district and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA). It is too early to assess the claims against the district, but the claims against the District could end up mirroring the unsuccessful claims against the Illinois High School Association in Pierscionek v. IHSA. See Judge Dismisses Concussion Lawsuit Against IHSA, reported by John Keilman and Dawn Rhodes, Chicago Tribune, October 28, 2015.
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February 14, 2017 - Iowa - This one is hard to believe. I am sure that there's a lot of data that won't support it, but still we report on that which comes before us. So, click here to see the University of Iowa Study: Youth Flag Football Not Safer Than Tackle, reported by Aaron Young, Des Moines Register.
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February 13, 2017 - Midland, TX - Youth coaches arrested for covering up sexual hazing. See Disturbing Details Revealed On Midland I.S.D. Basketball Trip, reported by Ronnie Marley, Newswest Channel 9.
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February 11, 2017 - Connellsville, PA - Connellsville students celebrate "hick night" with chants of "build that wall" and "send them back" to opposing schools' black players. See Some Parents Upset About Chants From Student Section During Basketball Game, reported by Say Black Players Harassed During Pa. High School Basketball Game, reported by WPXI TV 11.
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February 10, 2017 - Mesa, AZ - Glendale Basketball Player Takes High Road After Racist Taunts During Mesa Game, reported by Diego Mendoza-Moyers, Richard Obert, and Ben Moffat, The Arizona Republic, February 11, 2017.
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February 9, 2017 - Hazel Park, MI - A Michigan high school game turns into utter chaos. The Athletic Director was ejected; a student threw a bottle onto the floor; numerous parents complained to officials; one official is on film running from a group of spectators; and in the midst of it all the chaos we see something we seldom see: a referee pushing a fan. Usually, it's the other way around - and in a pretty big way as officials are constantly attacked, beaten and occasionally even killed by spectators and players. You can see the wild scene for yourself as the whole thing is caught on film. See Hazel Park and North Farmington Basketball Game Descends Into Basket-Brawl, reported by Jim Kiertzner, WXYZ-TV (Detroit), February 10, 2017.
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February 1, 2017 - Click here for a very thorough CNN report on the relationship between soccer heading and concussions. See Soccer: Heading The Ball Linked To Concussion Symptoms, reported by Susan Scutti, cnn.com. Readers should note that the title is a bit misleading as most soccer concussions have nothing to do with heading - as the article points out.
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February 1, 2017 - Lake Zurich, IL - Forced Sex Acts, Peeing on Teammates, and designated targets of the week placed on a whiteboard. The Lake Zurich football hazing scandal is now in court, and there will probably be hell to pay. See Parents File Lawsuit In Lake Zurich Hazing Scandal, reported by Rachel Purl and Julian Crews, WGN Radio (Chicago); and Lawsuit: Lake Zurich Hazing Included Forced Sex Acts, reported by John Keilman, Chicago Tribune, February 2, 2017.
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February 1, 2017 - Corpus Christi, TX - Unruly Behavior Is Sending Some Referees Packing, reported by Roland Rodriguez, KRIS-TV 6 (Corpus Christi)
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February 1, 2017 - Vero Beach, FL - 2 Vero Beach High School Teachers Accused In Testing Scandal, reported by Alex Browning, WPBF TV 25. This incident is another reminder that once we put high stakes on testing, school personnel feel the pressure to win just like athletes do, and occasionally end up engaging in unethical acts so they can win just like athletes.
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January 2017
January 31, 2017 - Jefferson, NJ - Racially charged chants of "ashy knees" and "build the wall" mar high school basketball game. See 'Build The Wall" Chants Cause Controversy At NJ Basketball Game, reported by Katie Kausch, patch.com.
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January 31, 2017 - Denver, CO - The number of officials drops by double digit percentage points in Colorado. See Youth Sports Crisis: Schedules Altered Due to Referee Shortage, reported by Kelly Werthmann, CBS TV - Channel 4 (Denver).
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January 31, 2017 - Orlando, FL - USA Football introduces a streamlined version of football with a smaller field, fewer players, no three-point stance, no kickoffs and punts. Is it a safer way to play? See Not Safe For Children? Football's Leaders Make Drastic Changes To Youth Game, reported by Ken Belson, New York Times.
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January 25, 2017 - Corpus Christi, TX - Rowdy spectator makes major mistake: he attacks police officers trying to calm down crowd at a high school basketball game, and gets thrown in jail. See Fight Erupts At High School Basketball Game, KIII TV.
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January 17, 2017 - High school soccer concussion rates are going up ... or are they. The increased focus/awareness of concussions has led people who wouldn't have reported concussions in the past to report them. This drives concussion rates up, and makes it hard to tell whether and when there are more concussions and not just an increase in reports due to increased awareness. This means that we get a report on increased concussions in soccer while Dr. Morteza Khodaee from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who was the leader of the study, is quoted as saying, the increase "could be mainly due to a better recognition of concussion by medical and coaching staff." See US High School Soccer Concussions On The Rise, reported by Reuters News Service on Foxnews.com.
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January 13, 2017 - Boston, MA - Boston University Study Links Concussions and Alzheimer's Disease, reported by Erin Fitzsimonds and Beth Ward, Western Mass. News TV. This study looked at 160 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, but the implications for athletics is clear. This isn't the first study to link concussions to neurologic disorders other than CTE. While CTE has been highly publicized, there are scientists who believe that concussions could be linked not only to Alzheimer's disease but also to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). See Did Lou Gehrig Actually Die of 'Lou Gehrig's Disease'?, reported by Dr. Howard Markel, PBS Newshour, June 17, 2016.
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January 6, 2017 – Houston, TX – Basketball Players and Students Engage In Brawl Sparked By Taunting. See Katy, Tompkins Students Face Discipline After Basketball Brawl Goes Viral, reported by Dana Guthrie and Adam Coleman, Houston Chronicle.
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January 6, 2017 - Waco, TX - Here's another reminder that the constant verbal - and physical - abuse of sports officials is leading to a shortage of officials. See Let's Cut The Zebras Some Slack, by Bryce Cherry, Waco Tribune.
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January 6, 2017 - See Forbes.com's Bob Cook's insightful piece on how poorer kids - especially girls - simply have fewer sports participation opportunities. This article illustrates Title IX issues at poorer schools and it touches upon the root causes of many of the public/private issues that plaque youth sports. There is a reason that the richer schools win. Cook nails it. See It's Tough For Low Income Kids, Especiallly Girls, To Participate In Sports.
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January 5, 2017 - San Luis, AZ - Brawl Breaks Out During San Luis - Gila Ridge Soccer Game, reported by Alex Cheney, KYMA TV 5, Yuma, AZ.
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January 2, 2017 - Lexington, OH - Parents, Students Brawl After Lexington Basketball Game, reported by Dave Nethers, Fox-TV Channel 8, Cleveland, OH.
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December 2016
December 2016 - For a comprehensive report on the role of genetics in the concussion crisis - and an excellent scientific discussion of the role of the APOE gene, see Genetic Influences In Traumatic Brain Injury: Chapter 9 of Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury, written by Ellen Bennett, Karin Reuter-Rice, and Daniel Laskowitz, 2016. Genetic research is vital in studying traumatic brain injuries. We must know why some people develop CTE and others don't. We hear a lot of anecdotal stories, but the science is still relatively new and we simply don't know enough. For more on genetic influences on TBIs and CTE, and more on the role of the APOE-e4 gene in CTE, see "This Is Your Brain On CTE", a 2015 report from the Sports Science Underground website.
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December 2016 - Personal Injury lawyers are monitoring the Q-Collar: can the Q-Collar really reduce concussions? See - Research Shows Promising Results For A Device Designed To Protect Athletes From Sports-Related Brain Injuries: Experimental Neck Collar Inspired By Woodpeckers And Bighorn Sheep, reported by Science Daily (from material provided by Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center), June 2016. The Science Daily article is interesting in that you have a University hospital involved in a study that concludes that wearing a neck device called the "Q-Collar" "may prevent or reduce the devastating effects of head collisions in sports. The Q-Collar is designed to press gently on the jugular vein to slow blood outflow increasing the brain's blood volume." In laymen's term, the Q-Collar slows blood outflow, causing the brain to fit more tightly in the skull cavity, thereby reducing the brain sloshing that can result in concussions. The obvious issue here is that we have research that ultimately advocates for a product, and sometimes such research has led to poor and misleading results. We've seen numerous products claim that they can reduce concussions. Few if any of such claims have had merit. We'll have to see if this research holds up when the product is put to the test beyond the two Cincinnati high schools used in the study. And, it's not just us who's waiting as the personal injury lawyers made clear. In this December 2016 posting, we see a personal injury law firm stating that they're looking.
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December 23, 2016 - Kenilworth, NJ - Why Family Is Making Full-Court Press To Get Daughter On Boys' Basketball Team, reported by Tom Haydon, nj.com. This seems like a simple matter. A catholic middle school doesn't have a girls' basketball team; so a girl wants to play on the boys' team. The school has a no-cut policy. Sounds simple, but ifit was simple there wouldn't be a lawsuit, now would there?
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December 18, 2016 - Medford, Oregon - Alleged Punch By Parent Draws Scorn, reported by Dan Jones, Medford Mail Tribune, December 20, 2016. This is a classic fight pattern in this era of overinvolved parents. Two opposing players squared off at an eighth grade basketball game. The officials broke the fight up. Then parents exited the stands, presumably to help stop the two player fight. This, of course, had the effect of creating a small degree of chaos as fans entered the court. One of the fans was a 44 year old parent and that parent allegedly hit one of the players. It is hard to convince some sports parents that they only make it worse when they enter the court .... they're not helping even though they think they are.
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December 15, 2016 - Pembroke Pines, FL - Florida City tightens youth sports' facilities' use regs when youth sports clubs create havoc. Pembroke Pines's new permit regulations require youth sports clubs to provide financial statements, show that they don't pay coaches, show that they have Board meetings and that those meetings are open to parents, and requires teams to meet a residency requirement under which 75% of the players must live in the City. See Pembroke Pines Tightens Rules On Youth Sports Leagues, reported by Brian Ballou, Florida Sun Sentinel. Municipalities have a lot of power to lead reforms in youth sports because they can use their permitting power to mandate change. See Power of The Permit: Improving Youth Sports Safey One Municipality At A Time, Brooke de Lench, momsteam.com, July 24, 2015 and Smart Teams Talk: Missouri Law Professor Doug Abrams Urges Use of Power of Permit To Improve Youth Sports Safety, September 2014; and Concussion Safety In Children's Sports: A Central Role For the "Power of the Permit.", Douglas E. Abrams, University of Maryland Journal of Business and Technology Law, Vol. 10, Issue 1, Article 2 (2014).
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December 12, 2016 - One of the difficulties of assessing the risk of football is that you can only test for CTE when somebody is dead. However, you can gain some valuable information about the risks of football if you look at age related illnesses such as dementia, Parkinsons, and ALS and compare football players to their general population counterparts. The Mayo clinic just conducted such a study, finding that high school football players from one Minnesota school that was studied from 1956-1970 did not have an increased risk of degenerative brain diseases compared with their non-football playing counterparts. See High School Football Players, 1956-1970, Did Not Have Increase Of Neurodegenerative Diseases, reported by Susan Barber Lindquist, Mayo Clinic Press Release.
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December 12, 2016 - Texas - Texas's University Interscholastic League (the governing body for Texas high school sports) and UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute announce the formation of a registry to track brain injuries in all UIL governed midlde and high school events. As the UIL has more than 1,400 schools and 800,000 + athletes, this registry will be the nation's largest. The registry will rely upon athletic trainers to report brain injuries to a central database. See the UIL's Press Release. Also, see UIL's Concussion Registry Is A Step In The Right Direction But Should Go Even Further, Dallas Morning News Editorial, December 13, 2016.
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December 12, 2016 - Warrensburg, MO - Fans at white high school turn backs and raise Trump sign when players from black school are introduced. It's the Trump racism effect coming home to sports. See Trump Sign Waved In Student Section As Predominantly Black Basketball Team Introduced, reported by Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, December 13, 2016. And, yes, this is not an isolated incident. See Schools Report Racist Incidents In Wake of Donald Trump Election, reported by Errin Hayes Whack and Jay Reeves, AP Report in Denver Post, November 11, 2016.
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December 5, 2016 - Making the Case for Sports: See Michael Smith: Sports Made Me A Cool Nerd, reported by Tom Farrey, Aspen Institute. yes, this is the same Aspen Institute that developed Project Play in 2013 "to find ways to help all children in America become active through sports." "Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game," is the product of their work
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December 5, 2016 -N.J. Newspaper Says Artificial Turf Maker Sold Faulty Fields to Schools, Parks Nationwide, reported by Bob Cooke, Forbes.com. Cooke's reporting on this is excellent, but the true gem is the New Jersey Star-Ledger's Advance Media report by Christopher Baxter and Matthew Stanmyre. See The 100-Yard Deception, an ongoing investigative report on deceptive practices by the Field Turf Tarkett Company.
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December 1, 2016 - Marshall, TX - In the midst of the concussion crisis, a youth football program is reborn. See Tackle Football Makes A Comeback In The Heart of Texas, reported by Ken Belson, New York Times.
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December 1, 2016 - How do you know your sport has a problem? Listen to what Malcolm Gladwell calls the secondary conversation about the sport. The first conversation is the conversation about on-field performance. But, the secondary conversations are telling. Gladwell notes that a major secondary conversation for baseball is analytics. Moreover, Gladwell notes that some people don't necessarily like watching baseball but enjoy the analytics discussion. Then, Gladwell notes that a major secondary conversation in football is, well, concussions. Not good! Of course, Gladwell is on record as saying football is a "stupid, stupid sport" so he's going to be a bit biased. For example, a major secondary conversation in baseball is how youth pitchers are overused to the extent that Tommy John surgery is viewed as a regular part of the development of youth pitchers. That's a pretty ugly secondary conversation that Gladwell ignores in order to emphasize his attack on football. I also note that in football, fantasy football is just as big as baseball analytics and that's a neutral secondary conversation (it's hard to call gambling a positive secondary conversation). Still, Gladwell has a point. When a major part of the discussion of one's sport is concussions, one's sport is not in the optimal place, and one's sport will be vulnerable to lawsuits and threats to eliminate the sport or drastically change it. See Simmons vs. Gladwell: The Future of Football, The Ringer, December 1, 2016. Football need not worry, though. The last time football was drastically changed was the early part of the twentieth century, and those changes, which were led by Teddy Roosevelt, modernized the game, eliminated a wave of deaths in football (yes, pre-reform football was far less safe then today's football) and led to the creation of the NCAA (some may not view that as a positive, but the early NCAA was a reform organization)
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December 1, 2016 - London - Fresh on the heels of the USA Gymnastics child sexual abuse scandal comes the exact same story from English Soccer. See Claims of Child Sexual Abuse In English Soccer Grow, reported by Kimiko De Freytas-Tamura, New York Times; and see Barry Bennell, Former Youth Coach, Faces Eight Counts of Sexual Abuse in England, reported by Rory Smith, New York Times, November 29, 2016. To revisit the USA Gymnastics story, 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.
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November 2016
November 30, 2016 - CDC To Back New Research On Sports Concussion Prevention: Focus On Changing Culture In Youth Sports, reported by Ryan Basen, Med Page Today. The CDC will fund studies looking at behavior changes and concussion prevention, and the CDC will pilot test a national concussion surveillance system.
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November, 2016 - National shortage of officials - maybe it's time to treat the officials better before we don't have enough officials to service our games. See Shortage of Sports Officials Reaching Crisis Stage, NFHS Report by Bob Gardner and Gary Musselman, High School Today; and October 18, 2016 - The Officiating Crisis: What Can I do? reported by Dana Pappas, NFHS.org. In Bakersfield, CA, they've seen the problem and the problem might be wide-spread misconduct. Fans don’t think about it, but their misconduct has consequences. See Kern County Association Faces Referee Shortage, Bakersfield Californian by Jeff Evans, June 9, 2014.
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November 24, 2016 - Louisville, KY - 2 Killed, 4 Hurt at Louisville's Thanksgiving 'Juice Bowl', reported by Allen Cone, UPI Wire Service. We're used to seeing poor sportsmanship at games, but this was different. This was urban violence spilling over into a Thanksgiving Day flag football game. It's a distinctly urban problem.
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November 23, 2016 - Chicago, IL - Chicago's Fenwick High School Is The Latest School To Find Out That Courts Do Not Exist To Act As Review Boards for Officials' Missed Calls. See Judge Rejects Bid By Fenwick To Overturn Disputed Playoff Football Loss, reported by Steve Schmadeke, Chicago Tribune. Not to be outdone, the Chicago Sun Times chimed in with an editorial. See Since When Did Judges Become Football Referees?, Sun Times Editorial Board, November 22, 2016; also see Judge Rules Against Fenwick High School Over Football Referee Mistake, WGN-TV, Associated Press, Nancy Loo and Mike Lowe, November 23, 2016. This is not the first time we've seen courts asked to reverse errors on the field - and courts generally refuse to become "super-referees." We just saw this two years ago in Oklahoma. See Judge Rules In Oklahoma High School Football Case, reported by Shelby (Tennessee) Metro Sports Blog, December 12, 2014. Judge Bernard Jones, who heard the Oklahoma case, put it best: "This slippery slope of solving athletic contests in court instead of on campus will inevitably usher in a new era of robed referees and meritless litigation due to disagreement with or disdain for decisions of gaming officials.” That about says it all.
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November 22, 2016 - HBO's Real Sports Covers Concussion Crisis In Youth and High School Sports. See Cost of The Game, reported by HBO Real Sports, November 22, 2016. Real Sports also covered Dartmouth College and their use of the Mobile Virtual Player (MVP). Click here for details. Click here for video. And click here for video of the Pittsburgh Steelers using the MVP.
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November 17, 2016 - Syracuse, N.Y. Yes, there is justice: a middle aged man who got out of his car and pushed an autistic ninth grade cross country runner to the ground just pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment. The case took on racial overtones because Martin McDonald, who is a large, middle aged white man, allegedly told the police that he thought that Chase Coleman, the student, was going to mug his wife and take her purse. Now, it's not clear why McDonald would think this. Chase weighs 130 pounds, was in full cross country uniform, and had made no move to veer toward McDonald's car. He's just a black, autistic kid. McDonald played a race card here, and lost. He truly got off easy. See Attack on Autistic Teen Runner Prompts Charges of Racism by Syracuse Official, reported by Tim Knauss, Syracuse Post-Standard, October 29, 2016; and Man Who Shoved Autistic Runner Chase Coleman Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor, reported by Tim Knauss, Syracuse Post-Standard, November 17, 2016.
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November 11, 2016 - Archer City, TX - Racist provocation under the guise of supporting one's team: See Students Chant 'Build That Wall' During Texas Volleyball Tournament, reported by Claire Cardona, Dallas Morning News, November 16, 2016. And wouldn't you know that this chant was directed toward a mostly Hispanic school.
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November 7, 2016 - Staten Island, N.Y. - See N.Y. Judge Daniel Leddy's take on poor sportsmanship in youth sports. New York's Top Court Addresses Youth-League Violence, by Daniel Leddy, Staten Island Advocate.
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November 6, 2016 - Mexico - Soccer Player Being Sought In Death of Ref After Red Card, reported by John Hickey, San Jose Mercury News, Nov. 9, 2016. It's happened again. This time in Mexico. Some player who can't control himself lashed out in anger after getting a red card and killed the ref, who wasn't prepared for the punch. Remember, we've seen this before. If you don't remember, click on these links: See Police Report Details Attack By Player That Left Utah Soccer Referee In Coma, by Bob Mims, Salt Lake Tribune, May 3, 2013; and Utah Soccer Referee Ricardo Portillo Dies Week After Being Punched, by Jennifer Dobner, Salt Lake City Tribune, May 4, 2013. For a televised report, see Soccer Ref Punched Into Coma By Teen Player, ABC News, May 3, 2013. Click here for Jim Thompson of the Positive Coaching Alliance's comments on Ricardo Portillo's death. For comments from Barry Mano of the National Association of Sports Officials, see A Whistle, A Punch, and A Soccer Referee Is Dead, by Sam Borden, New York Times, May 7, 2013..
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November 4, 2016 – Bellingham, WA – Fight Mars Washington State Football Playoffs. See Squalicum Advances To State After Brawl-Marred Bi-District Victory, reported by Tyler Urke, Bellingham Herald.
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November 4, 2016 - Georgia - Bench clearing football brawl holds up football playoffs. See Pace-Towers Game Stopped After Fight, Holds up GHSA Playoff Draw, reported by Todd Holcomb, Atlanta Journal-Constitution High School Sports Blog, November 5, 2016.
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November 3, 2016 - Read Sports Illustrated's report on how high school football has changed in the concussion era. See The High School Game: What's Changed In The Concussion Era, MMQB Section of SI.Com.
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November 3, 2016 – Boston, MA - Title IX Hits Harvard Soccer Team’s Crude Female Rating System. See Harvard Suspends Men’s Soccer Team Over Sexual Comments, AP Wire Service on Boston, KIRO Channel 7. Not to be outdone, Columbia Suspends Wrestling Team Over Lewd Texts: NYT, NBC News, November 15, 2016.
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October 2016
October 30, 2016 - Greenfield, OHIO - Greenfield-McClain high School Cheerleaders Take Heat For "Trail of Tears" pre-game banner. This is not a good moment if you're a Native American. You have a team named the Indians, which can't make you too thrilled. Then, you have the team playing the Indians invoking the "trail of tears." You don't need to be a historian to know that anything called the "trail of tears" is probably a bad historical moment. See Ohio School Takes Action after Trail of Tears Banner Uproar, Associated Press story on Fox TV (Columbus Ohio) Channel 4, November 1, 2016. The school later apologized, but the apology was undermined when photos surfaced of a school spirit function that featured students dressed as stereotypes of African-American slaves, and Chinese and Mexican laborers. You can click here to see the photos on the Indian Country website.
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October 21, 2016 - Jacksonville, N.C. - Should An Official Protest The Anthem? On the one hand, one might say that the official is part of society and should be able to engage in the same conduct as any other self - respecting citizen. On the other hand, any act that distracts from the role of neutral arbiter hinders the official's ability to do one of the most important part of their job: create the appearance of fairness and neutrality. Somewhere, somebody will not agree with one of the official's calls, and the protest may make the person who disagrees conflate the disagreement with the call into something more. Sometimes the simple act of taking a knee has broader ramifications ... on the other hand, some would say those ramifications pale in comparison to what the official is protesting. But, read for yourself. See Football Official Kneels During National Anthem At Southwest Game, reported by Naomi Whidden, Jacksonville Daily News, October 22, 2016. The official certainly got a better result than this Beaumont, TX youth football team. See Beaumont Bulls Season Ends After National Anthem Protest, reported by Liz Teitz, Beaumont Enterprise, October 19, 2016.
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October 21, 2016 - Arlington, VA - Police Used Pepper Spray To Break Up Fight At Washington-Lee High School Football Game Against McLean, reported by Alejandra Matos, Washington Post, October 22, 2016.
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October 14, 2016 - Dallas, TX - Video: Fight Breaks Out At Midfield After Lakeview Centennial Beats Garland, Dallas Morning News; For national coverage of this incident, see Video: Fight Erupts In Postgame Handshake Line Of Texas Crosstown Face Off, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today High School Sports, October 17, 2016.
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October 14, 2016 - Baltimore, MD - Can one partnership help increase the numbers of African-American sports journalists, address issues pertaining to African-American female athletes, and help increase the number of African-American head football coaches in college and the NFL? Well, ESPN's TheUndefeated.com, the long-awaited ESPN site focusing on African-Americans, race, sports and culture, is attacking all of these issues. TheUndefeated.com just announced a journalism partnership with Morgan State University, the HBCU located in Baltimore to explore all of these issues ... and more. See The Undefeated and Morgan State University Announce Journalism Partnership (Research Will Focus On The Image of Black Female Athletes and The Path Of Black Coaches To The NFL), reported by Jill Hudson, TheUndefeated.com.
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October 13, 2016 - Wiggins, MS - Racial hazing or just plain racism? Read about the Mississippi High School Football Noose Case. See Officials Investigate Claim of Noose Around Student's Neck, reported by Jeff Amy and Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press report on ABC News, October 25, 2016; Black Student In Mississippi Had Noose Put Around His Neck, N.A.A.C.P. Official Says, reported by Christopher Mele, October 26, 2016.
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October 10, 2016 - Momsteam.com expands to a concussion clearinghouse website at concussions.smart-teams.org . Click here for articles, resources and videos on the smart-teams site.
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October 8, 2016 - Bethel Park, PA - Anthem Protest Met With Racial Retorts and Cries of "N" Word at Youth Football Game. See Crowd Hurls Slurs At All-Black Youth Football Team As Some Players Kneel During Anthem, Coach Says, reported by Derek Hawkins, Washington Post, October 13, 2016; and Slurs Shouted, Police Called After Players Kneel During National Anthem, PA. Coach Says, reported by Colin Deppen, Pennlive.com October 11, 2016. This is a self-fulfilling racial prophesy. A group of African-American kids take a knee during the anthem to protest racial injustice. They are met with racial taunts - leading them to quite rationally conclude that there's a whole lot more racial injustice - or at least racists - then they ever anticipated.
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October 7, 2016 - Buffalo, N.Y.. Police Suspend Play After Bench-Clearing High School Football Brawl. But, the big story from this game was Chad Kelly, the Ole Miss. QB, storming out of the stands in an attempt to stand by his brother, the quarterback for St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute. Chad failed to honor a very important sportsmanship principle: the fans must stay in the stands - when they don't, two-person fights become multiple-person fights and multiple-person fights become uncontrollable riots. See Ole Miss Quarterback Chad Kelly Races To Brother's Rescue In A High School Football Game Fight, reported by Ron Higgins, New Orleans Times-Picayune, October 8, 2016.
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September 2016
September 30, 2016 - Illinois - Officials Background Checks - Sex offender works Illinois high school game; Background checks to come! See Rep. Beiser Introduces Bill Requiring Criminal Background Checks For High School Sports Officials Riverbender.com (Alton, IL), September 30, 2016; Lawmakers 'Not Willing To Wait' For IHSA To Do Background Checks On Officials, reported by Don O'Brien, Belleville News-Democrat, September 30, 2016.
A few notes from the IHSA case. First, the IHSA properly points out that officials do not have unsupervised access to students in the Belleville News-Democrat article. However, as you can see from the reaction of the Illinois legislature, that's not a very compelling truth once someone finds out that a registered sex offender worked a game. We can see this time and again. If you visit the officials page of this site, you'll see a story on the MIAA and how they began conducting background checks in 2015. The MIAA was compelled to do background checks by the Boston Globe. The Globe ran stories on officials with criminal convictions working games at high schools. For example, see MIAA Doesn't Conduct Criminal Background Checks on Referees reported by Bob Hohler, December 21, 2014. If you're wondering how many States conduct background checks on high school sports officials, the Globe reports that 28 States require background checks. The 22 States that don't conduct background checks are highly vulnerable. All it takes is one official being detected as a sex offender or one newspaper doing an expose and the legislature will force background checks immediately. Substantive arguments of officials having no unsupervised access to kids will not be persuasive.
Second, the IHSA has another problem. If you read the Belleville News-Democrat article, you'll see that Illinois is worried about charging officials to take background checks. This is a noble sentiment, but ultimately a number of States realize that this is the price of officiating. The problem for the IHSA is that they charge officials $50 for an officials' license already. Illinois has over 12,000 officials; so the IHSA is getting gross revenue of at least $600,000. The IHSA won't want to lose that gross revenue, but if officials have to pay for background checks some of them may ask what they're getting for their current $50 payments and others may want increased game fees. The market will go through some brief instability before it settles and when markets are unsettled the fallout could manifest in a number of ways. Only time will tell what will happen, but this could be delicate. Still, as we've seen in Florida, Tennessee and Massachusetts, the officials will ultimately pay for their background checks and the market will eventually stabilize... but before we get to that point there could be some moments of political, legislative or economic tension. As with all things, time will tell. The IHSA is a well-run organization. It will resolve this and a year from now this will be naught but a memory.
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September 30, 2016 - Omaha, NE - Boyd Waldmann, a 52 year old coach, allegedly attacks 10-year-old player in post-game handshake line after flag football game. See Omaha Youth Football Coach Accused Of Attacking 10-Year-Old After Boy High-Fives Him 'Too Hard,' reported by Kevin Cole, Kearney Hub. Click here for Omaha television coverage. Click here for more post-game handshake line incidents.
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September 30, 2016 - Lauderdale Lakes, FL - Fight Among Teens Leads To Stabbing During High School Football Game, Sheriff's Office Says, reported by Rebeca Piccard, South Florida Sun Sentinel.
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September 29, 2016 - Study Shows That Female High School Athletes Underreport Their Concussions (but not as much as male athletes do). See Underreporting of Concussions and Concussion-Like Symptoms In Female High School Athletes, McDonald, Tracy MSN, RN; Burghart, Mark A. MOT; Nazir, Niaman MD, MPH, Journal of Trauma Nursing, September/October 2016 - Volume 23 - Issue 5 - p 241–246 ; and see Study Reveals Many Female High School Athletes Do Not Report Concussion Injuries To Trainers, news-medical.net, September 29, 2016.
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September 28, 2016 - Portage, MI - Portage Schools Settlement With High School Tennis Player: $30,000, reported by Rosemary Parker, Mlive.com. This settlement resolved the player's claims that she was bullied and kicked off the tennis teams after rumors were spread about her that the school knew were false. This case raises the question about the difference between hazing and bullying. Click here to see how hazingprevention.org answers that question.
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September 23, 2016 - Holyoke, MA - Complaints of Taunts, Racial Slurs Against Girls' Soccer Players In Amherst Prompt Investigation, reported by Mike Plaisance, Masslive.com, September 26, 2016.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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September 16, 2016 - The Two States Testing HS Athletes For Steroids Turn Up Few Positives, USA Today High School Sports
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September 14, 2016 - Dos Palos, CA - Hazing Case Hits Small California Central Valley Town. See Police Investigating Hazing Incident That Led To The Arrest of 3 Students At Dos Palos High, reported by Christina Fan, ABC30 News, Fresno, CA, September 14, 2016; See also Dos Palos Football Players Face Felony Charge in Hazing Case, reported by Rob Parsons, Los Banos Enterprise, September 15, 2016; High School Hazing Arrests Shock and Divide Small Football Community In Rural California, reported by Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2016; and Fourth Dos Palos Football Player Arrested In Hazing Case, reported by Rob Parsons, Los Banos Enterprise, September 16, 2016.
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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.
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September 13, 2016 - Concussion Legacy Foundation's National Concussion Education Day: Team Up Day!
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September 13, 2016 - Click here for preview of ESPN's Hazing: The Hidden Horror, Airing on September 13 on ESPN's Outside the Lines.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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September 1, 2016 - New Lawsuit Points Finger At Pop Warner For Mismanagement of Head Injuries, reported by Michael McCann and Austin Murphy, SI.com. For more on this lawsuit, see Talking With A Mother Who Sued Pop Warner Football, reported by Jayne McManus, ESPN.com, September 8, 2016. Click here for the complaint in Archie v. Pop Warner.
August 2016
August 31, 2016 - Framingham Football Coach Returns Following Players' Blisters, reported by Paul Burton, CBS Boston - TV.
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August 27, 2016 - Ft. Pierce, FL - Ft. Pierce Football Fight Evacuates Entire Stadium, reported by Victoria Price, WTSP - CBS 12.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
July 2016
July 28, 2016 - See Blurred Lines: Are Parents Getting Too Involved In High School Sports? Reported by Richard Obert, USAToday.com, July 28, 2016.
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July 27, 2016 - Heads Up Football Takes A Hit On Bad Concussion Reduction Data. This NFL funded program has done a world of good in promoting safety in youth football, but there'll be some negative fallout from overstating their effectiveness. In a data driven world, you can do good things but you can't overstate your data. See NFL-Backed Youth Program Says It Reduced Concussions. The Data Disagrees. Reported by Alan Schwartz, New York Times, July 27, 2016.
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July 19, 2016 - Alabama - Alabama.com conducts prep survey, finds out a lot about coach/parent relationships. Click here for the Problems With Parents survey, and See the corresponding article, Problems With Parents: High School Coaches Speak Their Mind Over Often Tense Relationships, reported by Paul Beaudry, Alabama.com, July 19, 2016.
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July 19, 2016 - Denison, IA - Denison High School Coach, Teacher Charged With Sex Abuse, reported by Gordon Wolf, Council Bluff Daily Nonpareil. Bryant Rasmussen, the Denison cross country coach, was arrested on "charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of a female student."
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July 19, 2016 - New York, N.Y. - Marcus Stroud, volunteer wrestling coach, charged with sexual abuse. See Wrestling Coach, 19, Charged With Sexually Abusing Teenage Boy, reported by Reuven Blau, New York Daily News.
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July 19, 2016 - Buffalo Grove, IL - Ex-High School Water Polo Player: I was Sexually Assaulted During Game, reported by Tony Briscoe, Chicago Tribune. Rebecca Dabrowski alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a player from Libertyville High School. Dabrowski played on the boys' water polo team. If you're not familiar with water polo, fairly rough play occurs below the water line out of view of officials, coaches and spectators. But a sexual assault would be beyond the pale. Dabrowski's bringing a Title IX action. She's also been on ESPN's Outside The Lines Show. This is one of those cases that has the ring of truth while at the same time being virtually impossible to prove. Still, both schools needed to try... a full investigation was in order and it's not clear if that ever occurred. We will soon find out.
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July 19, 2016 - Tallahassee, FL - Girl Denied Spot On Leon Cheerleading Team Threatens Legal Action, reported by Amanda Claire Curcio, Tallahassee Democrat. And, the one thing this story and all the other coverage of this story doesn't tell us is what the basis of the girl's complaint is. Is it racial? Is it procedural. There's no coverage that tells anybody what the basis of the girl's threatened lawsuit is. Therefore, we don't know if we have a sour grapes story or a legal story.
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July 18, 2016 - New Study: Limited Full-Contact Football Practice Decreases Head Impacts By 42 Percent, reported by Cam Smith, USA Today Outside The Box Column.
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July 15, 2016 - Is Excessive Heat and Youth Football A Dangerous Mix? by Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com.
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July 15, 2016 - HS Federation Calls For Pitch Limits, Enid (OK) News. The National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) passed a new rule requiring every state high school governing body to enact a pitch count rule for the spring, 2017 baseball season. This is a major step toward protecting young pitchers' arms.
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July 9, 2016 - Coming Soon: Title IX Compliance Institute In Las Vegas in August.
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July 8, 2016 - Colorado Spring, CO - Composition of Artificial Turn Surfaces Key To Preventing High School Football Injuries, published by American Orthopaedic Society For Sports Medicine, republished in Science Newsline.
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July 8, 2016 - Big Concussion Conference Starts Friday in Chicago. Click here for details on the 2016 Sports Concussion Conference.
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June 7, 2016 - Florida - FHSAA Limits Live Contact For High School Football, NFHS.org. Florida's limit is 30 minutes per day and 80 minutes total per week during the regular season with a slight expansion in contact prior to the first regular season game.
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July 7, 2016 - Embezzlement in Youth Sports: It's always been a problem; now it's getting worse. See The Trusted Grown-Ups Who Steal Millions From Youth Sports by Bill Pennington, New York Times. Also see, the New York Times's follow up piece: When Everyone's Grandma is The Town's Little League Thief, reported by Bill Pennington, New York Times, July 20, 2016.
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July 6, 2016 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Junior Tennis Rallies Against Decline In Sportsmanship by Erin Barney, Medill Reports (Northwestern University).
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June 2016
June 29, 2016 - If You Played Ball As A Kid You Won’t Like This: Youth baseball is on a downslide, and here's why it matters by Stuart Schley, Coloradobiz Magazine, June 29, 2016
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June 27, 2016 - This is not your father's high school sports. See Why Top College Basketball Prospects Are Forgoing Traditional High Schools To Join Superteams by Pete Thamel, Sports Illustrated.
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June 22, 2016 - Moultrie, GA - Head-Butting Football Coach Suspended, Not By High School Governing Body but By The State's Teacher Certification Board. See Five Things You Need To Know Regarding Rush Propst's Suspension by Jim Halley, USA Today.
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June 19, 2016 - Sydney Australia - Teen Referee's Eye Socket, Jaw Fractured As Out of Control Parent Attacks During Junior Rugby League Match in Sydney, reported by Peter Fegan, Channel 7 News, Sydney.
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June 19, 2016 - Seattle, WA - Up to 2 Million Kids A Year Suffer Concussions From Sports, Play, Study Says by JoNel Aleccia, Seattle Times.
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June 16, 2016 - Michigan - Michigan Takes Stand Against Standard Concussion Safety Practice. This is a most unusual stance and nobody is sure why Michigan is digging in their heels on this matter. See Michigan Balks At Rule Shortening Full-Contact Practice For High School Football by Ted Roelofs, Bridge Magazine.
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June 15, 2016 - Lancaster, PA - Guilty Plea by parent who attacked youth track coach over daughter's playing time. See Manheim Township Man Admits He "Messed Up Big Time" In Threatening Track Coach: Pleads Guilty to Three Charges by Jonas Fortune, Lancasteronline.com. How did it all start? See Man Charged With Threatening Manheim Township School Employee Over Daughter's Status On Track Team Says Coach 'Disrespected' His Child by Ryan Robinson, Lancasteronline.com, April 14, 2016.
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June 10, 2016 - Blacksburg, VA - Virginia Tech Bans Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity For 10 Years For Hazing by Nick Anderson and Justin William Moyer, Washington Post, June 10, 2016
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June 7, 2016 - New London, CT - Connecticut's high school baseball coaches objected to a new pitch count rule that goes into effect next year. However, we got good evidence of why the rule is needed when some high school coaches over-pitched their pitchers in the State tournament to a degree that would be hard to defend. See This State Baseball Tourney Proves a Pitch Count Rule is Necessary by Mike DiMauro, New London, Ct's The Day, June 7, 2016. See also, Rise in Pitching Injuries Has Experts On Alert by Christian Arnold, gametimePA.com, June 21, 2016.
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June 4, 2016 - Monee, IL - Umpire says Monee Mayor Jay Farquhar broke his jaw. According to The Daily Southtown, the Mayor says he defended himself "by throwing up my right arm." See Mayor Suspended From Baseball Group After Ump Says He Broke His Jaw by Erin Gallagher, The Daily Southtown, June 8, 2016. Also see, Ump: Mayor Punched Me, Broke My Jaw Over Call In Game of 7 and 8-Year Olds by Bob Cook, Forbes.com, June 9, 2016.
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June 2, 2016 - Boston, MA - Can CTE be diagnosed in living patients? Diagnose CTE, a $16 million seven year study funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, aims to find out. Diagnose CTE "will be the largest to date of living former football players and includes 240 men ages 45 to 74. The first participant is expected to be enrolled in July, and the project involves about 50 investigators representing 17 institutions." See Can Brain Damage Be Found In Retired Football Players? by Kay Lazar, Boston Globe, June 2, 2016.
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May 2016
May 26, 2016 - Fort Smith, Arkansas - School Solves Offensive Sports Nickname Problem By Changing To No Nickname at All by Bob Cook, Forbes.com
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May 23, 2016 – Dietrich, Idaho - White High School Football Players In Idaho Charged With Raping Black Disabled Teammate With a Coat Hanger by Michael E. Miller, Washington Post, May 25, 2016. These charges involve hazing, sexual assault, blatant racial abuse, and abuse of a student with “mental disorders”. The worst of the alleged abusers has been identified as one John R.K. Howard. Howard allegedly teamed with Tanner Ward and other football players to jam a hanger up the Black student’s rear end, and then kicked the hanger multiple times. Howard also allegedly forced the Black student to sing a racist song called “Notorious KKK.” See also Teen Charged in Dietrich Locker Room Assault Arraigned In District Court, Magic Valley Times-News, May 23, 2016.
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May 21, 2016 - Strange But True: Investigating Detective Charged in High School Hazing Case. This all started in December, 2015 when a group of basketball players engaged in sexual hazing by assaulting a teammate with a pool cue that broke inside him and ruptured his colon. The AD and Basketball coach faced criminal charges for failing to report child sexual abuse, and the principal was reassigned in the aftermath of this incident. Click here for details. Students faced juvenile charges. The odd capper to this ugly story arose in May where a detective investigating the case was charged with two counts of aggravated perjury. See Detective Charged With Aggravated Perjury Could Face Harshest Penalty In Ooltewah Rape Case by Kendi Anderson, Chattanooga Times Free Press, May 21, 2016. This one gets uglier and uglier.
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May 17, 2016 - Alameda, CA - Alameda Student Dies At High School Football Practice, reported by Bob Redell, Shawn Murphy and Elyce Kirchner, NBC Channel 5.
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May 13, 2016 - Washington, D.C. - Dartmouth Coach: Tackle Free Practice Reduces Concussions, A.P. Wire Service on yahoo.com.
When you eliminate contact and tackling at your football practices, you need to find some way to make sure that new players are trained in proper tackling techniques and that current players stay sharp. Dartmouth faced this problem when they banned tackling in practice and they solved it with the Mobile Virtual Player (MVP). Click here for details. Click here for video. And click here for video of the Pittsburgh Steelers using the MVP.
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May 13, 2016 - Click here for the Office of Civil Rights' "Dear Colleague Letter On Transgender Students", offering significant guidance on everything from locker room access to athletic participation to single sex education to restroom access.
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May 12, 2016 - Pop Warner Football Eliminates Kickoffs by Jill Martin, CNN.Com. The ban is only applicable in Pop Warner's three lowest age-groups; still, this is a major step for a football organization. Kickoffs do pose a tremendous injury and concussion risk, and we've seen the NFL try to reduce kickoffs by changing touchback rules and moving the ball up on kickoffs, but an outright ban on kickoffs is a move that was probably inevitable and that may very well spread quickly.
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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. Also, click here for more Title IX information.
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May 9, 2016 - Spring Baseball Blowouts Add To Rich History Of Embarrassing Prep Scorelines by Cam Smith, USA Today, May 9, 2016 (see this article for a brief compilation of blowout games). Click here for Running Up The Score Page.
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May 8, 2016 - Zwickau, Germany - Turkish Wheelchair Basketball Fans Brawl at German Game, BBC. Talk about understatement. The BBC refers to a brawl. Brawl it was, but this brawl involved knives and baseball bats. If the measure of a sport is the seriousness of the fans and their willingness to engage in unsportsmanlike conduct of the highest or lowest order, then wheelchair basketball has made it - but what a way to make it.
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May 1, 2016 - San Marcos, TX - HCM and Sudden Heart Deaths: See Seguin ISD Coach Helps Save Player's Life by Felicia Frazar, Seguin Gazette. For a chronological list of sudden heart deaths, click here for the Parent Heart Watch website.
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April 2016
April 2016 - What do parents think about sports and the values of sports? See the Edelman Report. and see Shauna Letellier’s call to action in youth sports. Where Character Education Is Undone, Huffington Post, April 5, 2016.
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April 28, 2016 - Detroit, MI - Dad May Face Criminal Charges For Alleged Assault on Umpire After Daughter's Softball Game, WXYZ TV Detroit, MI.
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April 27, 2016 - Las Vegas, Nevada - Nevada School Board Candidate Runs On Platform Of Banning Football by Josh Barnett, USA Today.
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April 26, 2016 - ACADEMIC FRAUD - Seattle, WA - Bellevue Football Report: Coaches Violated Rules For Years, District Obstructed Investigation by Mike Baker, Seattle Times. Diploma mills and false addresses are just the beginning of a litany of charges against a national high school football power.
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BAD ACTS/HAZING: Santa Fe, NM - Santa Fe High Fires Basketball Coach After Investigation Into Hazing by James Barron, The Santa Fe New Mexican, April 22, 2016 (breaking the story of a February hazing incident).
April 21, 2016 - MEDICAL - FOOTBALL DEATHS - Las Vegas, NV - Vegas Youth Football Player Dead After Collapsing On Field, CBS News.
April 20, 2016 - Cooper City, FL – BAD ACTS – This time it’s the coaches going at it. See Coaches’ Brawl at Youth Baseball Game Caught on Tape, ABC News, April 20, 2016.
April 19, 2016 - BAD ACTS: Knoxville, TN - TSSAA Penalizes Lenoir City Soccer After 'goalkeeper' Punched Farragut Player by Chris Thomas, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 23, 2016. The TSSAA took a strong stand here, suspending the player (who is not a senior) in all sports for life, fining the school $1,500, and barring the school's soccer team from post-season play this year.
April 3, 2016 - Public/Private Issues Haunt The Louisiana High School Athletic Association. School administrators want to split the public and private schools into separate championships. The Legislature is threatening legislation that will prevent such a split. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine is stuck in the middle. See Louisiana Has The Most Extreme High School Sports Class Chaos by Bob Cook, Forbes, April 3, 2016; Bill That Could Endanger Future of LHSAA to Be Tabled, Rep. Kirk Talbot Says by Jim Derry, NOLA.com/Times Picayune, March 31, 2016; LHSAA Votes To Split All Major High School Sports reported by Chelsea McDonald, WGNO, January 29, 2016.
March 2016
March 30, 2016 – CONCUSSION NEWS: Concussion Test In Blink of An Eye by Benny Evangelista, San Francisco Chronicle, March 30, 2016 page C-1. Reporting on Eye-Sync, one of a number of newer, faster, cheaper concussion tests. Click here to view the article on the SF Chronicle site.
March 2016 - How do concussions impact the insurance landscape? See School Liability - Student Athlete Concussions in the U.S. by Jeffrey Weisel, Esq. and Charlie Kingdollar, Insurance Issues (a publication of Gen Re, a Berkshire Hathaway Company), March 2016.
March 18, 2016 – BAD ACTS/HAZING: Berwyn, PA - ‘No Gay Thursday’ Coach Out! See Conestoga Coach Vogan Resigns Amid Hazing Scandal, Delaware County Times, March 18, 2016.
March 17, 2016 – BAD ACTS: Frisco, TX – Texas High School Coach Allegedly Told Black Students, “I’m Going To Hang You in That Tree” by Sebastian Murdock, Huffington Post, March 17, 2016. Todd Campbell, assistant football coach at Centennial High in Frisco, TX, has resigned in the wake of this story.
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March 11, 2016 – Wisconsin – Will Wisconsin’s high school governing body be subject to open meeting and open records laws? We’ll soon find out. See Editorial: School Sports Doesn’t need Secrecy, Wisconsin State Journal, March 11, 2016.
March 9, 2016 - HS LEGISLATION:Florida Senate Passes Sweeping School Choice, High School Sports Bill by Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel/Fox 35, March 9, 2016. This pending legislation would further liberalize Florida’s high school transfer rules.
February 2016
February 3, 2016 - New York, N.Y. - Researcher Says In Five Years, CTE Test Can Be Given To Living by Michael O’Keefe, New York Daily News, February 3, 2016. The headline is not 100% accurate as this quote from the article reveals: “Boston University neurology professor Robert Stern said he believes his team will develop methods to identify the disease in living patients before Super Bowl 60 in 2026.” 2026 isn’t five years, but elsewhere in the article, the Daily News notes that Professor Stern said the test will be available in five to ten years. Click on the link and see for yourself.
