Bad Acts By Year: (2011) (2010) (2009) (2008) (2007) (2005-2006) (Prior to 2005)
Bad Acts By Sport: (Baseball) (Basketball) (Cheer) (Football) (Soccer) (Swimming) (Softball)
Special Cases: (Closed Gyms) (Conduct Codes) (Judicial Reviews) (Officials Attacked) (Parents and Relatives) (Post-game handshakes) (Pepper Spray and Police Actions) (Shootings/Stabbings etc...) (Specific Schools, Leagues, Organizations And Others)
Click Here For Bad Acts Prior to 2005
Click Here For Bad Acts From 2005 and 2006
Click Here For Bad Acts From 2007-2008
Click Here For Bad Acts From 2009
Click here for Bad Acts From 2010
Click here for Bad Acts From 2011
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Sumter, GA - August 7, 2011 - Any league can have a fight. The good leagues try to prevent them in advance and take strong actions afterward. After two American Legion teams scuffled during a tournament, the American Legion Baseball League took a strong stance, declaring a double forfeit, thereby disqualifying both teams from the tournament. See Douglasville, Carolina Team Forfeit After Fight In Tourney, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 8, 2011.
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Castle Rock, CO - June 26, 2011 - For years, we've told spectators that they could be prosecuted for fighting at athletic contests. But what do you do when the prosecutor is one of the fighters. Well, the City of Castle Rock is confronting that problem. News reports indicate that what started as some parents complaining about a "bad call" in a youth baseball league morphed into a brawl involving six adults. DenverPost.com reports that two of the parents and the town prosecutor are facing criminal charges. See Parents Charged After Castle Rock Youth Baseball Brawl by Will Ripley, DenverPost.com, July 11, 2011. Also see Colorado Parents Charged After Youth Baseball Brawl, AP Wire Service Story in USA Today, July 11, 2011.
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East Meadow, NY - June 20, 2011 - Mom allegedly sends threatening letters after her son was cut from a Little League team. See Cops: Mom Sent Threat When Son Didn't Make Team, CBSNews.com, June 20, 2011.
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Burleson, TX - June 16, 2011 - Coach Gives Umpire A Facial: Caught On Film. See Youth Baseball Coach Shoves Umpire In Face by David Schechter, KHOU.com, June 16, 2011. Think that's bad? It gets worse. There were two attacks on umps that day. See Police Called To Second Youth Baseball Coach Fight In North Texas by David Schechter, WFAA.com, June 24, 2011.
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Fletcher, NC - May 28, 2011 - Samuel Cody, a 37 year-old assistant baseball coach, has been charged with assault. WYFF TV in Greenville reported the story, stating that Letcher police claim Cody hit a 16-year-old who was serving as an umpire in a baseball league for 11 and 12 year-olds. Parents on Cody's team allegedly have reported that the 16-year-old umpire attacked Cody first. It would be extremely rare for an umpire to attack a coach, and I note that it is alarmingly common for child sports officials to be attacked by adult coaches. In short, I believe the umpire. We'll see what happens with this one. See Youth Coach Charged With Assault After Umpire Attack, WYFF TV 4, Greenville, NC, May 30, 2011, and Police: NC Coach Punched Teen Umpire During Little League, reported by Jonathan Carlson, WSPA TV Channel 7, Asheville, NC.
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Millington, TN - April 9, 2011 - Briarcrest, Houston Receive Two-Year Postseason Baseball Ban by John Varlas, Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 14, 2011. The Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) issues a severe, but very justified, penalty after an ugly brawl involving bench personnnel, parents, and coaches. A school administrator was quoted as saying that he's never been involved in a penalty this severe. Severe, yes. However, severe penalties are sometimes needed. Or, to put it another way, why should any organization let bad actors get a reward? Tennessee had a terrible weekend. This brawl, and an alleged attempted murder at another baseball contest led one prep sports reporter to ask, Prep Sports, What's Happening To Sportsmanship? by David Boyd, The Memphis Edge Blog in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 12, 2011.
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Dyersburg, TN - April 8, 2011 - Senior Crosses Line Between Poor Sportsmanship and Attempted Murder. Adam Purvis, a senior at Dyersburg High School in Tennessee, is charged with attempted murder after a heated high school baseball game. WMCTV Channel 5 News in Dyersburg cites witnesses saying that Purvis gunned his car into a crowd and ran over a student from a rival high school. See Mother Wants Answers After Her Son Is Run Over At School, reported by Justin Hanson, WMCTV News 5, April 15, 2011, and Teens Witness Crockett County HS Student Get Run Over At Baseball Game, reported by Danya Bacchus, WREG TV 3, Memphis, April 8, 2011.
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Spartanburg, S.C. - April 8, 2011 - 15 baseball players suspended after baseball fight in South Carolina. Dorman High School and Boiling Springs High School have had finer hours than this embarrassing display of poor sportsmanship. See 15 high School Baseball Players Suspended For Fight, reported by James Gilbert, WLTX.com TV (Columbia, SC), April 14, 2011.
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El Paso, TX - April 2, 2011 - New Bat Rules Spark Parents, Coaches Brawl in Texas Little League Game. In the past year, the National Federation and a lot of youth leagues have implemented bat rules to limit the speed at which balls fly off of aluminum and composite bats. It's a safety issue, but the new bat regulations lead to less offense. Thus, there are always concerns about a player tampering with a bat to juice it up. That appears to have triggered this brawl. See Deputies Look Into Fight at Youth Baseball Game by Adriana M. Chavez, El Paso Times, April 5, 2011.
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Oxford, NC - March 22, 2011 - Coach Injured Trying To Break Up Bench-Clearing Baseball Brawl. See NCHSAA Looking Into Baseball Fight by Nick Stevens, highschoolot.com, March 23, 2011. Close play at plate triggers brawl between Raleigh's Cardinal Gibbons High and Oxford's Webb High.
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Slidell, LA - August 5, 2010 - The New Orleans Times-Picayune Won A Legal Battle to Get Test Results on Jason Chighizola. The results confirmed that Chighizola tested positive for steroids in 2008 when he beat a rival coach to a bloody pulp following a baseball game in a 8-year-old's league. This one has it all: steroids, a coach losing it in a post-game handshake line, a grown man going nuts in a league for little children, and, yes, the two 8-year-old teams were the Yankees and the Red Sox. If it wasn't a true story, you wouldn't believe it. Chighizola was ultimately convicted of battery, and we can only hope that he never coaches anywhere again. He's a danger to us all - and to himself. See Slidell Youth Baseball Coach Who Beat Rival Coach Tested Positive For Steroids by Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, Times-Picayune, August 5, 2010.
Vallejo, CA - July 20, 2010 - Umpire knocked unconscious in Vallejo, CA Babe Ruth summer league game. See Coach Knocks Out Umpire In Teen Game, reported by Steve Large, CBS 13 Vallejo, CA, July 20, 2010.
Harrogate, TN - July 16, 2010 - Tennessee Little League coach attacks umpire. See Blount County Little League Coach Arrested For Attacking Umpire by Josh Ault, WATE.com, July 16, 2010.
Ann Arbor, MI - July 3, 2010 - Post-Game Handshake Fight in Youth Baseball Game Sends Teens To Hospital. See Fight Breaks Out At Youth Baseball Game At University of Michigan Field by Tina Reed, AnnArbor.com, July 5, 2010.
Concord, MI - June 5, 2010 - Brawl Mars Michigan HS Playoff Game. See Concord, Homer Baseball Coaches Reflect on Brawl; MHSAA Confirms Game Will Not Be Finished by Gary Kalahar, Jackson Citizen-Patriot, June 8, 2010.
Perry Township, Ohio – May 28, 2010 - Mentor Officer Allegedly Assaults Little League Coach by Elisa Amigo, Fox News 8.
Muskegon, MI - May 15, 2010 - Don't Verbally Abuse The Coach When James Ian Sherril Is Around! See Youth Soccer Coach Says Man Was Trying To Defend Her When He Pulled Out Pistol by Heather Lynn Peters, Muskegon Chronicle, May 17, 2010. On a more serious note, one of the problems of poor sportsmanship (such as having a parent verbally abuse a coach) is that it invites other people to intercede. Sherril appears to be a well-meaning sort who allegedly picked a rather poor method of telling a verbally abusive parent to back off. Now, we should note that the parent who allegedly verbally abused the coach was way out of line. It is not the parent's role to "discipline" or "manage" the coach. By the same token, it is not Sherril's role to "manage" the spectators. Where everybody strays from their proper role, chaos rules and problems occur.
Texas City, TX - April 8, 2010 - Texas City Little League Hit With Rash of Coach Misconduct. First, two coaches fought in March after a trick play. In April, one coach was arrested following a profane verbal dispute. See Youth Coaches Fined After Baseball Game Fight by Chris Paschenko, Galveston Daily News, March 31, 2010 (reprinted at KHOU); 3rd Texas City Little League Coach Faces Charges by Chris Paschenko, Galveston Daily News, April 15, 2010; and Little League Coach is Suspended For F-Word by Chris Paschecnko, Galveston Daily News, April 16, 2010.
Chicago, IL - September 6, 2009 - Chicago coach shot because he removed player from game. Sad but true: A player in a league designed to keep troubled youth off the streets, kind of missed the point of the league, got mad at his coach and tried to kill him. The player shot his coach twice, but, fortunately, ran out of bullets before he could finish the coach off. See Baseball Coach Shot At Abbott Park in Roseland, WGN, September 6, 2009; Teen Baseball Player Shoots Coach After Argument by Jeremy Gorner and Will Lee, Chicago Tribune, September 7, 2009.
Victor, N.Y. - July 16, 2009 - Youth Baseball Coach Goes Ballistic, Shoves Player. We've seen so many bad things from coaches in the last few years, that this almost doesn't register. However, anytime a 48 year-old grown man physically attacks a kid you have to wonder what's going on. This coach just lost it, screaming profanities and shoving a 13 year old boy at a baseball practice. Coaches have really gotten a bad name after the Chicago incidents a year ago, where coaches paddled kids. Those acts were intentional, thought-out attempts to motivate. They were certainly ill-advised, and not appropriate but there once was a time where people used corporal punishment. There was never a time when anybody advocated a coach simply losing it and attacking a kid. The Chicagoans were out of tune with modern standards of decency and child care. This coach is worse. He just shouldn't be around kids. See Baseball Coach Accused of Shoving Player, WHEC News 10, Rochester, N.Y.
Rancho Murieta, CA - July 7, 2009 - Out of Control Parents Launch Post-Game Fisticuffs. See Fight at Little League Game Brings Deputies To Stonehouse Park, RanchoMurieta.com, July 8, 2009.
Westfield, N.J. - June 25, 2009 - Post-Game Headbutt Mars New Jersey Little League Game. See Little League Rage: N.J. Game Ends With Headbutt - Substitute Coach Allegedly Attacks Other Coach After Teams Shake Hands; Parents Furious, CBS 11, New Jersey, June 30, 2009; See Violence Flares At Little League Game, Police Called, New Jersey.com, June 26, 2009..
Kingston, Ontario - June 23, 2009 - Kyle Pike, a 19-year old baseball player, allegedly punches out a 16-year old youth umpire. See Kingston Thunder Suspend Player Indefinitely After Attack on Umpire by Mike Koreen, Kingston Whig Standard, June, 2009; Cops Called To Baseball Brawl, K-Town Sports Report, Kingston, July 1, 2009.
West St. Paul, MN - June 17, 2009 - Former WSP Councilor Disrupts Little League Game by Seth Loy, West St. Paul Southwest Review News, August 10, 2009. This wasn't the worst of incidents as it only involved verbal abuse that did not degenerate into anything more. However, the incident is noteworthy in that Greg Shepherd, a prominent local official, was involved. When you're a public figure, you may want to control yourself at youth sports contest. Interestingly enough, a number of prominent figures have had blow ups at youth league sports contests over the year.
Albany, N.Y. June 16, 2009 - Post-Game Handshake Incident Leads to Legal Charges: But was the wrong person charged? Corey Hall was allegedly punched in the handshake line. He reacted to the punch by pushing the alleged perpetrator and kicking a helmet in frustration. The alleged perpetrator was expelled from his youth baseball league. After the alleged perpetrator was punished, his father, a police officer, filed charges against Corey on the grounds that Corey damaged property by kicking the helmet and committed a battery by pushing the kid who punched him. The lethal combination of a post-game handshake line and a parent who can't accept his son's punishment will tie up the judicial system for a little while. See Score Deputy's Move An Error For Justice by Mark MgGuire, Albany Times-Union, June 23, 2009.
West Burlington, Iowa - June 11, 2009 - Iowa High School Umpire Don Briggs ejected all the spectators (estimated to be 100 people in all) for unruly conduct. He later changed his mind and allowed the spectators back as long as there were no more negative comments. Was Briggs right? Well, we'll never know. The spectators and coaches all contend that they didn't fight and they weren't profane. That's a pretty low standard - imagine another public forum where you can deem yourself to be a gracious individual by merely not fighting and not using profanity. However, charges of overall negativity are hard to prove - especially when one accuses everyone of being negative. See High School Umpire Tells Entire Crowd: You're Out by Bryce Miller, Des Moines Register, June 13, 2009.
Antioch, IL - May 18, 2009 - Cops: Parent Takes Swing At Baseball Coach by Ruth Fuller, ChicagoBreakingnews.com, May 18, 2009; and Dad Bops Boys' Baseball Coach by Peggy Cassidy, NBC News.com Chicago, May 19, 2009..
Palm Beach, FL - May 15, 2009 - Ugly Fight/10 Ejections Mars Florida Baseball Game - School Gets Injunction, Temporarily Lifting State Suspensions. State Will Continue To Pursue This Matter. See Baseball: Trinity Christian and Miami-Brito Private Series Ends With Split, 10 Ejections After Fight by Bill Van Smith, Palm Beach Post, May 16, 2009; and Trinity Christian Wins Injunction, Loses Game by Dave George, Palm Beach Post, May 21, 2009. Note: We've seen this pattern before. A school doesn't like a penalty so it runs to court for an injunction. The school will often succeed in getting the injunction because the injunction doesn't decide the case it's just a ruling that says that harm might be done if the penalty is enforced before the case is decided. The school can easily point out that it won't get to play a game that can't be made up; thus, the school will get an injunction. The problem with the injunction is that it makes somewhat of a joke out of the penalty. The school seldom wins the case if the governing body that penalizes it continues to fight in court for a ruling. Schools know this. They just don't want to lose the big game. Some high school governing bodies now have harsh rules that include fines, forfeits and suspensions if a school asks for an injunction and then loses the case later on. There are times for an injunction, but let's face it, Trinity and Brito had a bench clearing brawl. The only reason for the injunction is because these two schools lack the integrity to take the penalty for fighting. Stacy Hicklin from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gets it in her article, Filing Injunctions Does Not Send Right Message To Student-Athletes.
Bartlesville, OK - May 9, 2009 - Coach's Wife Charged In Alleged Attack on Umpires by Laura Summers, Tulsa World, May 22, 2009. A JC coach's wife allegedly entered the umpires' locker room and grabbed one of the umpires by the throat after her husband's team lost a playoff game.
Kirkland, WA - May 2, 2009 - Mom allegedly attacks 12-year-old Little League player - and the League lacks the guts to suspend her.. See Mom Arrested After Little League Game Goes Foul by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, May 8, 2009; Click here for interview with the victim's mother; It gets worse: the Kirkland Little League didn't suspend the mom. See Parents Outraged as Little League Feud Continues by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, June 2, 2009 (note: this article also shows the weakness of newspaper headlines - the story isn't about a feud; it's about a league that lacked either the guts or good sense to suspend an unsportsmanlike parent).
Greene County, IN - April 24, 2009 - "Big Fight" Reported Between Area Schools: WRV and Union Officials Looking Into the Incident by Anna Rochelle, Greene County Daily World, April 24, 2009.
Pittsburgh, PA - August 15, 2008 - Sportsmanship 'Bottoms' Out. Coach Charged With 'Mooning' Umpire, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 15, 2008. Fayette County, PA youth coach "Jeffrey Kelley" is facing a disorderly conduct charge for his alleged "mooning" incident. For more see, Local Youth Baseball Coach Accused of Mooning Umpire, WPIX, Pittsburgh, Pa., August 15, 2008.
Ump Attacked, Fans Cheer. See Assault on Umpire 'Sickening', Fans Say by Kevin Cole and Susan Szalewski, Omaha World-Herald (Umpire Charles Andersen attacked, alleged assailant, Jeffrey Johnson, was father of one of the players). For More See: Umpire Alleges He Was Assaulted at Boys' Baseball Game, KETV 7, Omaha, NB, July 14, 2008. The Gretna Youth Baseball and Softball Association Took Strong Action Here. See Dad Banned From Games After Ump Bump: Gretna League Also Suspends Coaches, KETV 7, July 18, 2008, and The Umpire Strikes Back. See Bumped Umpire Files Lawsuit: Attorney Says He's Asking For Damages, KETV 7, Omaha, NB, July 30, 2008.
Jersey City, N.J. - July 5, 2008 - New Jersey Umpire Attack May Lead To Sports Rage Legislation. After New Jersey Parole Officer Thomas Lambert was charged with assaulting a 14 year old youth baseball umpire, New Jersey Assemblyman Ruben Ramos decided to work on sports rage legislation, mandating signage and public service announcements at all ball fields throughout the state reminding spectators about existing statutes that guard against sports rage at children's events.. Will it pass? We'll keep track of it. For details on the attack click here Also, see Father Seeks Changes After Son's 'Sports Rage' Incident by Melinda Vickerman, 1010 Wins, New York, July 24, 2008. Vickerman writes the The Jersey Mom Column in the Jersey Journal. Click here for a link to the Jersey Journal..
Nashville, TN - July 3, 2008 - Tennessee Little League Parents Fight In Holiday Championshp Game. See Little League Game Erupts In Fight, 911 Call, Reported by Catharyn Campbell, WSMV TV 4, Nashville. The big games often bring out the worst in people. Many incidents occur when people realize that it's the last game of the season. Year end games have a lot of meaning and people also feel that suspension and ejection rules don't matter since there's no next game. Finally, championship games also bring spectators who may not go to a lot of other games; sometimes these people don't react very well. Game administrators need to be on edge at the end of the season - even if the championship is played during a holiday.
June, 2008 - Plate Umpires Literally Under Attack: A plate umpire is hit by a pitch in a Georgia High School Game. Was it on purpose? Sure looks like it. The Georgia High School Association thought it was on purpose. They fined the school. The catcher lost his college scholarship - the college didn't want anybody who'd do this. Were they right? You can see the stills and the video by clicking on the June 18, 2008 Life of Reilly Column from ESPN The Magazine. Think this is the only time, think again: A California catcher told the ump what was coming! The catcher told the umpire he was gonna miss one. The ump took a fastball in his mask, ejected the catcher and the California Interscholastic Federation's North Coast Section did the right thing - a lifetime suspension! As of June 27, 2008, the catcher's appeal is pending. It's dangerous enough without catcher's trying to get the umps hurt. See Home-Plate Umpires Find Themselves In The Line of Fire by Paul White, USA Today, June 18, 2008 (foul balls lead to rash of concussions for plate umpires.
Snohomish County, WA, May 27, 2008 - Snohomish County Baseball Game Ends In Assault, Reported by Jim Forman, King TV, Seattle, WA; See Youth Sucker Punch Caught On Tape, Reported by Jim Forman, republished on WSAZ TV, Charleston, W. VA for video. This game ends with a sucker punch in the post-game handshake line, caught on tape.
New Jersey Dad Closes High School Season By Allegedly Choking Ump: See Randolph Dad Accused of Choking An Umpire During High School Game by Bill Swayze, Newark Star-Ledger, May 13, 2008; Randolph Man Jailed For Assaulting Umpire by Matt Mahochio, New Jersey Daily Record, May 13, 2008.
Nashville, TN, May 12, 2008 - It's A Cowardly Knockout of The Worst Sort: Youth Coach Allegedly Attacks From Behind/Knocks Out Ump. See Coach Accused of Knocking Out Umpire, WSMV TV.
Portland, OR, May 10, 2008 - Fighting Adults Go "Cuckoo" at Portland Little League Game. See Police Called To Little League Game As Adults Fight, KATU TV, Portland.
Knoxville, TN - April 23, 2008 - A Most Inappropriate Coaching Technique - Loudon Baseball Coach Told To Stop Making Boys Fight by Hugh Willett, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 23, 2008 (middle school baseball coach toughens up players by having them box each other).
Sparta, TN - April 3, 2008 - Three Arrested After Altercation on Baseball Field: High School Coach Assaulted by Jody Sliger, Sparta Expositor.
Layton, UT - March 15, 2008 - Post-Game Handshake Problems Mar Utah Baseball Game. See High School Baseball: Fight Mars Pirates' Comeback Over Lancers by Michael Black, Deseret Morning News.
Concord, NH - August 4, 2007 - Angry Fan Charged With Assault For Throwing Pizza At Little League Umpire. See Police Say Pizza Toss Was Assault by Joelle Farrell, Concord Monitor, August 4, 2007.
Southington, CT - July 3, 2007 - Adults Fight at Youth Baseball Game, WFSB.Com (story and photo of injured man).
St. Paul, MN - June 26, 2007 - Crazed Father Threatens to Shoot Little League Coach. Click here for WCCO, St. Paul's coverage. See Also, First A Tirade, Then Threat To Shoot Coach, Charges Say by Howie Padilla and Anthony Lonetree, Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 26, 2007.
Talladega, AL, May 19, 2008 - Parents Little League Brawl Results In More Security, Reported by Jeremy Campbell, ABC33/40, Talladega. Talladega instituted a one dollar parking charge to pay for a security guard at all youth games in the wake of this incident.
Jacksonville, Fl. - April 30, 2007 - Parent Throws Soda At Teenage Volunteer Umpire/Husband Allegedly Attacks the Ump. See Little League Baseball Brawl by Kirsten Smith, First Coast News.Com - ABC 25/NBC 12 - Jacksonville, FL. For more, see Unbelievable: Parents Attack Umpire Over Call In Game by Florida Today Staff, May 4, 2007. Click here for Florida Today's special website covering Florida Little League Sportsmanship Problems.
New York, N.Y. - April 27, 2007 - Is it Self Defense or a Case of Sports Violence? See Coach Beat us With Bat: Students Say They Were Clubbed Over Cheering; Teacher Aide Rips Hooligans, by Allison Gendar, Kerry Burke and Michael White, New York Daily News, April 27, 2007
April 25, 2007 - Highlands, CA - Fight Breaks Out at Little League by Michael Sorba, Highland Community News, April 25, 2007.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, July 2005 - Black eye for umpire in dustup with coach. Charges against coach dropped (this coach got away with his attack on the umpire - a black eye for sportsmanship).
Opelika, AL. - Baseball Parent Charged With Assault on Son's Coach at Game, Decatur Daily, March 24, 2006.
Los Angeles, CA - May 24, 2005 - Most people would think that an ejected coach shouldn't be watching his team's game. Arcadia High School of California's baseball coach Sean McCorry thought he'd found a loophole by sitting outside the ballpark and watching the game. Well, McCorry was too clever for his own good. California's CIF Southern Section made McCorry's team forfeit its game due to McCorry's clever actions. See Arcadia Pays Big Penalty by Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2005.
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Newark, NJ 2005 - Father attacks 15 year old umpire in Little League game.
Pittsburgh, PA 2005 - Youth Tee-Ball coach arrested for paying to have player hurt so he wouldn't have to put him in game. 12/30/05 - Tee-Ball Coach rejects plea bargain.
Palmdale, CA. 2005 - 13 year old boy kills a 15 year old boy by hitting him in the head with a baseball bat at a Pony League game.
Renton, WA - August 1, 1994 - Little League Father Dies After Fight At Championship Game by Wayne Wurzer, Dee Norton, Seattle Times, August 1, 1994.
Chicago, IL - January 11, 2012 - Coach Allegedly Instigates Fight Outside Gym After Game. Inner City Sports is tough enough without a basketball coach triggering a post-game fight outside of a gym. David Prater, Jr., coach of Chicago's Ace Technical Charter High School, was charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct. See Chicago High School Basketball Coach Charged With Instigating Fight, Chicago Tribune, January 12, 2012.
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Mashpee, MA - January 10, 2012 - Helpers Make Things Worse In Mashpee, MA. When two players started fighting in a Mashpee, MA JV boys' basketball game, other players, coaches, and parents all decided that they just had to run in and help. This turned a normal fight into a scrum. Apparently, something happened in the scrum and Mashpee police are reportedly investigating and trying to get video. The moral of all this. If you're a spectator, stay in the stands. You may think you're helping, but you're just making things worse. If you're a player, don't join the fight. You may think you're helping, but you're just making things worse. In other words, don't turn a two person fight into a mob scene. See Mashee Police Probe Basketball Game Fight, Cape Cod Times, January 13, 2012; and Police Further Investigating Basketball Brawl, WHDH-TV report on MSNBC, January 13, 2012.
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Charleston, SC - January 9, 2012 - High School Hoops Fans Attack Tebowers. South Carolina's West Ashley High School's spectators sent a loud and violent message to their rivals from Wando High after Wando's 20 point basketball win in January: No Tebowing Allowed! Reportedly, the West Ashley fans felt that the mass Tebowing (a celebratory prayer gesture popularized by Denver Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow) by the Wando fans was more of a taunt than a religious gesture so some of the West Ashley spectators jumped their Tebowing rivals. Two Wando fans were severely injured. Now, in truth, Tebowing may have had nothing to do with all of this. The Tebowing gesture consists of nothing more than kneeling in a brief prayer like pose, and such a gesture wouldn't raise the ire of any rational set of human beings. It may just be that the West Ashley fans simply were predisposed to beat up on the Wando fans. It was a rivalry game after all. I note that the Charleston Post and Courier reports that West Ashley fans have beaten up Wando fans before. The Post and Courier also notes that despite their prayerful pose, the Wando fans can give back as good as they got. Maybe this is a rivalry game that either needs a whole lot more crowd control or no crowd at all - just play the game in front of an empty house. For details, see 2 Wando Students Beaten At Game by Andrew Knapp, Charleston Post and Courier, January 14, 2012.
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Prince George's County, MD - January 6, 2012 - Fans Get Violent At Maryland's Friendly H.S. Maryland's Gazette.Net reports that an unruly spectator got into an altercation with a police officer who was removing him from a gym. The spectator reportedly, "assaulted the officer, causing the officer to fall down the bleachers." This led other officers to intervene. It also led to a crowd of students gathering around. The Gazette reports that some of the students were angry, and refused to disperse. This resulted in pepper spray being deployed and a number of students being arrested. See Lessons-Learned Meeting Tonight At Friendly High Hopes To Move Past Fight That Prompted Arrests, Pepper Spray by Mimi Liu, The Maryland Gazette.net, January 10, 2012.
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New, York, NY - January 5, 2012. Rivals Feud Over Appropriate Way To Honor Coach. Tragedies often bring folks together. Here, it drove two schools apart. After their coach's death, New York’s Nazareth High School’s girls’ basketball team decided that the best way to honor him was to play their regularly scheduled game on Thursday, January 5, 2012. Their opponents from Bishop Ford High decided that playing was disrespectful, and then gave Nazareth a lecture on the appropriate way to honor the deceased coach. According to New York’s Fox TV, Bishop Ford’s president told Nazareth, "The gentleman isn't even buried yet. The day that we put more importance on any sort of a game before life and death is a day that we should stop being educators." Needless to say, the folks from Nazareth weren’t too keen on being lectured on how to honor their own coach. Oh the moral rectiude. Usually, a death brings people together. This one has driven them apart. I must say that there are times when the people who didn’t suffer the loss of their coach need to keep their opinions to themselves. While one may have firm opinions about propriety, it’s just flat out bad form to tell other people how to grieve. If this is how these schools get along off the court, I’d hate to see them on it. See Coach's Death Sparks Fight Between Schools, Fox-TV, New, York, January 5, 2012; and Nazareth, Bishop Ford Disagree When To Play After Coach's Death by Joseph Staszewski, New York Post, January 5, 2012. FOLLOW UP - THINGS GET WORSE AS SELF RIGHTEOUS SCHOOLS KEEP TELLING NAZARETH HOW TO GRIEVE. As of Jan. 6, 2012, Christ the King, another Catholic school, has refused to play Nazareth. Nazareth wants catharsis. Their opponents prefer self righteousness. Now, Coach Apache Paschall's family has stated that they're not pleased. You see, they, too, want Nazareth to play to honor the late coach and for the needed emotional release. See Late Coach's Family Angry; Teams Refuse To Play Nazareth by Marc Raimondi and Joseph Staszewski, New York Post, January 6, 2012. Coach Paschall's mom puts it best. The Post quotes her as saying, "We spoke to everyone [the players] at the hospital ... They said they wanted to play. If anyone should be do any type of canceling, it should be coming from us. [The game] would have been a tribute to Apache.” The self righteous, over officious schools that refused to play this game have caused more pain and grief for the family and players than they'll ever realize. Can you be a poor sport if no game is played? Yes. Bishop Ford and Christ The King have proven so.
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Baltimore, MD - December 21, 2011 - Ugly Baltimore HS Brawl Captured On Film. Who To Blame? You Guessed It. They Blame The Referees. This one was ugly. The fight involved spectators and players. Chairs were thrown, and the Washington Post reports that "spectators threw other spectators onto the floor from the stands." Police ultimately intervened, using pepper spray to disperse the crowd. See Fight Ends Cardozo Basketball Game vs. ConneXions School For The Arts In Baltimore by James Wagner, Washington Post, December 22, 2011; and for video see New Details Emerge In High School Basketball Game Fight In Baltimore, reported by Roz Plater, Fox-5 TV, Washington, D.C., December 22, 2011. Oh, yes, if you're wondering about those new details that Fox TV alluded to. Well, surely the spectators aren't so uncivilized as to be blamed for touching off a riot. Someone has to be at fault. But who? You guessed it. Those awful referees. Yes, the barbarity of the masses is not their fault. It's that guy in stripes who's to blame. Here's the quote from Fox TV. "Cardozo students tell Fox 5 that tensions had been escalating during the game because of controversial calls from the referee." That says it all. What a crock of crap. What really happened is a bunch of people lack character and restraint, can't own up to it, and so they blame the one group of people who can't defend themselves.
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Buffalo, NY - December 8, 2011 - High School Hoops Team Suspended For Racist Pre-Game Chant. Oh those witty white racists. They're so clever. Buffalo's Kenmore East High School had the gall to chant, "One, two, three. N word" before taking the floor. Not once, but before every game. When Tyra Batts, the lone African-American on the team objected and even fought a teammate over the incident, the chant became public knowledge. Interestingly, Batts verbally objected before she fought over the matter, and was told that the chant was a tradition. Yes, racist white folks and their traditions. I remember when these types had a tradition of holding nice little picnics in the woods with black folks swinging from the poplar trees, but I don't think anybody would support the old tradition of lynching anymore. Of course, the tradition of screaming, "one, two, three, n word" is probably just too much fun to stop. Anyway, a bureaucratic justice was done. All the girls who engaged in the n word chant were suspended for one game, and two school days. Batts received a five day suspension for fighting. The letter of the law was followed, and I'm sure that Batts has learned a lesson in bureaucratic justice. Now, the truth of the matter is that Batts had to receive a five day suspension for fighting. After all, she did have non-fight remedies at her disposal. Batts got justice. However, there's no way that the girls who chanted, "One, two, three. N word" got justice. They got a standard bureaucratic penalty, and this bureaucratic justice left them with a lesser penalty than Batts got. That might not matter if they got a heavy dose of public shame, but it doesn't appear that they got that. Thus, I would have to say that while bureaucratic justice was done, true justice was not. For more, see Basketball Players Suspended For N-Word by Sandra Tan, Buffalo News, December 8, 2011 (includes video of Tyra Batts); Buffalo High School Girls Basketball Team Suspended After Using Racial Slur by Nina Mandell, New York Daily News, December 9, 2011; Buffalo Area High School Basketball Players Suspended For Using Racial Slurs, Sporting News article republished on Syracuse.com, December 13, 2011.
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Indianapolis, IN - October 21, 2011 - Trifecta of Stupidity! Trevor Borom, the head basketball coach at Indianapolis’s Manual High School, just committed three dumb acts rolled into one. First, Borom drove over to a girls’ house in the middle of the day while her parents weren’t home. Borom was allegedly going to discuss the girls’ grades. Error number one: grown men don’t make social visits to young girls’ houses. Error number 2 might have been worse. Coach Borom got into a fight with a fifteen year old boy while visiting the girl. Error number 3 may be pure bad luck, but it’s still an error. Borom got caught on film. Can you say, “career suicide?” See Manual High Coach Accused of Biting, Fighting Student, Fox 59 TV Indianapolis, IN, Oct. 21, 2011; also, see Coach Suspended After Fight, Indianapolis Business Journal, October 21, 2011.
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Erie, PA - March 12, 2011 - National Christian School Athletic Association's girls' national championship game ends in a double disqualification after a bench clearing altercation. Having one's championship end in brawl that leads to both teams being disqualified is uniquely embarrassing. To its credit, the NCSAA said all the right things. Indeed, we can all have a brawl. Sometimes the measure of excellence is how we react. The NCSAA doesn't blame others. Nor did they try to downplay the incident. They stepped right up as their director Nate Hartman said, "We're just not recognizing a champion. As Christians we do believe that we bear the name of Christ. Obviously, behavior like this and actions like this are not in line with the spirit of the God whose name we bear. We should expect more of ourselves. I hope this is something that causes the schools and even the organization to ask how we could have done our role differently." See Girls Super 25 Showdown Ends Prematurely After Altercation by Jim Halley, USA Today, March 15, 2011.
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Harford County, MD - March 2, 2011 - Basketball Playoffs Marred By 50 Person Brawl - Injuries Reported In Maryland HS Basketball Game. See Harford Police Report Describes Chaotic Scene At Fallston Basketball Game, Harford Aegis, March 4, 2011.
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DeLand, FL - February 12, 2011 - At least 100 people participate in post-game incidents after a high school basketball game. News reports indicate that "up to 30 people" were fighting. Of course, the "up to" number indicates a lack of precision, but it's the lack of precision one expects when the stands empty and everybody starts fighting. What's disturbing about this incident is the report that "about 100 DeLand High students" attacked a person while the police were escorting him to their car. When the police can't deter an attack - especially an attack on someone who's in police custody - we have to conclude that the standards of conduct at DeLand High School may be irretrievably broken. See Massive Melee Breaks Out At High School, WKMG Local 6 at ClickOrlando.com, February 14, 2011.
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Baltimore, MD - February 4, 2011 - Pepper Spray Shuts Down Hgh School Basketball Brawl, the grio.com (see this link for video). The grio is smart enough not to try to guess how many people are actually fighting. These types of fights are chaotic, and one can not always tell who is fighting, who is running away from a fight and who is running toward a fight. This video does capture a number of people throwing blows, but most spectators are moving toward, and away from the action. What the video really shows is the chaos created by spectator brawls. For local coverage, see Seven Students Disciplined In City College Basketball Brawl by Erica Green, The Baltimore Sun, February 9, 2011.
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Nashville, TN - February 1, 2011 - 2 Nashville Schools Penalized After Fight At Game, WKRN-TV 2, Nashivlle, TN. Three things to note in this fight: (1) A coach suffered a broken nose in this bench clearing fight at a freshman girls' game; (2) One of the schools was already on restrictive probation by the State Office for a previous fight and was banned from the playoffs under the terms of that probation. This is a strong penalty, but probation is not a strong incentive at the freshman level and playoff bans are only effective if a school is good enough for the playoffs to have meaning. Sometimes even a strong penalty doesn't have a deterrent effect; (3) The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association fined the two schools over $1,000 apiece. That could severely deter poorer public schools, and have a moderate deterrent impact on richer schools. It will be interesting to see if this happens again at these two schools.
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New York, NY - February 1, 2011 - Unsafe Schools, Cold Weather, a Lack of Transportation, and Bad Attitudes: Toxic Brew in New York Creates Ugly Scene Before High School Basketball Game. The media got a great story out of this one. Boys and Girls High School showed up at Lincoln High prior to a basketball game. The team was denied entry to the school, and forced to wait an hour in the cold (and the temperature was 30 degrees on February 1, 2011). Jeff Wiggins, an assistant coach, attempted to gain entry to the school lobby, was denied, got in a scuffle with a school security guard, and was ultimately handcuffed and issued a summons by the police. The New York Department of Education says it will investigate. We already know what happened, though. You have an inner city New York school that really doesn't want people running through its building unless they belong there. The principal tells a security guard not to let any kids in who don't go to Lincoln. The guard takes this literally. Unfortunately, a basketball team comes to a game extremely early (we know they were extremely early if they waited outdoors for an hour, had time to have a scuffle with the guard, and still had time to warm up and play), and the guard simply lacked the common sense to realize that a team should be brought in, and put in a controlled area - or a locker room. The Lincoln principal should have been notified, and the Lincoln principal could have called her counterpart from Boys and Girls High School or her athletic director to develop some procedure for what to do when visiting teams come really early. The Boys and Girls High principal may have even met with her team the next day and told them to leave a little later so they don't get to a site too early - but that's a gamble when you're relying on public transportation. Anyway, everybody here is tainted a little bit but it sure makes for great reading. See Report: Prep Coach Handcuffed After Fight, Fox Sports New York, February 2, 2011 (republishing the New York Post's article). The New York Post article has the best headline - as usual. See B'klyn Scuffle Coach Cuffed by Zach Braziller, New York Post, February 2, 2011. The New York Daily News offers a more subdued take on the story (of course nobody is as dramatic as the Post). The Daily News doesn't even lead with the scuffle. The story appears under the regular sports banner as Lincoln Beats Boys & Girls, 61-56, as Kangaroos' Mike Taylor Sits Out Due To Academic Suspension by Mark Lelinwalla, New York Daily News, February 1, 2011.
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Lake County, CA - January 28, 2011 - Lifetime Ban For Middletown High School Basketball Player by Phil Barber, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, February 11, 2011. Middletown HS Basketball player, Brandon Thomas, receives lifetime ban after he shoves a basketball referee. This incident comes slightly over a month after a very high profile attack on an official in Florida, and reminds us of the dangers that our sports officials face.
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East Charlotte, NC – January 28, 2011 - Melee Breaks Out When Dad Attacks Police Officer At High School Basketball Game. See Brawl Ignites During High School Basketball Game in Charlotte, NBC 17, Charlotte, NC, January 29, 2011; Father Arrested After Fight At East Meck-Butler Game, Charlotte Observer.com, January 29, 2011; CMS Reviewing Security After Fight At Basketball Game. WCNC.com News 36, Charlotte, NC, January 31, 2011. This is a case of good security going bad. The security plan for the East Mecklenburg vs. Butler High School basketball game had fans from the two teams seated on separate sides of the gym: a very wise security measure. One girl, a player on the girls’ basketball team, asked for permission to visit someone on the other side. The permission was granted. When a police officer determined that the girl had sufficient time to visit, he asked her to return to her sideline. The girl objected – and allegedly did not do so in a civil manner. The girl’s father stood up for his daughter … by attacking the police officer. This is the story of many modern fights. People don’t necessarily have bad intentions. They simply lack the capacity to express an objection in a civil manner, making it more likely that their objection will be expressed in an inappropriate, dangerous, or stupid manner. Once discipline breaks down, we see the same breakdowns in others. Soon, a melee breaks out and a lot of the people could never tell you why such petty little disputes, led to such dangerous and outrageous results. At the end of the day, we had mass chaos because a girl couldn't handle being told to go back to her seat.
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Louisville, KY - January 26, 2011 - Coach Abuses Social Media - School Gets Fined. See Tweets About Ref Prompt KHSSA To Punish Jeffersontown Coach Morrow by Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier-Journal, January 26, 2011.
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Chicago, IL - January 18, 2011 - Fans Charge Court; Benches Empty and Chicago Public School Game is Postponed. The odd thing about this game is that no technical fouls were called in an incident where two players pushed each other, and the benches cleared. One coach complained about it, but it's clear that the NFHS rule that requires the ejection of players leaving the bench during a fight is not only not being enforced, it wasn't expected to be enforced. As to the spectators charging the court, we've seen this so often that it's almost not news - even though it's ugly, dangerous, and contributes to a poor sports culture. See Morgan Park - Bogan Game Suspended After Melee by Bob Narang, Chicago Tribune, January 18, 2011.
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New Carlisle, IN - January 14, 2011 - What Were They Thinking? Richard and Carla Gruse, an Indiana couple, attended a high school basketball game, got upset with the referee's calls, got vocal, and then ignored a police officer who asked them to calm down. Ignoring the officer wasn't enough for the Gruses, though. Oh, no. They compounded their problems by allegedly pushing the police officer. They're in deep trouble ... you think! See 2 Charged In Scuffle At High School Game, Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette, January 19, 2011.
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Tecumseh, OK - January 14, 2011 - Bench Clearing Brawl In Oklahoma as a team called the "Savages" lives up to its name. See Fight Breaks out During High School Basketball Game In Tecumseh, Oklahoma City News 9, January 14, 2011.
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Middletown, CT - January 5, 2011 - Post-Game Handshake Breaks Down At Connecticut High School Game. See Fight at High School Basketball Game by Jim Bransfield, Middletown Press, January 5, 2011.
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Modesto, CA - December 30, 2010 - You know your school's having problems when the basketball team has a fight, and the headlines refer to it as being involved in "another" incident. Inglewood's Morningside High School is the unlucky frequent fighter. See Morningside Involved In Another Brawl by Tony Ciniglio, Torrance Daily Breeze, December 31, 2010.
Arcadia, FL - December 13, 2010 - Mason Holland, a high school basketball player, is caught on film pushing and then body-slamming a basketball referee who ejected him from a contest. Holland is up on felony charges, his team forfeited its game, and many more penalties will likely follow. See Florida High School Basketball Player Attacks Referee Over Ejection, FoxNews.com, December 15, 2010 (with video).
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Jackson, MS - November 1, 2010 - Marlon Dorsey, a Jacksonville, MS High School Basketball Coach Gets In Hot Water Over Use of Corporal Punishment. See Parents React To Coach Dorsey Admitting To Whipping Allegations, WJTV.com (Jackson), November 1, 2010; the story went national, generated a lawsuit, and get CNN coverage with video allegedly showing Coach Dorsey whipping a student. See Basketball Coach Caught Whipping Players, Los Angeles Times website, November 11, 2010. This is not the first time this has happened. Indeed, there was a national story about a similar incident in Chicago a few years ago. The difference between this and the Chicago incident is the parents' reaction, and the alleged coach's reaction. The Chicago coach was a veteran who had won a lot of games. He found some defenders. There was even one Chicago parent who said "hit that butt" if it helps you win. What's odd here is that this is a new coach who allegedly whipped players right in front of the parents, and whose defense of the alleged whippings had little to do with basketball. The coach allegedly has stated that he whipped the kids to combat "the destruction of self and what society has accepted." Very strange comment, if true. Of course, the casual observer simply would believe that the coach whipped the kids for running plays wrong and missing shots. The coach may be slightly full of it ... he may also need an attorney to tell him to keep his mouth tightly shut!
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Whitesburg, KY - October 6, 2010 - Kentucky youth basketball referee Michael Eldridge attacked by spectator at middle school girls' basketball game. See Man Accused of Beating Referee After Game, reported by Marcus Conroy, WKYT Kentucky.
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East Pennsbro Township, PA - September 22, 2010 - Coach Pleads Guilty: Attempted to Bribe CYO Referees. Go figure! Is there any CYO game worth bribing someone over? Michael Kman, the guilty coach, was stupid and unethical. He offered CYO referees $2,5000 to rig a basketball game. Youth sports isn't worth the offer of $2,500, and it shouldn't be worth $2,500 to any official to sell out for $2,500. This is truly insane. For the joy of reading about an idiot who shouldn't be coaching kids, see Youth Basketball Coach From East Pennsbro Pleads Guilty To Harassment In Referee-Bribing Case by Chris A. Gourogen, The Central Pennsylvania Patriot-News, September 22, 2010; and Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg Ignored Coach's Past Crime, The Central Pennsylvania Patriot-News, May 14, 2010.
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Odessa, TX - May 12, 2010 - Permian HS Forfeits After 22-Year Old Texan Is Caught, Posing As 16-Year Old HS Student. See Permian Player Is Impostor by Craig Craker, Odessa American, May 12, 2010; and Texas School Permian Forfeits Wins After Player Admits He's 22 by Jim Halley, USA Today, May 12, 2010. This happened earlier this year in Arizona. See Yuma High School Duped By 22-Year-Old Man Posing As Student So He Could Play Basketball by James King, Phoenix New Times, November 6, 2009. Third case of student posing as a teenager. The latest one wanted to play in a 13-14 year-old youth Florida football league. See 21-Year Old Arrested After Posing as 14-Year Old To Join Peewee Football Team by Kim Wilmath, St. Petersburg Times, August 29, 2010.
Philadelphia, PA - March 16, 2010 - Philadelphia School Loses By 30 In Playoffs, Blames "Racist" Officials. Nothing New, Here. They Lost In Playoffs In 2009, and Blamed "Racist" Officials For That Loss Too. Sometimes you're inclined to feel sorry for high school teams in State Playoff competition. They're playing out of their area, facing different skill levels, and styles of play. The officials may be seeing a different style of play, too. You can almost begin to feel sorry for the Math, Civics and Sciences Charter High School of Philadelphia - even if you're inclined to disagree with their charges of racist and biased officiating. Then you realize that they received seven technical fouls, and the game was called with 13 seconds to go when a MC&S Charter "whipped the ball" into the stands. Now, it's harder to feel sorry for this team. They didn't carry themselves with dignity on the court, and their charges of racially biased officiating certainly don't indicate a lot of off-court dignity. When you lose by 30 points and accuse people whom you don't know of racism without any evidence other than a disagreement with some calls, you simply don't have dignity. For more, see Math, Civics, and Science Founder Alleges 'Discrimination' by Referees by Ted Silary, Philadelphia Daily News, March 23, 2010.
Toms River, N.J. - March 14, 2010 - NJ Girls Basketball: Incident In The Handshake Line mars Group 1 Final by Chris Orlando, NJ.com, March 14, 2010 (ejected player comes out swinging during post-game handshake). An interesting sidenote: one of the officials was quoted as saying the ejected player should have been taken to the locker room. No she shouldn't. For supervision reasons, ejected high school players are ejected to the bench. The same social forces that lead to the increase in poor sportsmanship make it unsafe to leave a high schooler unsupervised following an ejection so rulesmakers send ejected high schoolers to the bench.
Bay Shore, NY - March 10, 2010 - Fan Slashed, Receives 15 Stitches As Spectator’s Insult Triggers Brutal Fight At Long Island Basketball Game. See Arrest Made In Fight At Basketball Game By N.J. Burkett, ABC TV Bay Shore, NY, March 10, 2010.
Monessen, PA – Feb. 27, 2010 – Halftime Fight At Basketball Game Spills From Gym to Hallways, leads to multiple arrests. See Student Stunned By Monessen Police During Basketball Brawl, The Pittsburgh Channel, Feb. 27, 2010.
Charleston, SC - Feb. 27, 2010 - Post-game handshake line turns into brawl in this South Carolina high school basketball game. See Fight Breaks Out At Upstate High School Basketball Game, Channel 5 News, Charleston, SC, Feb. 25, 2010; Basketbrawl: High School Puts Both Schools On Warning, WSPA Channel 12 (Greenville, SC), February 26, 2010.
Nashville, TN - February 13, 2010 - Poor Sportsmanship, Rivalry Game, No Security, No Police, and a Controversial Ending - A Recipe For Post-Game Trouble: Timing Dispute Launches Attack in Tennessee High School Game. Nashville's Maplewood High lost a game on a buzzer beater so they not only blamed the timer, they confronted her, one girl hit her, and the gym went crazy. Host Stratford High School and Maplewood received TSSAA sanctions: Maplewood for their lack of sportsmanship and Stratford for not meeting a state requirement of providing security at all games. A school district security officer noted that this was a rivalry game that also required police. The combination of people who lack inherent grace in accepting a frustrating result (i.e. they lack sportsmanship), combined with a propensity to violence and a lack of security led to the inevitable here. See Metro Schools Sanctioned After Game Melee: No Security, Police At Game Between Maplewood, Stratford, WSMV TV 4, Nashville, reported by Jonathan Martin, February 17, 2010.
Minneapolis, MN - February 13, 2010 - Another Parent Who Can't Control Himself: This Moron Yells At The Ref, Touches Off a Melee, and Gets Arrested - All Over a Timing Dispute At A 6th Grade Basketball Game. See Parent Could Face Assault Charges After Alleged Assault At Burnsville Basketball Game by Joseph Palmersheim, Minnesota Sun, February 15, 2010; and Parent Arrested After Melee At Burnsville Youth Basketball Game by Nick Ferraro, St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 16, 2010.
Hartford, CT - February 12, 2010 - Post-Game Handshake Fight Touches Off Spectator Riot. Multiple Parents Arrested. See Four Parents Arrested After Fight at HS Hoops Game, Hartford Courant On-Line, Feb. 12, 2010; and Names Released of Parents Involved In High School Basketball Game Brawl by Grace E. Merritt, The Hartford Courant, February 13, 2010.
Camillus, N.Y. - February 10, 2010 - Hard Foul In Youth Basketball Game Sparks Attack on Ref and Full-Scale Brawl Involving Parents and Players. See Brawl Breaks Out At Youth Basketball Game by Brandon Roth, CNY Central.com, February 10, 2010.
Oakland, CA - February 4, 2010 - Oakland Takes Proactive Approach When Faced With Threat of Spectator Violence. See OAL Basketball Games Between Oakland High and McClymonds Postponed Because of Concerns About Potential Violence by Jimmy Durkin, Oakland Tribune, February 4, 2010.
Monessen, PA - January 29, 2010 - Police called in to break up brawl at basketball game: arrests made and tasers used. See Brawl Breaks Out at Basketball Game in Monessen, KDKA Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA, Jan. 30, 2010. Tasered student speaks out: See Student Speaks Out Over Brawl at High School, KDKA Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA, Jan. 31, 2010.
Nashville, TN - January 28, 2010 - Basketball Player Expelled For Threatening To Kill His Coach on Facebook. Taylor Cumnings, a Nashville basketball player butted heads with his coach. So he went home and threatened to kill the coach. That’s right, Taylor got on Facebook and wrote, “I’ma kill em all.” Taylor’s school expelled him. Now Taylor said he was just venting and didn’t really mean it. Taylor’s case raises all kinds of social and legal issues. To read some excellent coverage of the ramifications, see Tennessee Teen Expelled For Facebook Posting by Jaime Sarrio, The Nashville Tennessean, reprinted in USA Today, January 28, 2010; and Expulsion Feeds Debate On Online Rights by Jaime Sarrio and Emily Bazar, USA Today, February 2, 2010 page 3A.
San Marino, CA - January 20, 2010 - California High School Coach Makes Physical Contact With Referee ... And Some Folks Blame the Referee. This is a case that shows how little sympathy an official gets in an ugly incident. Coach Basil Woodruff, the girls' coach at Monrovia High School in California, approached two officials after a tough overtime loss. The officials were using a standard technique of coach-avoidance by standing together at half court well away from the bench area. This technique assures that the officials won't be an easy target for an angry player or coach as the player or coach would have to walk across the gym to get at the official... and sure enough, Coach Woodruff took the long walk and engaged in a dispute with the officials. Woodruff is wrong in a big way the moment he takes that walk as he has actively pursued a referee. It gets worse, though. Woodruff and the officials allegedly make contact. Woodruff's technical defense is that the referee initiated the contact. Allegedly, the referee put her hand out and that's when the contact occurred. So, let me see if I've got this right. Some guy goes out of his way to come after you at the end of a game. You stick your hand out to gesture, "back off, please." The guy doesn't back off and claims that any contact is your fault. Some people will accept Woodruff's defense.. some won't. But this illustrates the problems referees have. They work in an environment where many people think it's acceptable to chase them down and get in their face; then, those same people blame the referee when contact occurs. Woodruff quite properly got suspended. His school didnt' have the guts to fire him... yet. They may be waiting for the end of the year. See Girls Basketball: Woodruff To Stay on As Monrovia Coach, From The Sidelines Column by Miguel Melendez, Pasadena Star-News, Jan. 25, 2010.
Oak Park, IL - January 15, 2010 - Oak Park Kids Fight After Basketball Game, Attack Cop Who Tries To Break Fight Up. See Eight Charged In OPRF Post-Game Fight by John P. Huston, Oak Park Pioneer Press, January 18, 2010; and see 8 Arrested In High School Basketball Fight, Chicago Sun Times, Jan. 22, 2010..
Oakland, CA - Jan. 12, 2010 - One Hospitalized After Fight At Oakland HS Basketball Game, KTVU Channel 2, Oakland, CA.
Romeo, MI - January 8, 2010 - High School Sinks Buzzer Beater for Win, But Loses Game Due to An Excessive and Unsportsmanlike Celebration. See Romeo Wins in Overtime After Foul Called In Dakota Game by Rick Desotell, Romeo Observer, January 9, 2010. An amusing vignette, here. These small towns appear to have "hometown" newspapers. The losing team's newspaper downplayed the incident, but it has a reader's page. The reader's make it clear that after the buzzer beater, the players from Macon Dakota High School did a bit more than celebrate. Some of them ran over to the Romeo High School bench, taunted the Romeo players, and basically made complete buttheads out of themselves. See Romeo Wins Basketball Game, Dakota To Protest, Macomb Daily, January 9, 2010.
Sikeston, MO - January 8, 2010 - Spectators Fight In Stands at High School Game. See Two Teenagers Arrested At Sikeston-Charleston Basketball Game, Southeast Missourian, January 10, 2010.
Salt Lake City, UT - Fans Rush Court, Arrests Made At Utah High School Basketball Game. See Fight At High School Basketball Game Could Result In Multiple Charges by Randall Jeppesen, KSL Channel 5, Salt Lake City, Jan. 7, 2010.
Philadelphia, PA - Jan. 7, 2010 - Fans Beat Up Opposing Players and Coach After Loss. This was to quote the referee, "disgraceful." Olney High School of Philadelphia has a problem. Its fans can't stand losing, and they try to bully their opponents. You've seen it: fans press up against the court, threaten players, badger officials, become unruly when you try to move them. Well, this game had it all. The officials finally had to call the game early with the home team well behind. It didn't stop the fans. They beat up Franklin High School of Philadelphia in the parking lot. Was this game undersecured? Hard to say. Olney says it had one school police officer. However, some games need more than one. See Frankford Hoops Team Attacked by Dana DiFilippo and Ted Silary, Philadelphia Daily News, January 9, 2010. The Philadelphia School District (or its athletic office) reacted to this brawl by putting severe restrictions on who can attend Olney games. See Olney High Sees Fewer Spectators After Brawl by Rick O'Brien, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 15, 2010.
Houston, TX - January 4, 2010 - More Running Up The Score - And It's Only January - 170-35 Basketball Rout. Is this the right way to do things? Houston's Yates High Seems To Think That Piling It On Is OK. See Fair Play or Bad Sportsmanship by Kevin Quinn, ABC TV 13, Houston, TX, January 6, 2010. One bad turn led to another in Houston. Running up the score leads to bad atmosphere, fights, and post-game verbal jousting between the "disrespected" Lee Coach and the Coach from Yates, who said what every coach who runs up the score says, "[My subs] work really hard in practice, and when they go in, they deserve the chance to play hard and compete, too." See Yates Sets Texas Scoring Record In 170-35 Win: Lions Break 18-Year-Old Record In Fight-Marred Victory over Lee by Jenny Dial, Houston Chronicle, January 5, 2010. For more, see the running up the score page.
Chicago, IL - Dec. 26, 2009 - Big Fight at Rich South After Basketball Game. One Girl, Miracle Jackson, says she had nothing to do with the fight and is the victim of police brutality. Interestingly, that's how the Chicago's NBC TV covered this. That's right, the headline isn't, "Riot at Game." Oh no! The headline is Richton Park Teen Girls Allege Police Brutality by BJ Lutz and Natalie Martinez, NBC Chicago, December 29, 2009.
Amarillo, TX - December 21, 2009 - Angry Player Spits On College Basketball Referee. Why, you ask? Well, he didn't like the calls. Officiating is the only business where someone thinks they're justified in attacking someone if they disagree with them. This is a disgrace and here's hoping that the player who did this is suspended for an extremely long time. See Buffs Impressive in Rout of Lions by Lance Lahnert, Amarillo Globe-News, December 22, 2009
Cincinnati, Ohio - December 15, 2009 - Mob of Students Attack Ohio Officer Who Broke Up Fight, WTVG-TV - Toledo, Ohio Channel 13, December 20, 2009. The worst things about this incident is that these were elementary and middle school kids. The officer broke up a fight and was walking the fighters out of the gym when 30 kids attacked him. Some of these youngsters went so far as to grab for the officer's gun. Also see, Police Officer Hurt In Fight Has Concussion, WKRC 12 - Cincinnati, December 18, 2009.
Omaha, NE - December 4, 2009 - Gunshots Fly at Omaha Basketball Game. See Violence Sparks Increased Tournament Security by Jodi Baker, WOWT, Dec. 4, 2009.
Yuma, AZ - November 5, 2009 - 22 Year-Old Poses as Student So He Can Play High School Basketball. Anthony Avalos, the 22-year old, didn't learn very well his first go-round in high school; he was caught because of numerous misspellings on a forged birth certificate. This could be a somewhat amusing story except Anthony didn't restrict himself to basketball. He allegedly returned to dating high school girls, who are generally under-age, and yes, he had sex with one of the under-age high school girls. So, a potentially amusing forgery and fraud crime now becomes a most-definitely unamusing forgery, fraud and sex crime. Anthony will undoubtedly be going to prison for a very long time, and will surely be a registered sex offender. See Yuma High School Duped By 22-Year-Old Man Posing As Student So He Could Play Basketball by James King, Phoenix New Times, November 6, 2009.
St. Paul, MN - March 9, 2009 - 20 St. Paul Officers Break Up Melee At Basketball Game; 1 Arrested by Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, March 9, 2009.
Berkeley, CA - February 28, 2009 - Basketball Team Suspended for Trashing Opposing Coach's Office After Tough Loss. See Berkeley Receives 2-Year Ban From Postseason by Will McCulloch, San Francisco Chronicle, page D-8, May 16, 2009.
Montgomery, AL - February 17, 2009 - Riot At Alabama High School Basketball Game - Players Brawl, Fans Rush Court and Fight Each Other In Stands, Multiple Arrests. This was a complete loss of control that displayed the worst in sports. See 'Bama High Schools Booted After Basketbrawl, MSNBC, Feb. 19, 2009; Carver & Valley Basketball Teams Meet Again, WSFA 12 Montgomery, February 19, 2009; and High School Basketball: Carver, Valley Out of Playoffs by A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser, Feb. 19, 2009.
Denver, CO - February 11, 2009 - Racial Taunts Heard At High School Basketball Game, Associated Press Wire Service, Rocky Mountain News, February 15, 2009. And what racial taunts they were. The fans in this game didn't use the "N" word. Instead, they broke out some classics like "Buckwheat" and "Shrimp Boat."
Watertown, MA - February 2, 2009 - Now Here's An Unusual One! Scorekeepers Fight at Watertown-Lexington High School Boys Basketball Game by Sean Jacquet, Waltham (MA) Daily News, Feb. 3, 2009.
Washington Township, IN - February 2, 2009 - Stupid Fan Attacks The Wrong Ref! See Fan Attacks Ref Who Is Also A State Trooper by Ken Kosky, Northwest Indiana Times, February 2, 2009; and Ref Doubles As Cop, Arrests Rowdy Fan by Reid Cherner and Tom Weir, USA Today.Com Game On Blog, February 3, 2009.
Houston, TX - January 28, 2009 - "Sammy the Owl" Ejected For Headbutting Ref. Yes, the mascot did it. As mascots are in some rather awkward uniforms, this was not one of the more injurious of acts but still, it is true that the mascot headbutted a ref. See Sims' Coast-to-Coast Buzzer Beater Caps Furious Second Half Comeback at Rice, 61-59, NOLA.com, January 29, 2009; Rice's Owl Mascot Ejected - Yes, Ejected - by Referee by Eamonn Brennan, yahoo.com, January 29, 2009.
Chicago, IL - January 20, 2009 - 2 Cited After Fight, Wounding of Player by Lauren R. Harrison, Bob Sakamoto and Pat Curry, Chicago Tribune, January 21, 2009. When It Rains, It Pours: Less than 2 weeks after 5 people were shot at a Dunbar High School game, Chicago has another shooting. See also, 2 Charged In Shooting After School's Basketball Game, MyFoxChicago, January 21, 2009. Calvin Davis, the Chicago Public League Athletic Commissioner, didn't sit idly by in the wake of the violence at Chicago basketball games. Davis cancelled night games, barred visiting fans, and in rivalry games with a history of problems he barred all fans. See Visiting Fans Barred From High School Games by Bob Sakamoto and Carlos Sadovi, Chicago Breaking News.com, January 23, 2009. For a reaction to the ban, see High School Sports and Violence In Chicago by Teganx7, Jan. 23, 2009 on the wordpress.com blog.
Lansing, MI - January 15, 2009 - Spectator Fight Leads To Police Pepper Spray and Game Suspension. See Fight Disrupts High School Basketball Game, WILX TV (Lansing, MI), January 16, 2009.
Vallejo, CA - January 15, 2009 - Basketball Player "Beaten Nearly To Death" By Gang At Practice. See Teen Badly Hurt In Videotaped Beating At School Slowly Recovering by Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 2009 page B1.
Los Angeles, CA - January 14, 2009 - Players, Fans fight at Crenshaw-Fremont Basketball Game by Eric Sondheimer, LA Times, January 16, 2009. This ugly incident started with an on-court fight between players. Ultimately, the police had to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Fulton, KY - January 12, 2009 - 50 People Spark Basketbrawl One Minute Into High School Game. See 3 Arrested After Western Kentucky Basketball Game Fight by Malcolm Knox, Kentucky.com, January 12, 2009; and 3 Now Arrested In Crowd Incident At Ball Game, Fort Mill (South Carolina) Times, January 12, 2009.
Hoboken, NJ - January 9, 2009 - Hoboken Game Stopped By Fight, Jersey Journal, Jan. 10, 2009; Hoboken High School Game Called When Fight Erupts, NJ.com, January 10, 2009.
Chicago, IL - January 9, 2009. 5 Shot After Chicago High School Game. It’s the biggest fear of anybody who runs an urban athletic program, and it just happened in Chicago. A group of gang-bangers with no affiliation with the school or program decide to bring their foolishness into your gym. See No Arrests In High School Shooting, NBC Chicago, Jan. 9, 2009; Five Shot Outside Dunbar High After Basketball Game, Chicago1st.com, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Injured in Shooting at Dunbar High by Art Golab, Chicago Sun Times, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Hurt by Gunfire Outside Chicago High School After Basketball Game by Ruba Shenoy, Associated Press Wire in San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 2009 page A6.
New Castle, Del. - January 8, 2009 - Arrests Made In Delaware High School Fight by Dann Cuellar, ABC 6 Action News (Philadelphia, PA), January 9, 2009. Fight over boyfriend leads to shooting at William Penn HS Basketball Game.
Cincinnati, OH - January 3, 2009 - New Year Gets Off To A Fighting Start In Cincinnati. See Basketball Game Halted By Brawl by Tom Groeschen, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 6, 2009.
Brownsville, TX - January 2, 2009 - Players and Fans Storm Court in Texas Basketball Game. See Basketball Players May Be Suspended After Brawl Friday Night by Mike Gonzalez, Mid-Valley Town Crier On-Line (South Texas), January 5, 2009; and Brawl Breaks out At High School Basketball Game by Mark Nino, KVEO 23 Texas, January 3, 2009.
Stamford, CT - December 27, 2008 - Game Suspended Due To Spectator Brawl! See One Man Charged Following Stamford High Basketball Fight, Stamford Times.
Liberty, NY - December 18, 2008 - Fight After Liberty High School Basketball Game Leads To 2 Arrests by Victor Whitman, Hudson Valley Record On-line.com, December 19, 2008.
Brookhaven, MS - November 22, 2008 - Mississippi's Brookhaven High School issued an interesting suspension. Following a fight involving a player, his mother and a spectator, the school suspended the head basketball coach. Brookhaven took a strong stand to pressure the coach to show leadership, but there may be details here that we'll never know. See High School Basketball Coach Suspended After Fight, Associated Press Wire published by Mississippi Sun Herald, Dec. 4, 2008.
Philadelphia, PA - July 21, 2008 - Referee Gets Shot - Youth League Cancelled. See Shooting Victim Had Been Target Before by Kia Gregory, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23, 2008.
Oklahoma City, OK - July 14, 2008 - Church Men's League Basketball Game Interrupted by Gunfire. See Shot Fired In Memorial Road Church Parking Lot by Matt Dinger, newsok.com, July 14, 2008.
Denver, CO - May 7, 2008 - Youth Coach Dismissed After Assault Arrest by Mike McPhee, Denver Post.
Denver, CO - April 29, 2008 - Brawling After Teen Ball Games Injures 5: Police are Unsure Whether The Melee outside Eaglecrest High Was Related To Gangs Or Race by Kieran Nicholson and Howard Pankratz.
Portland, OR - March 20, 2008 - Man Tries To Shoot His Opponent After A Pick-Up Basketball Game. See Portland Man Arrested In Attempted Murder Over Basketball Game by Cheryl McDermott, Bend Weekly News, March 20, 2008.
Pittsburgh, PA - March 8, 2008 - PIAA Basketball Playoffs: Fight Erupts Following Contest by Mike White, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 9, 2008. This ugly post-game fight led PAHoops.org to call to end post-game handshakes. See Playoff Storylines by Bill Gaffey, pahoops.org.
Charleston, AR - March 6, 2008 - Youth Basketball Ref Assaulted by Parent, 4029tv.com, Charleston, AR and Teen Referee Assaulted; Man, 33, Pleads Innocent, Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
Tulsa, OK - March 1, 2008 - Girls' Coach Injured In Altercation At Game: Police Allege That A Player's Father Grabbed the Preston Coach By The Throat by John D. Ferguson and Curtiss Killman, Tulsa World, March 7, 2008.
Clackamas, OR - February 17, 2008 - 6th Grade Girls' Coach Leads Fans In Abuse of Referee and Physical Attack on School Administrator Who Tries To Invervene. Coach is arrested and charged with "criminal trespassing of a sporting event." See Aggressive Behavior at Game Leads To Arrest of Basketball Coach, SalemNews.com, February 17, 2008, and Tempers Flare at Girls' Basketball Game by Joe English and KATU TV Staff, KATU TV Portland, Or., February 17, 2008. One interesting note is that Oregon actually has a law that requires spectators, coaches and participants to leave a game site when ordered to do so by an official. This is part of a modern trend to empower and protect officials. See Oregon Revised Statutes 164-276 and 164-278.
Amherst, N.Y. - February 12, 2008 - Student Tasered After Spitting On Opposing High School Basketball Spectators, Then Running From Police. See SH Teen Arrested After Spitting Incident, Albany Democrat Herald, February 12, 2008.
Pacific, MO - February 11, 2008 - Fan Assaults Referee at PHS Basketball Game, emissourian.com.
Waco, Tx - Feb. 1, 2008 - Spectators Out of Control At Waco, TX Basketball Game - Police Called In, One Fan Pepper Sprayed, and Game Stopped - See Fight Breaks Out At Local High School Basketball Game, KWTX-TV, Feb. 1, 2008
Chicago, IL - Jan. 23, 2008 - Multiple Fights Break Out After Chicago Basketball Game - See 15 Teens Arrested In Brawls After Proviso Basketball Game In Hillside by Josh Noel, Chicago Tribune, January 23, 2008.
Warr Acres, OK - January 15, 2008 - Gun Violence Hits Basketball Game at Oklahoma's Putnam City High School. See Police Link Area Gangs To Shooting by Robert Medley, newsok.com, January 17, 2008.
San Francisco, CA - January 12, 2008 - Anti-Violence Activist Slain Outside Daughter's Basketball Game by Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, January 13, 2008; Sacred Heart Cathedral Shaken By Death of Player's Father by Mitch Stephens, USA Today, January 14, 2008; Tragedy Strikes During Halftime by Brent Begin, San Francisco Examiner, January 14, 2008; and Rogers Struggles To Overcome Tragedy by Chris Hansen, ESPN.com, January 18, 2008.
Indianapolis, IN - January 12, 2008 - 2 Shot As Fight Spills From High School Game Into Streets, IndyChannel.com, January 12, 2008.
Wilmington, Delaware - January 11, 2008 - Police Investigate Fight At High School Basketball Game, Wilmington News Journal, January 11, 2008.
Putnam Cty, FL - January 11, 2008 - Fans, Spectators Clash In Putnam Cty HS Hoops Game. School Officials Initially Ban All Spectators, but back off to allow immediate families to watch. See Palatka Softens Ban On Basketball Spectators by Justin Barney, St. Augustine Record, January 16, 2008, and PHS Hoops Brawl In the Hands of State Athletic Board by Andy Hall, January 17, 2008.
Portland, Oregon - January 8, 2008 - Out of Control Spectators Swarm Court, Cause Game Cancellation. See Grant at Benson: Game Canceled Because Of Fight, Oregon Live.com, Jan. 8, 2008. Brawl Halts Benson - Grant Game At Half, KOIN TV Portland, Jan. 9, 2008.
Rockville, MD - December 18, 2007 - Fans Call African-American B-Baller "Monkey"! See, Students Accused of Racially Taunting Basketball Player, NCB4.com.
December 7, 2007 - Game Called! Spectators Throw Objects On Court At HS Basketball Game. See Unruly Fans Cut Maginn Rout Short, Albany Times Union, December 7, 2007.
Colorado Springs, CO - October 25, 2007 - Coach on Trial On Charges Of Hitting Boys In Groin, CBS4 Denver, Oct. 25, 2007 (Monument Academy Basketball Coach Gregory Burr allegedly uses a rather strange motivational technique: one of the boys required surgery).
New York, N.Y. March 19, 2007 - Spectator Brawls In NYC Public School Basketball Finals Spills Into Streets and Subways. Gunshots Fired. NYC Cancels Night Championships in Basketball. See: Basket-Brawl Spills Onto NYC Streets, CBSNews.com, March 19, 2007; Police Arrest 21 in 'March Badness' MSG Brawl, WCBSTV.Com, March 19, 2007; High School Basketball Brawl May Bring Changes, National Public Radio - All Things Considered Show, March 19, 2007. Also See - PSAL Sounds Security Alarm by Dan Martin, New York Post, March 20, 2007 (PSAL cancels night playoff games and bans outside spectators from championship games).
Memphis, TN. February 26, 2007 - Mad Dad Threatens To Shoot Coach At Church Basketball Game, WMCTV.Com.
Providence, RI February 2, 2007 - Suspensions, Arrests Follow Hoop Melee by John Gillooly, Providence Journal, Feb. 2, 2007.
Huntington, W. VA. January 31, 2007 - O.J. Mayo, country's top hoops recruit, involved in Imperfect Storm with two technicals, a ref bump, allegations that the ref literally took a dive, and a temporary restraining order preventing O.J's suspension for his ejection from the game. Big mess in West Virginia. See USC Bound Mayo Fuels Huntington's Win at Cameron, Jan. 31, 2007 espn.com. The story was broke by the New York Times. See A Star Player, A Video and A Suspension, by Pete Thamel, New York Times January 30, 2007 (log in required). For complete local coverage, court documents and video click here for WSAZ Channel 3 in Huntington's coverage. See W.Va. star Mayo faces discipline, by Christopher Lawlor USA Today, February 2, 2007 page 11 C. Mayo to Sit Out Three Games by Travis Hubbard, The Huntington Herald-Dispatch, February 9, 2007 (in the end Mayo admits making contact with the official, the parties settle out of court and agree to accept the school's three game suspension and 13 day suspension from school). For national coverage see Huntington's O.J. Mayo Suspended For Three Games, USAToday.com, February 9, 2007.
Milwaukee, WI. January 30, 2007 - Disturbance After Basketball Game Injures 6 by Jesse Garza and Bob Purvis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Jan. 30, 2007. Police and fans injured in this stands-clearing riot. For video click here. Milwaukee Public Schools Crack Down on Spectators After The Fight: See Fan Ban Extended For Tech, Bay View by Sarah Carr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 2, 2007. For national coverage see Milwaukee Schools Punished After Rowdy Postgame Fight, USA Today February 1, 2007. For the game announcer's persective, see A Courtside View of the Tech-Bay View Brawl by Bob Brainerd, OnMilwaukee.com, Feb. 1, 2007.
Ironton, Ohio, January 23, 2007 - Zanesville Police Investigating After-Game Fight, The Huntington (W. VA) Herald - Dispatch, Jan. 23, 2007.
Montgomery, Ohio, January 19, 2007 - Officer Assaulted After High School Basketball Game, WLWT.com Channel 5 (the officer was hit in the head with a flower pot while breaking up a fight at a basketball game - poor sportsmanship at sports events often affects third-parties).
Pittsburgh, PA, January 18, 2007 - Did principal attack students who stormed the court after basketball game? See High School Principal Accused of Attacking Student After Event, WTAE TV Channel 4, The Pittsburgh Channel.com.
Stockton, CA, January 6, 2007 - Click here: Girls' basketball fight in Stockton, CA girls' basketball game caught on film. For related article see, On-Court Altercation Prompts Police Investigation by Michael Sudhalter, Recordnet.com, January 20, 2007, Stockton, CA.
Palm Beach, FL, December 16, 2006 - Fight in Florida High School Game Involves Coaches, Parents, Players. See Girls Basketball Players Suspended After Fight by Andrew Abramson Palm Beach Post. Florida High School Athletic Association suspends 16 players up to six weeks. Rematch played by mostly JV players. See Gardens Wins RPB Rematch by Stacy Hicklin, South Florida Sun Sentinel, January 12, 2007. The sad thing about this incident is that a number of the same players were involved in a huge summer league brawl that resulted in a serious injury. See Top Florida High School Star Beaten and Injured In Post-Game Fracas. by Shandel Richardson South Florida Sun - Sentinel, April 5 & 6, 2006.
New York, N.Y., December 14, 2006 - Fans at Paul Robeson HS in NYC storm court and instigate brawl in closing minutes of game against Jefferson HS. PSAL suspends Robeson HS for the season and suspends Jefferson for 3 games. See PSAL Reads Riot Act To Robeson by Dan Martin, New York Post, December 21, 2006. Robeson has a long history of intimidation, violence, and discipline problems. See A Team Feared By Rivals Now Sits Idle and Angry by Timothy Williams, New York Times, February 26, 2007.
Wichita, KS. September 5, 2006 - Brutal Fight in Youth Basketball Game May Lead To Charges. See Father Upset About Violence On The Basketball Court. KSN TV Video. For more, see KSN's follow up coverage: Charges Filed In Case of Basketball Game Fight.
Houma, Louisiana - Nov. 15, 2005 - 16 people faced charges after a huge spectator brawl following a high school basketball game.
Seaside, CA. 2005 - High School Assistant Principal assaulted trying to break up fight at basketball game. The men who attacked the assistant principal were ultimately convicted.
Honolulu, Hawaii, Feb. 16, 2006 - Ejected Basketball Player Tries To Tackle Ref. (Feb. 16, 2005 Honolulu Star Bulletin).
Prattville, Alabama February 2005 - Riot at high school basketball games. Police fire tasers to clear gym. Game cancelled.
Cincinnati, Ohio January 2005 - North College Hill game called after spectators and players fight.
Akron, Ohio & Tontonagy, Ohio 2005 - High school players, spectators brawl on two separate occasions in Ohio.
Click here for coach convicted for wire fraud for illegal payments to basketball players. U.S.v. Piggie, (8th Cir. 2002).
Cheer (Some cheer issues appear on the administrators and school officials page under supervision issues).
Philadelphia, PA - March 1, 2010 - Cheerleading Brawl In Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Girls’ Public League expected 2,500 fans but they got 6,000 and couldn’t handle it. This ugly incident led to police intervention. The one light at the end of the tunnel is, of course, the intense interest in cheerleading. 6,000 is a lot of spectators. See Girl Fight At Overcrowded Cheerleading Event by Karen Araiza, NBC Philadelphia.
El Paso, TX - November 11, 2008 - Texas High School Cheerleaders Try To Win By Poisoning Opponents. See 3 Chapin Dancers Suspended In Tampering Of Snacks by Zahira Torres, El Paso Times.
Forsyth County, GA - August 21, 2008 - 9 Year Old Cheerleader's Mother Involved In Sports Rage Incident. Michele Rains, the mother, allegedly attacked the head of the Sharon Springs Cheerleading Association because she thought her daughter should have been transferred to a more experienced cheer squad. See Cheerleader's Mom Faces Battery Charge by Nancy Badertscher, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 21, 2008; click here for San Francisco Examiner version of the same story.
Putnam City, OK - April 18, 2008 - Cheer Coach Attacked by Parent - Apparently Because Daughter Didn't Make Team. See Woman Arrested In Stungun Attack on Cheerleading Coach, Newsok.com, April 30, 2008; Was Putnam City North Attack Connected To Tryouts? by Jesse Olivarez, Newsok.com, April 23, 2008; Cheerleading Coach Attacked With Stun Gun, NBC12 firstcoastnews.com, April 25, 2008. Click here for national television news coverage
San Marcos, TX - July 24, 2007 - Dallas Skyline Cheerleaders Involved In Scuffle: reported by Emily Tsao, WFAA Dallas Morning News Show.
Gallup, N.M., March 17, 2007 - Cheerleaders' Fracas 'Bigger Than It Is' by Bill Donovan, Gallup Independent (cheerleaders' mom scuffles with team members).
Baytown, TX - November 26, 2011 - Brawl Mars Texas Football Playoff Game. An ugly fourth quarter bench-clearing brawl was topped off by an even uglier post-game handshake brawl. Police officers on hand had to resort to pepper spray to break up the post-game fights. One big question: why did they even bother to let these teams have a post-game handshake line after they'd had their fourth quarter fight? Sometimes, you just need to clear the field even if it means dispensing with post-game handshakes. Safety - and common sense - should always come before formal gestures - and here the post-game handshake was a formal gesture. See Melee Erupts Between LM, Ozen Players After Game by Jordan Godwin, The Galveston Daily News, November 27, 2011.
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Dumfries, VA - Chaos In Football Post-Game Handshake. Virginia High School football brawl breaks out after Virginia's Hylton High beats rival Potomac High School. This brawl was bad enough to require police and school officials to break it up. See Brawl Breaks Out During Post-Game Handshake of Hylton-Potomac Game, by Robert Daski, insidenova.com, October 29, 2011. Of course, what would a good post-game handshake be without some local waxing philosophical about it? This incident has its muse, and that muse is David Fawcett, a local scribe for the Virginia News and Messenger. The message, of course, is that the post-game handshake is worth doing even if sometimes things go wrong. See An Important Lesson From Last Week's Potomac-Hylton Post-Game Handshake, insidenova.com, November 3, 2011. This Virginia high school incident is timely as it comes in the wake of the post-game dustup between NFL coaches Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz. For those who like some history, a bit more thought, a better counterargument, and even a survey, the renowned ethicist and sportsmanship expert Michael Josephson may be more in order than Fawcett. See Is The Post-Game Handshake Worth Keeping? Cast Your Vote, Michael Josephson Sportsmanship blog, josephsoninstitute.org, November 1, 2011.
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Wayne, NJ - October 29, 2011 - Cloud Of Violence Mars New Jersey Team's Football Success. Nine Wayne Hills (New Jersey) High School football players were charged with aggravated assault after an incident in which two teenagers were violently beaten at a house party on October 29, 2011. The players played immediately after the incident, but intense criticism led to their School Superintendent banning them. The ban was reversed by the Board of Education, and the team advanced to the state title game. See Wayne Hill Reaches State Title Game As All Nine Players Accused In Beating Have Ban Lifted by Matthew Stanmyre, New Jersey Star-Ledger, November 18, 2011. Then a series of negative news articles and public outcry shamed the Wayne Board of Education into doing the right thing, and banning the players. This touched off a legal battle as the players simply couldn't accept that there might be some consequences for their alleged misconduct. See Judge Denies Wayne Hills Football Players' Appeal To Play In State Final by Mike Vorkunov, New Jersey Star-Ledger, December 1, 2011. The players will ask the Board to lift their ban since they couldn't win in court. Will the players prevail, and play in the game? We'll know soon since the game is on Saturday.
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Sparta, GA - October 14, 2011 - Warren County High School Football Team Attacked, Coach Beaten After 21-2 Win Over Hancock Central High. Warren County High got a nasty reception after winning their road game against Hancock Central. Their locker room was locked, leaving them stranded on the field. Then, the opposing players and fans swarmed them. Warren County Coach David Daniels stepped in between two players, and a Hancock player hit him over the head with a helmet, causing injuries that required surgery. The brutal beating is under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. See Players Attacking Opposing High School Coach: What Is Happening With Youth Sports?, by Maureen Downey, Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog, October 17, 2011; and
GBI Will Investigate Football Fight, WXIA TV Channel 11 (Atlanta), October 20, 2011. An interesting side note, about Maureen Downey's blog. Downey appears to have just discovered that youth sports can be violent. In a separate blog posting, she asks whether the concerns about violence should lead us to consider leaving sports to recreation departments. Downey has yet to realize that club and rec sports are far more out of control than school sports is. The academic requirements, the massive organization involved in playing games, and the presence of teachers has a calming effect on high school sports. The scary thing is that even with that calming effect, school sports has a lot of violence, but it has nowhere near the violence and poor sportsmanship of rec sports. The one argument in favor of Downey's call for leaving sports to clubs and rec departments is that fewer people care about those games, leading to fewer spectators and less of a chance of a large number of spectators being involved in incidents. Still, the substantial amount of youth and recreation league incidents occurring in this country (many of which are posted on this site) gives the lie to the argument that we should get sports out of schools for safety reasons. Now, there are some valid arguments for not having sports in schools. We are, after all, one of the few countries that attempts to mix school with sports. In most countries, clubs run sports. However, safety is probably not one of the arguments for moving sports out of schools.
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Sacramento, CA - September 30, 2011. Sacramento Superintendent Sends Strong Message! After two football teams brawl, Sacramento Superintendent Jonathan Raymond refuses to look the other way. Superintendent Raymond didn't just suspend a few players. He told the schools that their acts were an embarrassment, and he made both teams forfeit their next game. Now, that will send a message to those teams. See Caught On Tape: Kennedy/McLatchy Football Fight, TV News 10 (Sacramento), September 30, 2011; Superintendent Cancels Games For McLatchy, Kennedy After Brawl, CBS TV 13 (Sacramento), October 3, 2011. This incident had a rather salacious postscript. Henry Lutz, Kennedy's head football coach, resigned a week after this brawl. Lutz didn't leave due to the brawl. Rather, he left after internet photos surfaced, showing him in sexually suggestive poses while clad only in a thong. See Kennedy Football Coach Resigns After Racy Internet Photo Surfaces by Matt Kawahara and Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, October 7, 2011.
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Greenfield, Ohio – September 29, 2011 – Every couple of years we see someone who thinks it’s funny to make a mockery of the post-game handshake by doing something offensive. We’ve seen people spit on their hands and then shake all of their unsuspecting opponents’ hands. We’ve seen people slap the opponents’ hands really hard, and we’ve even seen one person who gave a hard hit to some of her opponents. A Washington (Ohio) football player probably thought that it was witty to place a sharp object in his receiver’s glove before shaking his opponents’ hands. Of course he was wrong – he was a classless, immature fool as we all know. However, youth will occasionally be classless, immature, and foolish. We can teach our way out of these things even though they’re not pleasant. What we don’t expect to have to deal with – and aren’t all too thrilled to have to tolerate - is a trip to the hospital. But, that’s exactly what happened here as the student who used the sharp object punctured the skin of 27 of his opponents, requiring all 27 to have to go to the hospital for tetanus shots. See Police: Ohio Player Pricked Opponents In Handshake, Associated Press Article in Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 6, 2011; and 27 H.S. Football Players Pricked In Post-Game Handshake, Fox-28, Columbus, Ohio, October 7, 2011.
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Sharon, PA - September 16, 2011 - Brawl Leads To Early Ending In Pennsylvania Football Game. See Sharon, Hickory Football Players Suspended After Brawl, Associated Press Story in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 20, 2011.
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Cincinnati, OH - September 9, 2011 - "We've Got Jesus!" Cheer: Bad Act or Much Ado About Nothing?. Cincinnati's St. Xavier High School's fans managed to upset a public school coach by cheering, "We've got Jesus." Indeed, they upset opposing coach Tom Bolden of Colerain High School so much that Bolden lost his composure and yelled at the St. Xavier rooting section, confirming that he certainly didn't have Jesus - although it's not clear if St. Xavier's fans did (after all, we can safely assume that Jesus wouldn't taunt a rival team). The St. Xavier fans were apparently retorting to Colerain's chant, "We've got girls," which St. Xavier, an all boys school, most decidedly doesn't have. One should not taunt an opponent - even by invoking Jesus. However, as taunts go this was relatively benign. Indeed, it is safe to conclude that two groups of sportsmanlike people could have engaged in this taunting, and walked away thinking that it was witty fun. So, one must conclude that either these were not two groups of sportsmanlike people or that something else occurred that turned two relatively benign taunts into an unsportsmanlike incident - albeit a relatively minor one. One can also conclude that a coach who runs over to lambaste an opposing school's fans for such a relatively benign taunt may need to look in the mirror and figure out how he can attempt to embody, if not Jesus, at least someone who more closely resembles an educational leader. This was more of a teachable moment than an opportunity to harshly pass judgment on and then rip into opposing fans. An educational leader should have handled this a lot better. Still, it is an interesting story. Who would have thought that Jesus, a coach, the composition of a student body, and a football game could all be invoked towards such a negative end? I wouldn't have guessed it. But, I do think I can say with complete confidence that Jesus would not have been too pleased to have been invoked as part of this foolishness. See HS Football Coach Livid Over Catholic School's 'We've Got Jesus' Chant by Rick Chandler, Off The Bench Blog on NBC Sports, September 15, 2011; Colerain Coach Upset At St. X's Fans' Postgame Chant, WLWT News 5, Cincinnati, Ohio, September 14, 2011.
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Atlanta, GA - September 9, 2011 - Helmet Beat-Down Mars Atlanta Football Game. Adam Chumley, from Georgia's Northside Christian Academy, couldn't handle losing so he reportedly grabbed an opposing player's helmet and commenced beating that player over the head with the helmet. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Chumley will be charged with misdemeanor battery. Sounds more like a felony to me. See Teen Faces Charges In Helmet Attack by Alexis Stevens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 9, 2011.
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Washington, D.C. - September 3, 2011 - Brawl plus ineligible players gets D.C. Football Coach fired. See Dunbar HS Forfeits Next Two League Games, Washington, D.C. Public Schools Press Release, September 12, 2011.
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South Bend, IN - September 2, 2011 - Gehrig Dieter from South Bend's Elkhart Central High School didn't run up the score. He may not even be a poor sport, but his coach is. Dieter's coach played him throughout the fourth quarter of a 63-10 blowout win so that Dieter could set the national record for receiving yards in a game. Yes, the opponents certainly noticed that the team that was clobbering them continued to pass the ball to their top receiver. The game was marred by bad blood and poor sportsmanship. This didn't play well locally. See Do Records In High School Football Trump Sportsmanship? by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star, September 16, 2011. It didn't play well nationally either. See East/West/North/South Xtra: OK, It's A Record, But ... by Rich Emert in Rich Emert's High School Football Notebook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 8, 2011.
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Kirkland, WA - September 2, 2011 - Pouting Coach Pulls Football Team After Disagreement Over Fumble Call. That's right. A high school coach pulled his team off the field because he thought his player was down, but the refs thought he fumbled. This happened with 10:17 left in the 4th quarter with Washington's Garfield High trailing Lake Washington High 14-0. Coach Kelvin Goliday, the Garfield coach, pulled his team, and called timeout to complain about the fumble call. The officials told Goliday that the call could not be challenged. So Goliday pulled his team and forfeited the game. Goliday later sought to justify his acts by saying he was looking out for player safety. The facts don't back him up. Let's just be honest here: A high school coach blew a gasket because he didn't like a call. He tried to complain about it, but the referees didn't want to hear it. The coach then lost control of himself and tried to make a point by having his team walk off the field. When the coach got criticized for a lack of professionalism after the game, he pulled out the safety card. BS. This is just a chump who can't handle losing - and if he had even the remotest amount of fortitude he'd have told his team that the game wasn't over and they still had a chance to win. Garfield High has done the right thing and placed Coach Goliday on administrative leave. Presumably, they'll fire him in a few weeks. But, don't take my word for it. Here are the links to the stories about Coach Kelvin Goliday. File his name, and if he ever shows up to coach at your school, tell him we don't hire coaches who lack guts, can't display sportsmanship, and try to blame refs for their own failings. What a loser. See Lake Washington Wins First Football Game After Garfield Forfeits by Megan Managan, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 3, 2011; Garfield H.S. Forfeits To Lake Washington After Fumble Call, King 5 News, September 6, 2011; and Garfield Coach Says Safety Concerns Led To Forfeit by Bill Swartz, MyNorthwest.com, September 7, 2011. Perhaps the most complete coverage of this matter can be found at yahoo where Cameron Smith did a fine job pulling all the parts of this story together. See Coach's Disagreement With Ref Leads To Team Walk off, Forfeit by Cameron Smith, Yahoo Sports, September 7, 2011.
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Sarasota, FL - August 27, 2011 - Referee Attacked In Florida Youth Football Game. This one's caught on film, and the film does not match the television headline or story. The story is entitled Sheriff's Deputies Investigate Brawl Between Coach, Referee, And Youth Football Players reported by James Jackson, WFMT - TV, August 27, 2011. The reporter states that the referee had a heated discussion with the coach. Now, if you click on the link and watch the video you will see that the referee did not have a "brawl" with the coach. He also did not have a heated discussion with the coach. Rather, the video shows a coach who is clearly heated being restrained and then breaking free to pursue a referee who is walking away. The referee clearly had addressed something that took place on some other part of the field prior to being pursued by the coach. However, there is nothing in the referee's demeanor that indicates that he wants to confront the coach. Unless there's something that we don't know, this looks like a news station that is trying a bit too hard to be "fair" and not call an assault an assault. For far more accurate coverage of a referee being attacked, see Referee Plans To Keep Officiating by Halle Stockton, St. Petersburg Herald-Tribune, September 2, 2011. This story makes it clear that the referee was attacked. He didn't have a hot dispute and then start fighting.
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August 24, 2011 - Palm Beach, FL - Referees Call Off Florida High School Football Game After Massive First-Half Brawl. The Florida High School Athletic Association swiftly delivered a penalty that would certainly deter most schools from ever being in this position again, suspending 30 players and imposing total fines of $6,000 on the two schools. See Inside The Skirmish At Palm Beach Central And Other Thoughts On The Game by Jeff Greer, Palm Beach Post Blog, August 25, 2011; and Palm Beach High School Results and Schedule, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, August 31, 2011.
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Sandy, UT - August 6, 2011 - School Intrasquad Scrimmage Embroiled In Racial Controversy. Utah's Alta High School holds an annual "Black and White Game", the school's intrasquad scrimmage. The black and white references are to the school colors. One team wears black; the other white. Sounds good in theory, and it probably worked for years, but youth being youth and the title of the game lending itself to off-color racial hijinks, trouble was inevitable and trouble came to Utah. Last spring, a student cheered for the "white" team by dressing in all white, and topping it off with a white pillow case hoodie. Can we say KKK. Well, the school may have been able to let this pass, but at the same time the student wore his KKK hoodie, other students - in an apparently unrelated incident - e-mailed photos of burning crosses. Local news reports don't indicate whom they sent those photos to, but the whole thing smelled. Can we say, "game on?" Alta High pulled out the whole sensitivity playbook ... apparently with good reason. Alta started sensitivity training, and while it will still play its intrasquad game, it won't call the game the "Black and White Game." This generation of kids isn't ready for it. The troubling thing about this incident and some other similar incidents is that young people use racial codes, but claim they're either ignorant of the code, entitled to "take back" the code word or acts, or entitled to use the code words or acts. The clearest example is the frequent use of the "N" word amongst today's youth, but that's just one of many examples. One is never quite sure whether this generation is unaware of the rules they flaunt, aware of the rules but unconcerned, or simply out to provoke. In this case, the student has claimed ignorance! He only sought to make a statement about the "Black and White Game" and is shocked that people have read racial animus into his "neutral" act of wearing a KKK hood. There are no easy answers here, and Alta High can only hold its breath that some of its students don't decide to uphold the honor of their lost title through some sort of ugly protest .. like having a whole lot of students wearing white sheets and hoods. For more, see Alta Principal Says Goodbye As 3 Students Are Cited In Recent Race-Related Incidents by Pat Reavy and Molly Farmer, Salt Lake City Deseret News, April 1, 2011, and A Lot Of Gray Areas About Alta's Black & White Game by Randy Hollis, Salt Lake City Deseret news, August 6, 2011.
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San Diego, CA - April 9, 2011 - Youth Football Coach Arrested For Felony Battery In Recruiting Dispute. A San Diego police office stated that San Diego youth football coach Saivaauli Savaiinea attacked Mark Cannon, a parent who may coach a rival team. The dispute appears to have centered around Cannon recruiting some of Coach Savaiinea's players. The officer reported that Coach Savaiinea punched and kicked Mr. Cannon, and that Mr. Cannon tripped, struck his head, and suffered a head injury in trying to back away from the coach's attack. Cannon's head injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization. See Coach Arrested At Lincoln Park High School, Channel 10 News San Diego, April 9, 2011 (note - the school appears to be named Abraham Lincoln High School not Lincoln Park High School).
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Mounds, OK - November 5, 2010 - Police Called In To Stop Parent Brawl at Oklahoma HS Football Game. See Parents Brawl At Mounds High School Football Game, News on 6 TV (Oklahoma), November 5, 2010.
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San Rafael, CA - October 29, 2010 - Northern California football game ends in brawl. League administrators take strong action, suspending multiple players, requiring each team to forfeit their next game. This penalty sent a particularly strong message since one of the teams was undefeated. The loss could harm their playoff prospects. See Prep Football: Brawl Mars San Rafael's Shutout Win Over Redwood by Dave Curtis, Marin Independent Journal, October 30, 2010 (republished on tradingmarkets.com) (also republished in Athletic Business). School administrators reviewed the tape and concluded that all the players on the field during the fight should be suspended. These administrators should be commended for taking a strong stand that undoubtedly caused some pain to their football players, coaches and fans. See Prep Football: San Rafael, Redwood Forfeiting Games This Weekend Following Fight by Dave Curtis, Marin Independent Journal, November 2, 2010.
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Chicago, IL - October 14, 2010 - Spectator Fight, Possible Gunshot Leads To Early Termination of Chicago Football Game. See Simeon Tops Lane In Game Shortened By Scare by Mike Helfgot, Chicago Tribune, October 14, 2010
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Kenosha, WI - October 14, 2010 - Coaches & Parents Involved In Post-Game Brawl At 5th Grade Football Game: Coaches From Both Teams Dismissed by Myra Sanchick, WITI-TV, Fox6 Wisconsin, October 14, 2010. There are a number of points worth noting here. First, this incident began in the post-game handshake line where members of the opposing coaching staffs had a verbal exchange. Second, parents and spectators are no longer content to sit in the stands; they just have to come out, and when they do things invariably escalate. Third, there's always a camera; this incident is on film. There is one difference between this matter and a number of other matters. The administrators fired the coaches. A lot of administrators tacitly bless misconduct by not cracking down on offenders.
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St. Paul, MN - September 30, 2010 - Over 50 Fans Brawl Outside Minnesota High School Stadium. See Central and Como Park High School Hooligans Run Amok by Hart Van Denburg, Minneapolis/St. Paul News Blog Page, October 1, 2010.
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Salt Lake City, Utah - September 25, 2010 - Fans Jump Opposing Player In Bathroom. See High School Football: Cottonwood Football Player Injured In Assault at Skyline by Trevor Phibbs, Salt Lake City Deseret News, September 28, 2010.
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New York, N.Y - September 25, 2010 - High School Coach Fired For Booty Exposure. That's right, a New York City coach got ejected by the officials. As he departed the field, opposing fans were heckling him so he mooned the fans. Like so many things in this day and age, the coach, one Williams Miller, was caught on film. Later, he was caught by his principal, who fired him. See Assistant Football Coach William Miller Fired For Mooning Fans, Huffington Post, September 27, 2010; HS Football Coach Drops Pants, Moons Opposing Fans, Reported by Rick Chandler, NBC Sports, September 27, 2010; and PSAL Football Game Ends In Controversy, Near Brawl As Campus Magnet Beats irate Boys & Girls by Mike Jaccarino, Mitch Abramson, Rachel Monahan, and Rich Schapiro, New York Daily News, September 27, 2010.
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Baton Rouge, LA - September 17, 2010 - Outstanding Louisiana Rivalry Game Ends With Post-Game Handshake Fight. See McKinley Rallies For 34-30 Victory by Duane Lewis, Baton Rouge Advocate, September 18, 2010. Ultimately, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association suspended 24 players for their role in the post-game brawl. See USA Today's Sports Update, September 30, 2010. Once again, though, we see athletes unable to handle their emotions in the post-game handshake.
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Yorktown, VA - September 17, 2010 - Virginia High Schools Fight Mars Rivalry Game. See Brawl Overshadows York's 27-14 Win Over Arch-rival Tabb by Marty O'Brien, The Daily Press, September 17, 2010.
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Palm Beach Gardens, FL - September 6, 2010 - The Florida High School Athletic Association suspends one of the nations' top high school football players after he makes an obscene gesture toward the stands. Yes, the athlete was wrong, and deserves his suspension. However, the story went national because the player is Jack Nicklaus's grandson, Nick O'Leary. In other words, the real story here is that Jack Nicklaus, a man who embodies class, has a grandson who showed no class. The sad thing about the story is that while it's true that O'Leary showed no class, the incident would be long forgotten but for the irony of this happening to Jack Nicklaus's grandson. In short, O'Leary is wrong, but he got more publicity than he merited. See Jack Nicklaus's Grandson Suspended For Obscene Gesture, USA Today, September 9, 2010.
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Southern Pines, N.C. - September 2, 2010 - Two NC Schools Thrown Out of Playoffs After Big Fight. Two North Carolina football teams were ruled playoff ineligible. The schools' bench clearing brawl led to enough ejections to trigger a North Carolina rule barring teams from the playoffs if they have three or more ejections over the course of a season. This excellent rule has been a strong deterrent; yahoo sports reports that since the rule's inception, nobody has been barred from the playoffs. It's kind of like the suspensions for coming off the bench in an NBA fight. People stop coming off the bench in the NBA, and they stopped having massive brawls in North Carolina - until this one. For more, see Vikes, Pats Banned From Postseason, The Pilot, September 2, 2010; Football Fight Brings Stiff Penalties by Tom Embrey, The Pilot, September 3, 2010; Pinecrest, Union Pines Barred From State Playoffs, On Probation by Nick Stevens, ihigh.com, September 5, 2010; and North Carolina Schools Banned From Playoffs For Brawl by Cameron Smith, yahoosports, September 7, 2010.
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Dallas, TX - August 30, 2010 - Ugly brawl at big Texas high school football game posted on youtube. See High School Football Rivalry Ends In On-Field Melee by Ryan Wilson, fanhouse.com, August 30, 2010 (you can find video links on fanhouse.com, also)..
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St. Petersburg, FL - August 29, 2010. For the third time in a year, an adult posed as a teen to play youth sports. This latest man-boy wanted to play in a 13-14 year-old Florida youth football league. See 21-Year Old Arrested After Posing as 14-Year Old To Join Peewee Football Team by Kim Wilmath, St. Petersburg Times, August 29, 2010. The other two incidents occurred in basketball. See Permian Player Is Impostor by Craig Craker, Odessa American, May 12, 2010; and Texas School Permian Forfeits Wins After Player Admits He's 22 by Jim Halley, USA Today, May 12, 2010. This also happened in Arizona. See Yuma High School Duped By 22-Year-Old Man Posing As Student So He Could Play Basketball by James King, Phoenix New Times, November 6, 2009.
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Hoover, AL - August 24, 2010 - Did a player attack his coach or were the coach and player involved in a fight? We all know that the ramifications should be rooted in the facts, but sometimes the initial reporting of an incident is the key. In Alabama, David Shores, the Spain High School Football Coach, certainly was involved in an incident; nobody disputes that. If the incident was an attack by a player, the player would become the story. However, the incident has been reported as a fight between the player and coach. This report has Shores up for termination ... kicking and screaming all the way, and swearing that he was attacked. See Hoover School Officials Advise Firing Spain Park High's Head Football Coach by Jeff Sentell, The Birmingham News, September 11, 2010.
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Atlanta, GA - August 24, 2010 - Players and Fans From Two Georgia High Schools Team Up To Disgrace The Game of Football. And disgrace may not be a strong enough word here. In a scrimmage - not a game, but a scrimmage - fans cheered when an opposing player was hurt, the players then engaged in a full-scale brawl capped off by a player from one school hitting an opposing coach in the back of the head while the coach was trying to separate players. Not to be outdone, another player circled the perimeter of the brawl, sucker punching people. All in all, a disgrace. The Georgia High School Association properly fined both schools. See Georgia Fans Cheer After Star High School QB Injured by Cameron Smith, yahoosports, August 24, 2010; see UGA Recruit Nick Marshall Allegedly Cheered By Opposing Fans After Injury, More On Football Brawl by Michael Carvell, Atlanta Journal Constitution, August 22, 2010.
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL - April 27, 2010 - Bad Moment For A Good Coach. 2009 Sun Sentinel Coach of The Year, Bennett Wyche, reaches out from the sideline to grab an opposing player's flag in an attempt to stop her from scoring. We should note that there are probably some tackle football coaches who would like to do this - but coaches would likely get hurt if they jumped off the sideline to try to tackle fully padded tackle football players. See Flag Football Photo Catches Stranahan Coach Pulling Foe's Flag by Peter Holehan, South Florida Sun Sentinel, April 29, 2010; and Let The National Shaming Of This Flag Football Coach Commence, Deadspin.com, April 29, 2010.
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Fort Mill, S.C. - April 9, 2010 - Flag Football Player Charged In Assault On Refs at Leroy Springs, Fort Mill Herald, April 12, 2010.
Hawaii Survives "Minor" Post-Game Handshake Incident At State Football Championships. See Postgame Handshakes Can Be Valuable Learning Tool, Honolulu Advertiser Prep Talk Blog, November 10, 2009.
Orange, NJ - November 6, 2009 - 3 Fights and You're Out. Football Team Banned From Playoffs Due to Cumulative Ejections. See NJ High School Football: West Orange Banned From Postseason Play by Matthew Stanmyre, Newark Star- Ledger, November 9, 2009.
Oakland, CA - November 3, 2009 - Jeremy Brigham, a former NFL player, attacks a parent at a Pee-Wee League football game. This isn't the first time a former athlete went nuts at a youth game. The strange thing with this one is that the athlete's a coach and he attacked a parent. We don't commonly see coaches attacking parents. Click here for more.
Rochester, N.Y. - October 29, 2009 - Adult Rec-League football player charged with first-degree felony assault for hitting an official over the head with his helmet. See Football Attack Stuns Team, Referees, Rochester Democrat Chronicle, October 29, 2009.
Shade Township, PA - October 18, 2009 - Ugly Ending to Pennsylvania Youth Football Game. See Charges Filed After Crowd Confronts Ref After Youth Game by Dan DiPaolo, Somerset Daily American, November 30, 2009.
Los Angeles, CA - October 17, 2009 - 5 Arrested in Brawl At Fairfax High School Football Game, CBS2 Los Angeles, CA.
Carrolton, IL - October 17, 2009 - Woman Charged With Battery For Alleged Referee Attack. Julie Teno of Roodhouse, Il. allegedly charged the field and hit the referee during a youth football game in Carrolton, IL. See Woman Charged For Allegedly Striking Referee by Maggie Borman, The Illinois Telegraph, December 15, 2009
Columbus, Ohio - October 16, 2009 - Ugly post-game fight at Ohio's Northland High led school officials to consider cancelling the remainder of the season. The two schools ultimately decided to do community service. See High School Football: Brawl Might Prompt Northland to Cancel Rest of Season by Steve Blackledge, Columbus Dispatch, October 20, 2009; and Football Players To Perform Community Service After Brawl, Ohio 10TV News, October 20, 2009; and High School Football: Players Must Perform Community Service, Columbus Dispatch, October 21, 2009.
Eaton, CO - October 5, 2009 - This one has it all: parents confronting coaches; coaches fighting; and a youth football team refusing to play because their opponent had a girl (11-year old Mikayla Crespin) on the team. See Football Coach Throws Punch Over Girls' Right To Play by Emily Friedman, ABCNews.com, October 7, 2009; and Flag! Coaches Brawl Over Girl Playing Youth Football by Alan Gathright and Tyler Lopez, Denver Channel, October 6, 2009.
Hickman, KY - October 2, 2009 - Players, Coaches, Fans Take To The Field. Brawl Ends Ky. High School Game, Associated Press Wire Service, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 5, 2009.
Clarksdale, MI - September 26, 2009 - Mississippi Officials Investigate Brawl At Blowout High School Game, Associated Press Wire on al.com, October 1, 2009. This bench clearing brawl among players and some fans from the stands occurred near the end of a 54-0 blowout between Coahoma County High School and Coahoma Agricultural High School.
Boynton Beach, Fl - September 26, 2009 - Little Players, Big Fight. 30 Spectators Duke It Out in Parking Lot At Halftime of Youth Football Game. See Boynton Beach Police Arrest 8 After PAL Fight, Palm Beach Post, September 28, 2009.
Massillon, Ohio - September 22, 2009 - Nutty Fan Gets Arrested, Turns Out to Be An Off-Duty Police Officer. See Police Officer Arrested At High School Football Game, wtov9, Steuvenville, Ohio.
Lisbon, Ohio - September 22, 2009 - Football Fan Arrested at Lisbon Game, East Liverpool Review, September 22, 2009.
Delray Beach, FL - September 17, 2009 - A tough football season gets tougher with a fight that spilled from the stands into the parking lot in Florida. See Pepper Spray, Stun Gun used To Stop Brawl at Delray Beach Football Game by Jerome Burdi, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 18, 2009.
Tulsa, OK - September 10, 2009 - 3 Arrests, 9 Injured at Tulsa HS Football Game! Gang tensions lead to fights at Booker T. Washington High School football game in Tulsa. Police use pepper spray to break it up. See Fights Break Out At Booker T. Washington Football Game, Tulsa World, September 11, 2009; and Brawl Ends High School Football Game, KOCO Channel 5, Oklahoma City.
Chicago, IL - September 4, 2009 - The 2008-09 academic year was a particularly violent year for Chicago sports teams so the last thing they needed was a major brawl to start off the 2009-10 academic year. Unfortunately, that's exactly what they got. North Chicago High School and Simeon started the year with a brawl sufficiently bad to lead officials to call the game in the first quarter. See Fight Ends North Chicago-Simeon Game by Tina Sfondeles, Chicago Sun Times's Yourseason.com, September 4, 2009; and Fight Breaks Out, Prep Football Game Canceled, WGN, September 5, 2009.
St. George, UT - September 3, 2009 - An old-fashioned fight. Utah teams brawl but they brawled the old-fashioned way, just the guys on the field. No crazed parents, no gangs, no fans, just players. Poor sportsmanship, yes! However, this year's been so violent that it's almost refreshing to see an old-fashioned act of poor sportsmanship. See High School Football: Cottonwood Shuts Out Pine View In Fight-Marred Game by Andy Griffin, Salt Lake City Deseret News, September 4, 2009.
Pittsburgh, PA - August 25, 2009 - Good clean fun, hazing, thuggery? We just don't know. What we do know is 5 football players decided that it was a good idea to shoot bb guns at their teammates during a break in practice. They're off the team and facing expulsion. Zero tolerance? The heck with that. Demarrio Patterson, one of the players on the team, put it all in perspective - at least from a youth perspective - telling news reporters, "It was an air soft bb gun ... that stings for 20 seconds and goes away." Yeah, tell 'em Demarrio. Toughen up. Who are we adults to complain about bb guns and coaches who punch their athletes and fights and guns at games. Suck it up and get tough. For more, see 5 H.S. Players Accused In Pellet Gun Shooting Kicked Off Team, WPXI, Pittsburgh, PA, August 25, 2009; and HS Students Face Punishment In Pellet Gun Fight, KDKA Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA, August 26, 2009..
Douglas County, GA - August 14, 2009 - A gang fight results in a stabbing at a high school football scrimmage. The unfortunate reality of our youth sports world is the extraordinary amount of poor sportsmanship and even violence that mar what should be joyful experiences. The poor economy may bring out some even uglier incidents this year as people will be on edge and have idle time on their hands. This early season incident could be a harbinger of very ugly things to come. See High School football Brawl, Stabbing Result in 7 Arrests by Alexis Stevens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 15, 2009.
Memphis, TN - July 8, 2009 - Gang Related Problems Put Everybody on Edge. A Coach in Memphis tried to do the right thing by telling a player to remove a gang related shirt. The kid refused. Think the coach was unreasonable? Think again. The kid, who was denying that his shirt was gang-related, tried to dissuade his coach of that notion by pulling a gun on him. See Football Player Arrested For Pulling Gun on Coach, WREG Channel 3, Memphis.
Irving, TX - December 6, 2008 - Texas HS Football Player Intentionally Runs Over Official. See Euless Trinity Football Player Disciplined For Hit On Official by Keith Whitmire, Dallas Morning News, December 20, 2008 (republished in hsgametime.com). Click here for original story in Dallas Morning News.
Groveland, FL - November 20, 2008 - High School Football Team Facing Fines For Fight, Central Florida News 13.
Stuart, FL. - November 14, 2008 - Spectator Goes Nuts, Stabs 5 At High School Football Game. Cops use Tasers and Dogs to Break Up the Brawl. See Five Stabbed At Martin County High School After South Fork Game, TCPalm.com, November 15, 2008; Teen Accused of Stabbing 5 In High School Football Game Melee Still Loose, Associated Press Wire on FoxNews.com, November 17, 2008.
Nampa, Idaho - October 31, 2008 - Nampa High School Football Player Arrested For Punching Coach, KTRV - Fox 12, Boise, Idaho; and S. Idaho High School Football Player Arrested, Associated Press Wire, Oct. 31, 2008.
Seattle, WA - October 22, 2008 - Renton, Tyee Forfeit After Football Fight by Sandy Ringer, Seattle Times. It's bad enough that these schools had a fight, but this is a troubled league. In 2007-08, four schools had five players or more receive ejections. The problem is bad enough that the State High School Association has stepped in to try to work with league officials to come up with solutions.
Atlanta, GA - October 11, 2008 - Lakeside, Stone Mountain Game Turns Ugly Late by Todd Holcomb, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Seven player fight leads to early end in this Georgia football game.
Amherst, Ohio - September 24, 2008 - Parent Accused of Attacking Youth Football Coach, newsnet5. This is a confluence of unprofessionalism that turned ugly. The parent kept yelling at the coach to run a sweep. Finally, the coach did, and the play was unsuccessful. The coach then allegedly told the parent, "There's your sweep" and the parent allegedly responded by beating up the coach. Poor professionalism by a clearly frustrated coach and even worse thuggery by the idiot parent.
Salt Lake City, UT - September 22, 2008 - Parent allegedly hits an assistant coach with a helmet, knocking the coach out. See Parent Accused of Attacking Football Coach by Buddy Blankenfeld, ABC4.
Houston, TX - September 6, 2008 - Fight at High School Football Game Leads To Freeway Shooting, Fox 26 TV Houston.
Portland, OR - September 2, 2008 - Possible Gang-Related Shooting At Madison High Worries Police by Aimee Green, The Oregonian, September 2, 2008. What's the world coming to? It's bad enough that there was a shooting, but this shooting was at a high school football game that was covered by a large contingent of police officers. The shooters shot into the crowd in front of the stadium despite the presence of 15 officers in that very location. Worse, the shooters taunted the police officers as they escaped. If 15 police officers don't deter sports violence, what will?
Florence, SC - August 28, 2008 - Bench Clearing Brawl, Multiple Arrests, Helmet Swinging Mar Season Opener for South Carolina's Defending Football State Champs. See Brawl Mars Lake City's Upset Win Over Wilson by Kevin Smetana, South Carolina Now, August 29, 2008.
Miramar, FL - July 12, 2008 - Summer Football Game Turns Ugly. See Pahokee Football Game Ends In Brawl by Jason Lieser, Palm Beach Post.
Columbus, Ohio - July 3, 2008 - High School Football: Two Fights In Stands Mar All-Star Game - Inaugural City League Contest Is Called With Eight Minutes Remaining by Mark Znidar, Columbus Dispatch.
Detroit Man Takes The Game Too Seriously - Shoots Opposing Fan. See Detroit Man Charged In Shooting Death Following Youth Football Game by David Josar, Detroit News, June 20, 2008.
Long Island, N.Y. - March 31, 2008 - Post-game handshake problems in New York where a Hofstra University assistant football coach playing in a touch football Rec League punched an opponent in a post-game handshake line after a game. See Hofstra Asst. Football Coach Arrested In Touch- Football Assault by Bill Mason, New York Newsday.
Half Moon Bay High School, CA - Half Moon Bay High School Fans Have A Tradition of Streaking During High School Football Games and Allegedly Have Used Racial or Homophobic Epithets Against Visiting Teams On More Than One Occasion. See Racial Slurs Spark Fury by Heather Murtagh, San Mateo Daily Journal, Nov. 9, 2007; and Sequoia Threatens Penalty In Football Melee by Jason Goldman-Hall, San Francisco Examiner, Nov. 9, 2007, and No Proof About Who Taunted Sequoia High Players, Fans by Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 9, 2007 page B8.
Saginaw, MI - October 25, 2007 - Spectator Violence: Fan Shoots 4 At Middle School Football Game. This is the latest in a series of incidents involving violent spectators this year. See Cops: 4 Students Shot At Middle School Football Game, foxnews.com, October 25, 2007.
Southington, CT - October 24, 2007 - Did Football Players Stab Opponents At High School Football Game? See Unsportsmanlike Conduct at High School Football Game, WTNH Connecticut News Channel 8, October 24, 2007. Investigation Indicates Cuts Were Probably Caused by Sharp Edges on Equipment. See Foul Play In Game Called Unlikely by Ken Byron, Hartford Courant, Oct. 27, 2007. Were the charges against East Hartford racially motivated? Click here to see Racial Allegations Flying Back and Forth From on-line Connecticut readers. This alleged incident seems to have struck an ugly chord with Connecticut football fans.
Lansing, MI - October 12, 2007 - Another Bench Clearing HS Football Brawl - This One's in Lansing, MI. For video, see Football Brawl Between Lansing-Everett and Jackson, WILX.com Lansing, Oct. 13, 2007. Also, see Major Brawl Breaks Out at HS Game, WLNS.com Lansing, Oct. 13, 2007. For Superintendent's suspensions and video, see Officials Hand Out Penalties After HS Brawl, WLNS.com Lansing, Oct. 16, 2007.
Broward County, FL - October 5, 2007 - 66 Players Suspended After Huge Bench-Clearing Brawl in Florida High School Football. See Dozens of Broward Football Players To Be Suspended, FHSAAsports.com, October 5, 2007; High School Football Brawl Leads To Recommended Suspensions, NBC6.net, South Florida, October 5, 2007; Click here for fight video.
Tampa, FL - October 4, 2007 - High School Football Game Ends, Brawl Begins by Beth Gaddis, Tampa Bay Online.com. Six players engage in post-game handshake line brawl during the Alonso and Jefferson High School Junior Varsity football game.
Tampa, FL - September 27, 2007 - FHSAA Levies Suspensions, Fines, Probation In TBT -Freedom Melee, by Joe Smith, TampaBay.com (reprint of St. Petersburg Times article).
Aspen Hill, MD - Sept. 22, 2007 - Pee Wee Football Coach Takes "Kill The Ref" Seriously - Pulls Gun on Ref at Little League Football Game. See Youth Football Coach Charged With Assaulting Ref by Dennis Edwards, WKJZ TV 13 Baltimore, Sept. 30, 2007. The coach was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms on Oct. 11, 2007. Click here for DOJ press release. The League immediately issued a no-tolerance rule. See New Code of Conduct Issued For Baltimore Sports by Dennis Edwards, WKJZ TV 13 Baltimore, October 13, 2007. The coach pleaded guilty in May, 2008. See DOJ Press Release, Football Coach Pleads Guilty, March 14, 2008. Also, see Youth Football Coach Pleads Guilty To Threatening Referee, NBC4, Washington, D.C., March 14, 2008.
Ridgeville Man Faces Charge of Hitting Ref At Pee Wee Game, by Stephen Szucs, Loraine County (Ohio) Chronicle-Telegram, September 19, 2007.
Scottsdale, AZ - September 15, 2007 - Strange But True - Stadium Lights Won't Start Because Somebody Stole the Copper Wire. See Game Nixed Because of Stolen Copper Wire, FoxNews.com, September 15, 2007; Copper Wire Thieves Force End To Football Game, ABC15.com, Phoenix, September 15, 2007.
Springfield, MA - September 3, 2007 - Gang Brawl Leads To Stabbing at Football Game. See One Stabbed At High School Football Game, by Matthew Campbell, CBS Channel 3, Springfield, MA, Sept. 3, 2007 (video clip included).
Miami, FL - July 12, 2007 - School Officials Ignore Statutory Rape So Football Team Can Win. Superintendent Lets Team Continue - Fires Coaches, and Staffers Who Knew About The Rape - See Football Spared But Coaches Ousted At Northwestern High by Tania deLuzuriaga and Andre C. Fernandez, Miami Herald, July 12, 2007, and At Miami-Northwestern: Season Saved, But Coaches Axed, USA Today Prep Rally - Online, July 11, 2007. The most telling report here is the Grand Jury Report, which contains all the ugly details. This incident tells us a lot about the all-consuming power of sports. Over 20 teachers and administrators knew about this incident. None reported it because they didn't want to hurt the football team. The Superintendent initially threatened to shut down football, angering the entire community. Ultimately, the Superintendent cleaned house of all the adults who knew, but didn't report the crime but spared the sport itself, which was probably the right thing to do.
Grapevine, TX - April 28, 2007 - Freshman Football Player Arrested, Accused of Punching Coach, USA Today, April 28, 2007. The player is a 300 pounder who punched his coach when the coach tried to break up a fight between the 300 pounder and another player. The player ultimately got probation. See Teen Gets Probation For Punching Coach by Domingo Ramirez, Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 6, 2007.
Dallas, TX November 25, 2006 - Football Team Engages In Classic Example of Poor Sportsmanship By Not Shaking Hands. Click here for the Comments Section on The Dallas Morning News HS Game Time Blog (Carter HS storms off field and appears to snub their opponent which was waiting to shake hands post-game).
Hilton Head, SC - Nov. 7, 2006 - Visiting Football Team Vandalizes Locker Room at Hilton Head High by Daniel Brownstein and Jeff Kidd, The Island Packet, November 7, 2006.
Westchester, CA - November 3, 2006 - Police Officer Injured, Pepper Spray Used to Control Crowd. See Football Fight At Westchester High Injures Officer, ABC7 Los Angeles, Nov. 3, 2006.
Norristown, PA - November 1, 2006 - Norristown Players Cited For WT Fight , Philadelphia Intelligencer on line. Two Norristown High players knock the helmet off of an opponent's head and then punch him, causing a head injury.
Charlotte, N.C. September 28, 2006 - Two Teens Arrested In Post-Game Brawl At East Mecklenburg High, WSOC Action 64. Click Here for WSOC Follow Up Story. Click Here for newspaper article, Reports: 2 Hurt After East Meck Game, by Steve Lyttle, Charlotte Observer September 22, 2006.
Hate Crime Plus Poor Sportsmanship: Spectators call male cheerleader a homosexual, then punch him - football team comes to the rescue. See Crossing The Line by Greg Duggan, Malden Observer, September 22, 2006.
Akron, Ohio September 12, 2006 - Story and Video Of Post-Game Fight In Ohio Football game: Player Suffers Concussion; Suspensions Pending. Click here for Penalties Possible After Fight, Akron Beacon-Journal, by David Lee Morgan, Jr.
Stockton, CA. September 5, 2006 - Stockton Father Pummels 13 Year Old Football Player, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, CA. NBC11.com, Sept. 5, 2006 (complete with video of the attack). For more on this incident, see: Youth Coach Charged With Attacking Player, USA Today, September 6, 2006 Page 13C; Image of Youth Sports Takes Another Hit, USA Today, September 6, 2006 Page 7D by Greg Toppo; and Youth Game Ends Up as Footbrawl, CBSNews.com, September 5, 2006.
Terre Haute, IN. August 26, 2006 - Post-Game Confrontation Mars West Vigo-Paris Contest, Terre Haute Tribune Star, August 26, 2006 by Todd Golden (the first incident of the school-year is a post-game handshake fight between ... the coaches of all people).
Grapevine, TX - June 20, 2006 - Arrest to Be Made In Referee Attack by Ben Tinsley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (republished on RedOrbit.com), June 20, 2006.
Los Angeles, CA Nov. 30, 2005 - Coach Moves Yard Marker - Suspended For Cheating. Click here for tv report and video on cheating coach. Dec. 2005 - Cheating Coach Banned For Life (A courageous decision by the CIF Los Angeles Section and its Commissioner, Barbara Fiege)
Washington, D.C. Nov. 28, 2005 - Charter School Postgame Ritual Sparks Postgame Bench Clearing Football Melee (This is an example of a seemingly innnocent ritual leading to controversy - the winners enacted the ritual in the middle of the field and the losers took it as an in your face moment)
USA Today reviews violence in high school football in 2005. (Nov. 23, 2005).
Houston, TX Nov. 18, 2005 - High School Cheats and Still Loses: School Uses Adult Ringers In High School Football Game.
Hampton Roads, Va. October 22, 2005 - Oscar Smith Still Reigns Over Deep Creek by Jami Frankenberry, Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, October 22, 2006 (at the conclusion of this game, Oscar Smith High did not go to mid-field to shake hands. Oscar Smith's coach stated he wished to avoid any potential problems resulting from vandalism to Oscar Smith High's new $10,000 victory bell). Hampton area schools enact a sportsmanship education program in 2006 to prevent further incidents of this nature. See Chesapeake Schools Put Good Sports Into Sports by Cindy Clayton, Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, August 30, 2006.
New Baltimore, MI October 2005 - Parent hops fence, runs onto field, and threatens coach who benched his son.
Duncanville, TX October 2005 - Student Dead Others Injured In Football Postgame Shootings.
Washington, D.C. September 25, 2005 - Girl, 15, Is Charged In Fatal Fight at School by Katherine Shaver and Lori Aratani, Washington Post, Page A01 (post-football game stabbing kills high school girl).
Parsippany, NJ September 2005 - Parent makes terrorist threat against son's high school football coach.
Florida, September 22, 2000 - Youth Coach Accused of Breaking Boy's Arms, ABC News.
Columbus, GA - May 4, 2011 - Soccer fight at end of playoff game overshadows the game itself - of course, most big fights do. See Fight Overshadows Brookstone's Double-Overtime Win In First Round of GHSA Class A Boys Soccer State Playoffs Against Riverside Military by Chris White, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, May 5, 2011.
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San Francisco, CA - March 20, 2011- Angry Player KOs Soccer Official. See Soccer Ref Kicked In Face, Knocked Out Over Call, ABC TV Channel 7, San Francisco, March 23, 2011; and Soccer Player Kicks Referee In The Face by Mike Aldax, San Francisco Examiner, March 23, 2011.
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California - February 25, 2011 - 8 Assaults On Officials, 787 Ejected Athletes, 82 Ejected Coaches: HS Soccer Fails The Smell Test In Southern California. It's the dirty little secret of youth and high school sports, but it's not a secret anymore - at least not in Southern California. Youth and high school leagues all across the country are having a terrible time managing soccer. Soccer has more ejections and worse sportsmanship than every other sport in leagues all across the country. The CIF's Southern Section quantified the problem and found that soccer has more ejections and incidents of inappropriate behavior than all other sports combined. There are some soccer aficionados who contend that soccer lacks an intermediate step such as a technical foul in basketball. Those people are right, but they miss the point. This is not an issue that revolves around the technicality of whether a playing call is a foul or not. This is an issue about attitudes. There are no other sports in which 8 officials are assaulted in a playing season. If that happened in basketball or football there'd be a scandal, and an enormous media outcry. As sports administrators everywhere can attest, there's something wrong in the soccer community and the normal procedures of ejecting and suspending players is not sufficient to deter the problem. See CIF Officials Seeing Red Over Soccer by Cindy Rhodes, City of Industry Walnut Patch, February 25, 2011.
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Ocala, FL - February 4, 2011 - School Resource Officer Pepper Sprays Coach, Players, Spectators In Big Soccer Brawl. See Caught On Tape: High School Soccer Game Ends In Brawl by Devetta Blount, digtriad.com, February 6, 2011. David Crutchfield, the SRO, is also a sheriff's deputy. Crutchfield was working with one other security guard, and were outnumbered by a mob of fighters and intervenors.
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Burlington, VT - October 29, 2010 - Loony Soccer Dad Runs On Field, Punches Out Player. There is a tendency to characterize attacks as brawls or fights. However, the phrase "brawl" and "fight" imply some degree of mutual fault. That may be the case here, but the video shows something that would more accurately be described as an "attack" by one person not a brawl by two. Nonetheless, the Burlington Free Press has titled this, Video: Essex-Burlington High School Soccer Brawl, November 5, 2010. While I may disagree with the characterization of this incident, I have to give a lot of credit to the Free Press for covering the incident. The Free Press didn't have anybody filming the game, which is understandable as high school soccer games often don't generate media coverage. When this incident occurred, the Free Press went after the video aggressively, ultimately filing a public records act request to get it. Kudos to the Free Press for shining a light on poor sportsmanship. Hopefully, shining a light on the dark corners of our sports world will lead everybody to clean up those dark corners.
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East Rochester, NY - October 27, 2010 - East Rochester Deputy Mayor Charged With Reckless Endangerment Of A Child For Conduct At A Soccer Game In A League For 5-Year Olds. We've seen parents lose it at athletic contests. However, this one is particularly ugly. Andrew Serrano, the Deputy Mayor, was accused of picking his five-year old son up and throwing him into a chair, causing the chair to flip over, and then throwing water onto his son's face. Serrano allegedly concedes throwing water on the boy, but denies throwing him into the chair. The other odd thing about this is that Serrano allegedly told a Sheriff's Department deputy that he had a "heated argument" during the game with his son. Now, I don't know about you, but 5-year olds tend to be incapable of having "heated arguments" with their parents. Generally, if a parent gets heated, a 5-year old simply lacks the resources to stand up and counter the parent's argument. Most strange. To read the whole story, see Deputy Mayor Andrew Serrano To Resign From East Rochester Village Board by Alan Morrel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 27, 2010.
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Maryland - October 12, 2010 - Three Officials Assaulted in Maryland State Youth Soccer Association Contests from July to October. See Maryland State Youth Soccer Association Suspension List. We're not singling Maryland out. Soccer is no longer safe to officiate ... in many states. Similar numbers are popping up in a number of places. The question is why? What are the factors that are leading soccer to have so many problems?
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New York, N.Y. - September 29, 2010 - In the aftermath of a mass player and spectator melee during a post-game handshake, New York's PSAL suspends the two teams. The real story, though, is that the New York Daily News is shocked - shocked I say - to discover that high school soccer games are often played without security officers. No kidding! Let's see, high school baseball games, softball games, lots of wrestling dual meets, swim meets, volleyball games, and other high school sports are often played without security. Schools traditionally gear up for football and basketball as the foreseeable risks of harm are great in those sports, and we have an 100 year history of gearing up to handle those sports. We don't have that in soccer so a lot of schools still aren't geared up to handle soccer. The problem is that soccer is becoming a problem sport for high schools all across the country. There will be more incidents like this one (in fact, there have already been other incidents like this one). The Daily News's appalling ignorance of the administrative aspects of high school sport aside, this is a worthwhile article as it touches upon a lot of hot button topics in youth and high school sports. This one incident has spectators who won't stay in the stands, and post-game handshake problems occurring in a sport that is generating more and more sportsmanship problems across the country. See Day After Ugly Soccer Brawl, PSAL Delays FDR, Madison Matches by Mark Lelinwalla, New York Daily News, October 1, 2010.
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Windsor, Ontario - August 1, 2010 - Parents Fight Gets 8-Year-Old League Soccer Teams DQd in Canadian Tournament. See Under-8 Soccer Teams Disqualified As Parents Fight, Regina Leader-Post, August 3, 2010.
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Brighton, NY - July 16, 2010 - Another Reason For Parents To Stay In The Stands: Soccer Dad Who Bear Hugged 11-Year Old Is Charged With Second Degree Harassment. Soccer-Dad Kevin Merriman restrained an 11-year old who he thought was about to start a fight. Merriman pinned the boys' arms, wrapped him up, told him to calm down, and let him go. A lot of people saw it that way. The problem is that a lot of people didn't see it that way. Merriman's on trial now, and a judge gets to sort out whether he gently and calmly broke up a fight or whether he put a hard "bear-hug" on an 11-year old for no good reason. Of course, we wouldn't have this problem if Merriman didn't decide to intercede. Merriman had no formal role at the game. He was a spectator, and spectators belong in the stands. Spectators do not belong on the field of play. They are not part of the game. They are not charged with coaching, and when they think they're being helpful by entering the field of play to administer their version of justice, they simply turn problems into the type of incidents that enable guys like me (and hundreds of other people) to have a bad-acts page. Merriman may win or he may lose at trial. However, if he took a moment to remember that kids have played sports for decades without their parents hanging around them, and those kids from decades past somehow survived their games and the disagreements that arose from the games, he may have restrained himself. If the kids did something wrong, he could have spoken to the one kid he was in charge of at the end of the game: his own kid. If spectators simply sat in the stands and cheered positively, the youth sports world would be a better place. See Kevin Merriman Trial Set To Close Today by Sruthi Gottipati, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, October 22, 2010.
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Westchester, N.Y. - June 27, 2010 - WFAS New York's Tony Fiorino, host of WFAS New York's Let Them Play show, describes how youth parents can very easily have incidents. Coach Tony was watching his 9 year old daughter's soccer game when trouble broke out. Hear Coach Tony describe the tension amongst the parents, and the loony dad who ran on the field, and click here for a show description and a link to the show or click here to jump directly to the show. Ask yourself if the loony dad should have run on the field, if Coach Tony should have spoken to the officials, if other fans should have mocked the loony dad, and lots of other things that could trigger an incident.
Eagle-Vail, CO - June 12, 2010 - Goalie Allegedly Assaults Referee in Eagle-Vail, Vail Daily, June 12, 2010. Referees are frequently under attack, but people should take note that in many of these attacks (but not enough of them), the assailant is arrested and prosecuted. Batteries on sports officials are not worth the legal problems. Assailants will eventually learn this lesson - we hope.
Fredericksburg, VA – May 4, 2010 - Sometimes you just wonder about these grown men who coach young kids and attack youth umpires. In Virginia, Jason Adkins, a 34 year old youth soccer coach, was arrested for an alleged attack against a 16 year old boy who was officiating a game in a league for 11 year old kids. Adkins allegedly entered the field of play to complain about a call, grabbing the 16 year old by the shirt. When the 16 year old official’s 20 year old partner came to assist, Adkins allegedly pushed him and broke his sunglasses. Quite a guy, - and he’s coaching somebody’s kids. See Soccer Coach Arrested For Assaulting Ref, Fox Channel 5, Washington, D.C., May 5, 2010; and Youth Soccer Coach Charged With Assaulting Young Refs by Keith Epps, Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, May 5, 2010.
Samoa - April 21, 2010 - Wild Brawl In Samoan High School Leads To Cancellation of All School Sports For The Rest of The School Year. See DOE Cancels School Sports For The School Year by Tina Mata’afa, SamoaNews.com, April 27, 2010.
Temecula, CA - April 4, 2010 - Another Referee Attacked & Hospitalized. This time it's an adult soccer game. See Police: SoCal Soccer Referee Attacked By Ejected Player, Associated Press report in Signonsandiego.com, April 6, 2010.
Jackson, MI - February 7, 2010 - Ugly Fight Mars Mississippi Soccer Championship. The fight's posted on youtube at the following URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqTmnS9QiW8. For more, see Students Disciplined For Soccer Fight, WAPT, Jackson, MI, Feb. 10, 2010; and High School Soccer Championship Soccer Match Turns Vicious, WSFA Channel 12 (Gulfport, Mississippi), February 26, 2010.
Providence, RI - November 8, 2009 - Players and Fans Brawl In Rhode Island High School Soccer Final. For video, see Fight Breaks Out At Rhode Island Soccer Game, Boston.com, November 9, 2009; and Brawls Break Out At Girls' Soccer Game, Bill Tomison with reporting by Sara Hogan and Patrick Little, WPRI, Providence, Rhode Island, November 9, 2009. As bad as the brawl was, it wasn't the most blatant act of poor sportsmanship in soccer in November, 2009. University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert wins that prize as you can see on video at New Mexico Player Banned, Apologizes, ESPN.com, November 6, 2009.
Oxnard, CA - August 22, 2009 - One of the bad things about having relatives at games is their attempts to help generally make things worse. In Oxnard, CA, a 20 year old spectator charged the field and attacked a 13 year old kid. The poor kid never had a chance. The attacker was a grown man and the attacker hit the kid from the blindside. The kid's in the hospital with a possibly broken nose right now. The logic behind this crazy act: the man's brother was playing in the game, and at the end of the game a fight broke out between members of the two teams. Remember, fans belong in the stands - even if their relatives are in a fight. See Man Arrested For Punching Player After Soccer Game, Ventura County Star, August 22, 2009; and Man Accused of Punching 13-year-old During Youth Soccer Game, L.A. Times, August 23, 2009.
China - April 24, 2009 - Chinese School Admits Age Fraud In Soccer Tourney, Examiner.com, April 24, 2009.
Elizabethton, TN - April 21, 2009 - Soccer Brawl Leaves Unanswered Questions by Douglas Fritz, Johnson City Press, April 23, ,2009. Click here for Kingsport Times-News report.
Kenya - March 14, 2009 - Kenyan youth soccer fans literally "killed the ref." That's right. Fans in Kenya killed the ref in a youth match sponsored by a "Christian" league. Youth sport spectators are violent all over the world. Click here for details from KenyaTV. and for newspaper coverage see Referee Killed On Duty by Gilbert Wandera, Nairobi (Kenya) Standard, March 18, 2009.
Sanger, CA - February 10, 2009 - Player Skirmish Mars Soccer Match. See Soccer Brawl Probe Is Ongoing by Margaret Slaby, The Fresno Bee, February 11, 2009; It's So On! High School Girls Game Turns Into Brawl, unprofessionalfoul.com; One player was taken away in an ambulance, leading to a police investigation. Ultimately, charges were not filed. See Sanger Police Don't Press Charges In Soccer Brawl, Fresno Bee, February 20, 2009.
Jackson, MS - December 11, 2008 - Referees Take Action Against Irate Parent by Ruth Ingram, Clinton News, Dec. 11, 2008. Spectator Jim Gulley charged with assault after alleged attack against two soccer referees.
Framingham, MA - November 11, 2008 - 100 Fans Rush Field in Wild Soccer Brawl. See Soccer Fight Being Investigated, MIAA Says by Norman Miller, MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA), November 14, 2008.
Vestal, N.Y. - October 7, 2008 - Soccer game marred by spectator allegedly yelling a racial slur at African-American girls JV soccer players. See Horseheads Girls Forfeit Over Alleged Racial Slur by Nancy Doolilng, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 7, 2008. When these things happen, if you don't catch the offending party red-handed, you often have trouble proving it. That's what happened here. See No Evidence of Racial Slurs, Say Vestal Officials by Nancy Dooling, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 8, 2008, and Racial Slur Reports To Be Released by Nancy Dooling, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 9, 2008.
Edmonton, CA - June 5, 2008 - A Dozen Players From Youth Soccer Team Launch Post-Game Attack On Parent. See Edmonton Boys Soccer Team Suspended After Soccer Dad Swarmed, Camwest News Service on Canada.com, June 16, 2008; and See Teen Charged In Soccer Attack Says He Wasn't There, Reported by Sonya Sunger, CTVEdmonton.ca, July 23, 2008.
Staten Island, May 13, 2008 - Girls Soccer Game Ended By Fight by Kevin Flood, Staten Island Advance (SILive.com).
Wilson, N.C., May 12, 2008 - Prep Soccer Fight Involves Players, Coach by Nick Stevens and Dane Huffman, WRAL
Bakersfield, CA - February 22, 2008 - Fight After Soccer Game Sends One Student To Hospital, One To Jail, Bakersfield Californian. For tv coverage see, Bakersfield Student Arrest After Soccer Fight, ABC 30 Bakersfield, CA.
San Diego, CA - Feb. 1, 2008 - Soccer Coach Allegedly Chokes Player, Punches Spectator During Huge San Diego HS Soccer Melee! See Walk-On Coach Jailed After Allegedly Provoking Brawl by Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 2, 2008. No Charges Filed Against Coach In Soccer Brawl, Channel 10 News San Diego, February 5, 2008. Coach Says he was just trying to stop the fights at soccer game!! See Choking Accusations Bogus, Suspended Coach Says by Chris Moran, Feb. 7, 2008, San Diego Union-Tribune. Click here for video of the fight.
Windsor, CA - October 28, 2007 - Soccer Coach Exposes Buttocks To Opposing Girls' Team, San Jose Mercury News, October 28, 2007 (an angry adult coach allegedly moons the opposing team after a heated youth soccer game); Also see Coach Accused of Exposing Buttocks, Yahoo News, October 29, 2007.
Canada, Player, Coach Suspended After Attack On Soccer Referee, CBC News, Canada, July 12, 2007.
Utah, June 20, 2007 - Utah soccer players spit on one official, shove another in state tournament - State imposes probation on entire sport. See Boys' Soccer Teams On Probation, ksl.com, June 20, 2007; Penalty Kick by Michael Popke, Athletic Business, October 2007; Soccer Teams Get Probation by Amy Donaldson, Deseret Morning News, June 19, 2007. For original publication click here.
Morris, IL - October 16, 2007 - Felony Charge Filed After Soccer Game Altercation: Morris man grabbed referee by throat during soccer game by Michael Farrell, Morris Daily Herald, Oct. 16, 2007.
Canada, July 24, 2007 - Irate Soccer Mom Brings Game to Screeching Halt by Nick Kyonka, Toronto Star, July 24, 2007 (soccer mom attacks 14 year old female ref).
Chattanooga, TN - May 13, 2007 - Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Takes Tough Stand Where Soccer Fans Attack Official. See Beware of Behavior by Jaime Lackey, Chattanooga Times Free Press, May 13, 2007.
Atlanta, GA. - April 25, 2007 - Numerous Unsportsmanlike Incidents From Players, Coaches, and Spectators Create Problems In Georgia. The GHSA takes strong countermeasures, granting officials power to terminate matches due to spectator misconduct. See Foul Language, Dirty Play Stain Soccer by John Manasso, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 25, 2007 page A1 (reprinted on Heart of Georgia Soccer Officials Association website).
Milwaukee, WI - April 23, 2007 - Police Have Tough Solution For Fighting Soccer Fan - Taser Stops Fighting Soccer Fan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 23, 2007.
Concord, NH - December 2006 - The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association places Pittsfield High School on probation following a state soccer championship game where Pittsfield had three players ejected, engaged in rough play resulting in severe injuries to opponents, received numerous yellow cards, and had fans who taunted an injured player, booed the refereees, and swore at their opponent's mascot. Pittsfield residents had the usual answer to their lack of class: they blamed the refs. See Pittsfield Appoints New Athletic Director by Kate Davidson, Concord Monitor December 1, 2006. See also Pittsfield Soccer Team Put on Year's Probation, WCAX TV, and New Hampshire: NHIAA Suspends Pittsfield Program by Roger Brown, Maxpreps.com December 28, 2006.
Barre, VT , Oct. 18, 2006 - Spaulding Soccer Game Disrupted by Melee by Anna Grearson, The Barre Montepelier Times Argus, October 18, 2006
Rockford, Illinois - Nov. 10, 2005 - Players Spit on Referee in High School Soccer Match.
Springfield, Indiana, October 26, 2005 - Martin Smith, an upset father, allegedly sucker punches soccer referee Jeffrey Rousseau following a high school soccer game between Indiana's Central and Westfield High Schools. Rousseau says he never saw the punch coming. Rousseau was knocked unconscious and suffered a dislocated jaw.
Denver, CO, Oct. 3, 2006 - Youth Soccer Leaders Fight, by Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain News.
Oakland, CA - Feb. 28, 2006 - Mob Scares Off Top High School Soccer Official by Dennis Miller, Oakland Tribune.
Chattanooga, TN - April 8, 2011 - Post-game softball fight breaks out where girls from a school not involved in the game go after one of the teams in the game. Is this revenge, thuggery, payback? We'll never know. Worse, one of the school districts involved said that since the fight broke out after the game ended, this isn't a school matter. Of course, it's a school matter. If the school district took a stronger stand, they might send a message that this stuff isn't tolerated. See Fight Breaks Out After Brainerd High School Softball Game, WDEF.com, TV 12, Chattanooga, April 11, 2011.
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Colorado Springs, CO - June 29, 2009 - Girls Softball Game Ends In Parking Lot Brawl, KKTV. This summer league high school softball game was called after an in-game fight. The fight then resumed in the parking lot after the game. 4 people got arrested after this ugly incident, and some of those people swung bats. This one was ugly and dangerous.
Wheaton, IL - July 13, 2008 - Spectator Michael Beck Curses, Threatens Umpire and Spits on Sheriff's Deputy In Foolish Tirade Over His Daughter's Softball Game. You may get away with cursing out the umpire, but spitting on the sheriff's deputy is not smart! Beck ends up with a conviction for misdemeanor battery and assault, serves five days in jail and has to apologize to the official and the sheriff's deputy. See Father Jailed Five Days For Softball Tirade, Associated Press Wire in Chicago Tribune, January 7, 2009.
Parma, N.Y., June 30, 2008 - Post-Game Handshake Attack Kills Adult Softball Player. See Hilton Man Dies After Assault At Parma Softball Game by Claudia Vargas, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. For more on this story see Hilton Ballplayer Dies After Punch To Head In Parma Softball Game by John Boccacino and Claudia Vargas, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 1, 2008 and Upstate Man Dies After Softball Game Altercation, WNBC TV New York, N.Y, July 1, 2008, and Police: NY Man Dies After Assault At Softball Game by Ben Dobbin, Associated Press Wire Service in San Francisco Chronicle, July 1, 2008, and Athlete Accused of Fatally Punching man Spent Time in Prison Washington Post, July 2, 2008 page E02. version. This game was marred by trash talk. Sadly that trash talk spilled over into a post-game handshake line attack. Worse, Sean Sanders, the man accused of delivering the fatal blow, punched the victim, Daniel Andrews, in the back of the head. A lot of bad elements combined here. First, trash talk is something that athletic administrators constantly work to quash. Often athletes say it's harmless fun. It's not. Trash talk often leads to retaliation, and sometimes that retaliation is physical. Second, post-game handshakes may be an excellent and traditional display of sportsmanship, but they also offer angry people a free cheap shot at opponents. There are a lot of post-game handshake line incidents. In heated games, post-game handshake lines need to be monitored closely. There's no harm in suspending a post-game handshake where conditions warrant - although if one looks at the post-game handshake line incidents on the sportsmanship page of this site one will see that any sports administrator who tries to eliminate post-game handshakes - even temporarily - will come under an immediate media assault (remember, the local press isn't responsible for actually running the games and they have no idea of some of the problems that may occur in someone's leagues - in other words, they're uninformed). Third, blows to the back of the head are cowardly and they're also extremely dangerous.
Tampa, FL. - February 16, 2007 - Dad Escorted Off Field By Sheriff Says He Wasn't Going To Attack Coach - He Just Wanted To Curse Her Out. See Father Says He Never Tried To Attack Coach by Anwar S. Richardson, Tampa Tribune's TBO.Com Blog, Feb. 16, 2007.
Sacramento, CA - April 29, 2011 - High School Swim Coach Pulls Swimmer Out of Pool By Hair - Coach Forgets That There Are Lot's Of Cameras At Swim Meets. See Parent Accuses High School Swim Coach of Assault, KTXL-Fox40, Sacramento, CA, May 2, 2011. It is not clear why the coach was upset. Various people have claimed that some of the swimmers were misbehaving. Others claim the swimmers weren't giving it their all. We may never know. What we do know is that Geoff Capell, the assistant swim coach, won't be coaching at Roseville High anymore, and it may be a while before he's coaching anywhere. Capell may also be charged with misdemeanor battery according to some media sources. Time will tell.
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Buffalo, NY - December 8, 2011 - High School Hoops Team Suspended For Racist Pre-Game Chant. Oh those witty white racists. They're so clever. Buffalo's Kenmore East High School had the gall to chant, "One, two, three. N word" before taking the floor. Not once, but before every game. When Tyra Batts, the lone African-American on the team objected and even fought a teammate over the incident, the chant became public knowledge. Interestingly, Batts verbally objected before she fought over the matter, and was told that the chant was a tradition. Yes, racist white folks and their traditions. I remember when these types had a tradition of holding nice little picnics in the woods with black folks swinging from the poplar trees, but I don't think anybody would support the old tradition of lynching anymore. Of course, the tradition of screaming, "one, two, three, n word" is probably just too much fun to stop. Anyway, a bureaucratic justice was done. All the girls who engaged in the n word chant were suspended for one game, and two school days. Batts received a five day suspension for fighting. The letter of the law was followed, and I'm sure that Batts has learned a lesson in bureaucratic justice. Now, the truth of the matter is that Batts had to receive a five day suspension for fighting. After all, she did have non-fight remedies at her disposal. Batts got justice. However, there's no way that the girls who chanted, "One, two, three. N word" got justice. They got a standard bureaucratic penalty, and this bureaucratic justice left them with a lesser penalty than Batts got. That might not matter if they got a heavy dose of public shame, but it doesn't appear that they got that. Thus, I would have to say that while bureaucratic justice was done, true justice was not. For more, see Basketball Players Suspended For N-Word by Sandra Tan, Buffalo News, December 8, 2011 (includes video of Tyra Batts); Buffalo High School Girls Basketball Team Suspended After Using Racial Slur by Nina Mandell, New York Daily News, December 9, 2011; Buffalo Area High School Basketball Players Suspended For Using Racial Slurs, Sporting News article republished on Syracuse.com, December 13, 2011.
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Ann Arbor, MI - July 19, 2010 - Professional athlete pleads guilty to sexual assault charge. Okay, this site generally deals with sportsmanship issues, not crimes. However, this crime is unusual because the professional athlete is a hacky sack player. Yes, hacky sack... you know, the silly game where a bunch of guys kick a little pouch around during lunch break. Who would have thought that we'd see a self-entitled, boorish lout of an athlete from the world of hacky sack? See Professional Hacky Sack Player From Ann Arbor Pleads Guilty To Sexual Assault Charge by Art Aisner, AnnArbor.com, July 19, 2010.
Kansas City, MO - March 24, 2009 - We’ve seen lots of violence in sports, but violence at a track meet is rare. Unfortunately, schools are not generally prepared for acts that don’t occur often. When four Kansas City schools brawled at a track meet, nobody was ready and the brawl quickly got out of hand. See Dozens Involved In Brawl At Ruskin High Track Meet, Kansas City Star, March 24, 2009.
Wichita, KS - August 22, 2008 - We Thought Sportsmanship Bottomed Out When A Youth Baseball Coach Mooned The Umpire in Pittsburgh last week (See Coach Charged With 'Mooning' Umpire, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, August 15, 2008) now we know better. A debate coach mooned his opponent at Fort Hays State University. We have truly stooped to a new low. See Kansas University Fires Mooning Debate Coach, by Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press on yahoo.com, August 22, 2008. Click here for NPR coverage (In an interesting addition to the story, NPR says Coach William Shanahan argued with and mooned the opposing coach because he respected her). Click here for Fox News coverage.
Montgomery County, MD - January 12, 2008 - Coach Admits He Assaults Official: The Coach admits pushing official's face out of anger where his athlete was disqualified from a track meet because her uniform didn't meet NFHS standards. The coach was reacting to an incident that made national headlines as the Muslim athlete claimed religious discrimination. Details of the incident can be found on the officials page at the officials and the law link. The key point to note is that all coaches who attack contest officials feel that an injustice has been committed, but the way to resolve a matter is not, should not be, and cannot be to attack the official. For details on the controvery see When The Rules Run Up Against Faith: Prep Athlete Wearing Muslim Clothing Disqualified From Meet by Alan Goldenbach, Washington Post, January 16, 2008 page A01. For the coach's admission see Hate Mail Follows Controversy Over Muslim Track Star, WUSA 9 Washington, D.C., January 16, 2008. For a rules explanation: Click here for the National Federation of High School's Explanation of The Rules and see Officials: Religion Not Issue In Runners Exclusion by Chay Rao and Stephanie Siegel, Montgomery County Gazette Net, January 30, 2008.
Half Moon Bay High School, CA - Half Moon Bay High School Fans Have A Tradition of Streaking During High School Football Games and Allegedly Have Used Racial or Homophobic Epithets Against Visiting Teams On More Than One Occasion. See Racial Slurs Spark Fury by Heather Murtagh, San Mateo Daily Journal, Nov. 9, 2007; and Sequoia Threatens Penalty In Football Melee by Jason Goldman-Hall, San Francisco Examiner, Nov. 9, 2007, and No Proof About Who Taunted Sequoia High Players, Fans by Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 9, 2007 page B8. Streaking, Racial and Homophobic Slurs, and Overall Poor Sportsmanship At Half Moon Bay High School Football Games Sparks Civil Grand Jury Investigation. See Grand Jury Questions HMB High School Plans, San Mateo Daily Journal, July 15, 2008. See San Mateo County Grand Jury Report of 2008 on Addressing Unacceptable Behavior At Half Moon Bay High School Sporting Events..
Camden High School, New Jersey - Camden High School Has Been Removed From the New Jersey State Tournament Three Times In The Past Thirty Years For Unsportsmanlike Incidents, Lack of Crowd Control, and Other Problems. For A Description of These Problems See Athletes Must Learn Violence Is Not Okay, New Jersey Courier-Post, March 11, 2006.
ONGOING PROBLEMS AT RICH SOUTH H.S. IN ILLINOIS: Rich South High School has been beset by sportsmanship problems over the last year. They have had difficulty solving them, and not all their attempts to do so have been well received.
March 2005: Racial Overtones as white schools want to leave Rich South's Athletic Conference.
Los Angeles, CA Nov. 30, 2005 - Coach Moves Yard Marker - Suspended For Cheating. Click here for tv report and video on cheating coach. Dec. 2005 - Cheating Coach Banned For Life (A courageous decision by the CIF Los Angeles Section and its Commissioner, Barbara Fiege)
Houston, TX Nov. 18, 2005 - High School Cheats and Still Loses: School Uses Adult Ringers In High School Football Game.
Daytona Beach, FL. July 29, 2005 - Woman Accused of Slamming Girl At Putt Putt Course, Local 6 News (In this rather odd incident, a grown woman body slammed a 5 year old girl in a fit of rage at a putt putt course).
STUDENT PRANKS
Hilliard, OH - August 30, 2007 - Ohio High School Fans Tricks Opposing Fans Into Displaying "We Suck" Signs. Student Gets Suspended From School. See Student Pays For Football Game Prank, cbsnews.com, Aug. 30, 2007. Also see, Senior Pays for 'Legendary' Prank by Alayna Demartini, Columbus Dispatch, August 30, 2007. This prank was inspired by the famous Harvard vs. Yale, "We Suck" prank. Click here for photo.
Oakland, CA - February 4, 2010 - Oakland Takes Proactive Approach When Faced With Threat of Spectator Violence. See OAL Basketball Games Between Oakland High and McClymonds Postponed Because of Concerns About Potential Violence by Jimmy Durkin, Oakland Tribune, February 4, 2010. Oakland did more than close the gym to spectators, they postponed the game to let spectator tension and the threat of gang violence dissipate.
2010 - Central, South Carolina school officials take proactive steps, playing the Seneca HS vs. Daniel HS basketball doubleheader in a closed gym, open only to school administrators and the media. See No Fans Allowed At South Carolina Prep Games Over Safety Concerns, Associated Press Wire in USA Today, January 28, 2010.
Fresno, CA - December 7, 2010 - Sexual Harassment, Hazing, or Just Poor Technique? Wrestling "Butt Drag" Case Is A Controversial New Low. Preston Hill, a California wrestler who was entering his senior year, jammed his finger up a freshman wrestler's anus during a practice. Hill claims he was doing the "butt drag", a technique of grabbing an opponent's butt cheeks for leverage during a match, and simply slipped. His opponent disagrees - basically arguing that the odds are against a butt drag technique slipping into anal penetration; in effect, the opponent claims that this is hazing. The law claims its sexual battery. On January 13, 2011 we'll get a better idea because Hill will be on trial for sexual battery beginning Jan. 13th. The wrestling community will be watching. See Fresno Court Case Alarms Wrestling Community by Bryant-Jon Anteola, Fresno Bee, December 7, 2010.
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Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, July 2005 - Black eye for umpire in dustup with coach. Charges against coach dropped (this coach got away with his attack on the umpire - a black eye for sportsmanship).
Seaside, CA. 2005 - High School Assistant Principal assaulted trying to break up fight at basketball game. The men who attacked the assistant principal were ultimately convicted.
Attacks From 2005 - Present are Listed on the officials information page. Attacks prior to 2005 are in the Bad Acts Archives Prior To 2005.
San Diego, CA - April 9, 2011 - Youth Football Arrested For Felony Battery In Recruiting Dispute. A San Diego police office stated that San Diego youth football coach Saivaauli Savaiinea attacked Mark Cannon, a parent who may coach a rival team. The dispute appears to have centered around Cannon recruiting some of Coach Savaiinea's players. The officer reported that Coach Savaiinea punched and kicked Mr. Cannon, and that Mr. Cannon tripped, struck his head, and suffered a head injury in trying to back away from the coach's attack. Cannon's head injuries were severe enough to require hospitalization. See Coach Arrested At Lincoln Park High School, Channel 10 News San Diego, April 9, 2011 (note - the school appears to be named Abraham Lincoln High School not Lincoln Park High School).
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Windsor, Ontario - August 1, 2010 - Parents Fight Gets 8-Year-Old League Soccer Teams DQd in Canadian Tournament. See Under-8 Soccer Teams Disqualified As Parents Fight, Regina Leader-Post, August 3, 2010.
Muskegon, MI - May 15, 2010 - Don't Verbally Abuse The Coach When James Ian Sherril Is Around! See Youth Soccer Coach Says Man Was Trying To Defend Her When He Pulled Out Pistol by Heather Lynn Peters, Muskegon Chronicle, May 17, 2010. On a more serious note, one of the problems of poor sportsmanship (such as having a parent verbally abuse a coach) is that it invites other people to intercede. Sherril appears to be a well-meaning sort who allegedly picked a rather poor method of telling a verbally abusive parent to back off. Now, we should note that the parent who allegedly verbally abused the coach was way out of line. It is not the parent's role to "discipline" or "manage" the coach. By the same token, it is not Sherril's role to "manage" the spectators. Where everybody strays from their proper role, chaos rules and problems occur.
Minneapolis, MN - February 13, 2010 - Another Parent Who Can't Control Himself: This Moron Yells At The Ref, Touches Off a Melee, and Gets Arrested - All Over a Timing Dispute At A 6th Grade Basketball Game. See Parent Could Face Assault Charges After Alleged Assault At Burnsville Basketball Game by Joseph Palmersheim, Minnesota Sun, February 15, 2010; and Parent Arrested After Melee At Burnsville Youth Basketball Game by Nick Ferraro, St. Paul Pioneer Press, February 16, 2010.
Hartford, CT - February 12, 2010 - Post-Game Handshake Fight Touches Off Spectator Riot. Multiple Parents Arrested. See Four Parents Arrested After Fight at HS Hoops Game, Hartford Courant On-Line, Feb. 12, 2010; and Names Released of Parents Involved In High School Basketball Game Brawl by Grace E. Merritt, The Hartford Courant, February 13, 2010.
Camillus, N.Y. - February 10, 2010 - Hard Foul In Youth Basketball Game Sparks Attack on Ref and Full-Scale Brawl Involving Parents and Players. See Brawl Breaks Out At Youth Basketball Game by Brandon Roth, CNY Central.com, February 10, 2010.
Oxnard, CA - August 22, 2009 - One of the bad things about having relatives at games is their attempts to help generally make things worse. In Oxnard, CA, a 20 year old spectator charged the field and attacked a 13 year old kid. The poor kid never had a chance. The attacker was a grown man and the attacker hit the kid from the blindside. The kid's in the hospital with a possibly broken nose right now. The logic behind this crazy act: the man's brother was playing in the game, and at the end of the game a fight broke out between members of the two teams. Remember, fans belong in the stands - even if their relatives are in a fight. See Man Arrested For Punching Player After Soccer Game, Ventura County Star, August 22, 2009; and Man Accused of Punching 13-year-old During Youth Soccer Game, L.A. Times, August 23, 2009.
Rancho Murieta, CA - July 7, 2009 - Out of Control Parents Launch Post-Game Fisticuffs. See Fight at Little League Game Brings Deputies To Stonehouse Park, RanchoMurieta.com, July 8, 2009.
Antioch, IL - May 18, 2009 - Cops: Parent Takes Swing At Baseball Coach by Ruth Fuller, ChicagoBreakingnews.com, May 18, 2009; and Dad Bops Boys' Baseball Coach by Peggy Cassidy, NBC News.com Chicago, May 19, 2009..
Kirkland, WA - May 2, 2009 - Mom allegedly attacks 12-year-old Little League player - and the League lacks the guts to suspend her.. See Mom Arrested After Little League Game Goes Foul by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, May 8, 2009; Click here for interview with the victim's mother; It gets worse: the Kirkland Little League didn't suspend the mom. See Parents Outraged as Little League Feud Continues by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, June 2, 2009 (note: this article also shows the weakness of newspaper headlines - the story isn't about a feud; it's about a league that lacked either the guts or good sense to suspend an unsportsmanlike parent).
Brookhaven, MS - November 22, 2008 - Mississippi's Brookhaven High School issued an interesting suspension. Following a fight involving a player, his mother and a spectator, the school suspended the head basketball coach. Brookhaven took a strong stand to pressure the coach to show leadership, but there may be details here that we'll never know. See High School Basketball Coach Suspended After Fight, Associated Press Wire published by Mississippi Sun Herald, Dec. 4, 2008.
Vestal, N.Y. - October 7, 2008 - Soccer game marred by spectator allegedly yelling a racial slur at African-American girls JV soccer players. See Horseheads Girls Forfeit Over Alleged Racial Slur by Nancy Doolilng, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 7, 2008. When these things happen, if you don't catch the offending party red-handed, you often have trouble proving it. That's what happened here. See No Evidence of Racial Slurs, Say Vestal Officials by Nancy Dooling, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 8, 2008, and Racial Slur Reports To Be Released by Nancy Dooling, Ithaca Journal, Oct. 9, 2008.
Amherst, Ohio - September 24, 2008 - Parent Accused of Attacking Youth Football Coach, newsnet5. This is a confluence of unprofessionalism that turned ugly. The parent kept yelling at the coach to run a sweep. Finally, the coach did, and the play was unsuccessful. The coach then allegedly told the parent, "There's your sweep" and the parent allegedly responded by beating up the coach. Poor professionalism by a clearly frustrated coach and even worse thuggery by the idiot parent.
Salt Lake City, UT - September 22, 2008 - Parent allegedly hits an assistant coach with a helmet, knocking the coach out. See Parent Accused of Attacking Football Coach by Buddy Blankenfeld, ABC4.
Forsyth County, GA - August 21, 2008 - 9 Year Old Cheerleader's Mother Involved In Sports Rage Incident. Michele Rains, the mother, allegedly attacked the head of the Sharon Springs Cheerleading Association because she thought her daughter should have been transferred to a more experienced cheer squad. See Cheerleader's Mom Faces Battery Charge by Nancy Badertscher, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 21, 2008; click here for San Francisco Examiner version of the same story.
New Zealand - July 24, 2008 - Pushy Sports Parents: It's An International Problem, Too. 8 Year Old Ukranian Girl Banned From Tennis Tournament After Being Caught Getting Coaching Advice From Dad Through Hidden Earpiece. Dad Says He's Not A Pushy Sports Parent. Sound Familiar! See Earpiece Sees Tennis Youngster Banned, TV One News, New Zealand.
Omaha, NB - July 15, 2008 - Ump Attacked, Fans Cheer. See Assault on Umpire 'Sickening', Fans Say by Kevin Cole and Susan Szalewski, Omaha World-Herald (Umpire Charles Andersen attacked, alleged assailant, Jeffrey Johnson, was father of one of the players).
Jersey City, N.J. - July 5, 2008 - New Jersey Umpire Attack May Lead To Sports Rage Legislation. After New Jersey Parole Officer Thomas Lambert was charged with assaulting a 14 year old youth baseball umpire, New Jersey Assemblyman Ruben Ramos decided to work on sports rage legislation, mandating signage and public service announcements at all ball fields throughout the state reminding spectators about existing statutes that guard against sports rage at children's events.. Will it pass? We'll keep track of it. For details on the attack click here Also, see Covering All The Bases - Melinda Vickerman's Jersey Mom Column, The Jersey Journal, July 24, 2008.
Nashville, TN - July 3, 2008 - Tennessee Little League Parents Fight In Holiday Championshp Game. See Little League Game Erupts In Fight, 911 Call, Reported by Catharyn Campbell, WSMV TV 4, Nashville. The big games often bring out the worst in people. Many incidents occur when people realize that it's the last game of the season. Year end games have a lot of meaning and people also feel that suspension and ejection rules don't matter since there's no next game. Finally, championship games also bring spectators who may not go to a lot of other games; sometimes these people don't react very well. Game administrators need to be on edge at the end of the season - even if the championship is played during a holiday.
Snohomish County, WA, May 27, 2008 - Snohomish County Baseball Game Ends In Assault, Reported by Jim Forman, King TV, Seattle, WA; See Youth Sucker Punch Caught On Tape, Reported by Jim Forman, republished on WSAZ TV, Charleston, W. VA for video. This game ends with a sucker punch in the post-game handshake line, caught on tape.
Talladega, AL, May 19, 2008 - Parents Little League Brawl Results In More Security, Reported by Jeremy Campbell, ABC33/40, Talladega. Talladega instituted a one dollar parking charge to pay for a security guard at all youth games in the wake of this incident.
Enid, OK, May 19, 2008 - Highway Patrol Officer Allegedly Attacks Coach Who Cut Son From Baseball Team. See Enid Baseball Coach Claims Assault by Off-Duty Trooper, The Oklahoman, May 21, 2008.
Sparta, TN - April 3, 2008 - Three Arrested After Altercation on Baseball Field: High School Coach Assaulted by Jody Sliger, Sparta Expositor.
Southington, CT - July 3, 2007 - Adults Fight at Youth Baseball Game, WFSB.Com (story and photo of injured man).
Arlee, Montana, March 11, 2007 - Ball Player's Father Banned From Events, Billings Gazette.com (school board votes to ban parent from all school activities after alleged assault on basketball coach in a post-season game).
Memphis, TN. February 26, 2007 - Mad Dad Threatens To Shoot Coach At Church Basketball Game, WMCTV.Com.
Covington, Ohio February 25, 2007 - Football Coach Attacks Opposing Fan At His Daughter's Basketball Game. See Covington Football Coach Arrested by Greg Billing, Dayton Daily News.
San Jose, CA - February 23, 2007 - High School Wrestler Attacked By Opponent's Brother in State Sectional Match. For news and video, see Police: Brothers Arrested After South Bay H.S. Wrestling Attack, NBC11.com, San Jose.
Tampa, FL. - February 16, 2007 - Dad Escorted Off Field By Sheriff Says He Wasn't Going To Attack Coach - He Just Wanted To Curse Her Out. See Father Says He Never Tried To Attack Coach by Anwar S. Richardson, Tampa Tribune's TBO.Com Blog, Feb. 16, 2007.
Chicago, IL. - February 12, 2007 - Lunatic Dad Caught On Tape Attacking 11 Year Old Wrestler: Click here for video. There's always an excuse. See: Wrestler's Dad Was Just Looking Out For His Son's Safety, Friends Say by Robert Sanchez, Dupage County Daily Herald, February 17, 2007. For more see, Dad Jumps Into Wrestling Match, Tosses Son's Opponent, ABC Channel 7 Chicago, February 16, 2007.
Philadelphia, PA - October 24, 2006 - Dad pulls gun on coach at youth football game: his son didn't get enough playing time. Referee tries to separate the dad's brother, the dad and the coach, and ends up getting arrested for punching the dad's brother. Crazy scene in Philadelphia pee-wee football game played by 7 year olds. See A Dad and The Ref Are Charged by David Gambacorta and Christine Olley, Philadelphia Daily News, October 24, 2006. See Also Police: Dad Pulls Gun Because Son Sat Bench, WNBC, October 24, 2006.
New Castle, PA. October 2, 2006 - Shenango 'practice cam' Incident Earns Mention In Sports Illustrated, New Castle News Online (dad poses as college scout and tapes rival team's practice). See Also, Coach on Ball; Dad Off Wall by Barry Temkin, Chicago Tribune, September 24, 2006.
Opelika, AL. - Baseball Parent Charged With Assault on Son's Coach at Game, Decatur Daily, March 24, 2006.
Parsippany, NJ September 2005 - Parent makes terrorist threat against son's high school football coach.
Newark, NJ 2005 - Father attacks 15 year old umpire in Little League game.
Renton, WA - August 1, 1994 - Little League Father Dies After Fight At Championship Game by Wayne Wurzer, Dee Norton, Seattle Times, August 1, 1994.
Pepper Spray and Police Actions
Prince George's County, MD - January 6, 2012 - Fans Get Violent At Maryland's Friendly H.S. Maryland's Gazette.Net reports that an unruly spectator got into an altercation with a police officer who was removing him from a gym. The spectator reportedly, "assaulted the officer, causing the officer to fall down the bleachers." This led other officers to intervene. It also led to a crowd of students gathering around. The Gazette reports that some of the students were angry, and refused to disperse. This resulted in pepper spray being deployed and a number of students being arrested. See Lessons-Learned Meeting Tonight At Friendly High Hopes To Move Past Fight That Prompted Arrests, Pepper Spray by Mimi Liu, The Maryland Gazette.net, January 10, 2012.
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Baltimore, MD - December 21, 2011 - Ugly Baltimore HS Brawl Captured On Film. Who To Blame? You Guessed It. They Blame The Referees. This one was ugly. The fight involved spectators and players. Chairs were thrown, and the Washington Post reports that "spectators threw other spectators onto the floor from the stands." Police ultimately intervened, using pepper spray to disperse the crowd. See Fight Ends Cardozo Basketball Game vs. ConneXions School For The Arts In Baltimore by James Wagner, Washington Post, December 22, 2011; and for video see New Details Emerge In High School Basketball Game Fight In Baltimore, reported by Roz Plater, Fox-5 TV, Washington, D.C., December 22, 2011. Oh, yes, if you're wondering about those new details that Fox TV alluded to. Well, surely the spectators aren't so uncivilized as to be blamed for touching off a riot. Someone has to be at fault. But who? You guessed it. Those awful referees. Yes, the barbarity of the masses is not their fault. It's that guy in stripes who's to blame. Here's the quote from Fox TV. "Cardozo students tell Fox 5 that tensions had been escalating during the game because of controversial calls from the referee." That says it all. What a crock of crap. What really happened is a bunch of people lack character and restraint, can't own up to it, and so they blame the one group of people who can't defend themselves.
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Baytown, TX - November 26, 2011 - Brawl Mars Texas Football Playoff Game. An ugly fourth quarter bench-clearing brawl was topped off by an even uglier post-game handshake brawl. Police officers on hand had to resort to pepper spray to break up the post-game fights. One big question: why did they even bother to let these teams have a post-game handshake line after they'd had their fourth quarter fight? Sometimes, you just need to clear the field even if it means dispensing with post-game handshakes. Safety - and common sense - should always come before formal gestures - and here the post-game handshake was a formal gesture. See Melee Erupts Between LM, Ozen Players After Game by Jordan Godwin, The Galveston Daily News, November 27, 2011.
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Ocala, FL - February 4, 2011 - School Resource Officer Pepper Sprays Coach, Players, Spectators In Big Soccer Brawl. See Caught On Tape: High School Soccer Game Ends In Brawl by Devetta Blount, digtriad.com, February 6, 2011. David Crutchfield, the SRO, is also a sheriff's deputy. Crutchfield was working with one other security guard, and were outnumbered by a mob of fighters and intervenors.
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Baltimore, MD - February 4, 2011 - Pepper Spray Shuts Down Hgh School Basketball Brawl, the grio.com (see this link for video). The grio is smart enough not to try to guess how many people are actually fighting. These types of fights are chaotic, and one can not always tell who is fighting, who is running away from a fight and who is running toward a fight. This video does capture a number of people throwing blows, but most spectators are moving toward, and away from the action. What the video really shows is the chaos created by spectator brawls. For local coverage, see Seven Students Disciplined In City College Basketball Brawl by Erica Green, The Baltimore Sun, February 9, 2011.
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Philadelphia, PA - March 1, 2010 - Cheerleading Brawl In Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Girls’ Public League expected 2,500 fans but they got 6,000 and couldn’t handle it. This ugly incident led to police intervention. The one light at the end of the tunnel is, of course, the intense interest in cheerleading. 6,000 is a lot of spectators. See Girl Fight At Overcrowded Cheerleading Event by Karen Araiza, NBC Philadelphia.
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Nashville, TN - February 13, 2010 - Sometimes the absence of police is the problem. Poor Sportsmanship, Rivalry Game, No Security, No Police, and a Controversial Ending - A Recipe For Post-Game Trouble: Timing Dispute Launches Attack in Tennessee High School Game. Nashville's Maplewood High lost a game on a buzzer beater so they not only blamed the timer, they confronted her, one girl hit her, and the gym went crazy. Host Stratford High School and Maplewood received TSSAA sanctions: Maplewood for their lack of sportsmanship and Stratford for not meeting a state requirement of providing security at all games. A school district security officer noted that this was a rivalry game that also required police. The combination of people who lack inherent grace in accepting a frustrating result (i.e. they lack sportsmanship), combined with a propensity to violence and a lack of security led to the inevitable here. See Metro Schools Sanctioned After Game Melee: No Security, Police At Game Between Maplewood, Stratford, WSMV TV 4, Nashville, reported by Jonathan Martin, February 17, 2010.
Cincinnati, Ohio - December 15, 2009 - Mob of Students Attack Ohio Officer Who Broke Up Fight, WTVG-TV - Toledo, Ohio Channel 13, December 20, 2009. The worst things about this incident is that these were elementary and middle school kids. The officer broke up a fight and was walking the fighters out of the gym when 30 kids attacked him. Some of these youngsters went so far as to grab for the officer's gun. Also see, Police Officer Hurt In Fight Has Concussion, WKRC 12 - Cincinnati, December 18, 2009.
Los Angeles, CA - October 17, 2009 - 5 Arrested in Brawl At Fairfax High School Football Game, CBS2 Los Angeles, CA.
Delray Beach, FL - September 17, 2009 - A tough football season gets tougher with a fight that spilled from the stands into the parking lot in Florida. See Pepper Spray, Stun Gun used To Stop Brawl at Delray Beach Football Game by Jerome Burdi, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 18, 2009.
Tulsa, OK - September 10, 2009 - 3 Arrests, 9 Injured at Tulsa HS Football Game! Gang tensions lead to fights at Booker T. Washington High School football game in Tulsa. Police use pepper spray to break it up. See Fights Break Out At Booker T. Washington Football Game, Tulsa World, September 11, 2009; and Brawl Ends High School Football Game, KOCO Channel 5, Oklahoma City.
St. Paul, MN - March 9, 2009 - 20 St. Paul Officers Break Up Melee At Basketball Game; 1 Arrested by Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, March 9, 2009.
Washington Township, IN - February 2, 2009 - Stupid Fan Attacks The Wrong Ref! See Fan Attacks Ref Who Is Also A State Trooper by Ken Kosky, Northwest Indiana Times, February 2, 2009; and Ref Doubles As Cop, Arrests Rowdy Fan by Reid Cherner and Tom Weir, USA Today.Com Game On Blog, February 3, 2009.
Lansing, MI - January 15, 2009 - Spectator Fight Leads To Police Pepper Spray and Game Suspension. See Fight Disrupts High School Basketball Game, WILX TV (Lansing, MI), January 16, 2009.
Los Angeles, CA - January 14, 2009 - Players, Fans fight at Crenshaw-Fremont Basketball Game by Eric Sondheimer, LA Times, January 16, 2009. This ugly incident started with an on-court fight between players. Ultimately, the police had to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Stuart, FL. - November 14, 2008 - Spectator Goes Nuts, Stabs 5 At High School Football Game. Cops use Tasers and Dogs to Break Up the Brawl. See Five Stabbed At Martin County High School After South Fork Game, TCPalm.com, November 15, 2008; Teen Accused of Stabbing 5 In High School Football Game Melee Still Loose, Associated Press Wire on FoxNews.com, November 17, 2008.
Amherst, N.Y. - February 12, 2008 - Student Tasered After Spitting On Opposing High School Basketball Spectators, Then Running From Police. See SH Teen Arrested After Spitting Incident, Albany Democrat Herald, February 12, 2008.
Waco, Tx - Feb. 1, 2008 - Spectators Out of Control At Waco, TX Basketball Game - Police Called In, One Fan Pepper Sprayed, and Game Stopped - See Fight Breaks Out At Local High School Basketball Game, KWTX-TV, Feb. 1, 2008
Westchester, CA - November 3, 2006 - Police Officer Injured, Pepper Spray Used to Control Crowd. See Football Fight At Westchester High Injures Officer, ABC7 Los Angeles, Nov. 3, 2006.
Rochester, N.Y. - Dec. 2005 - Fans brawl, police use pepper spray at high school basketball game.
Pittsburgh, PA. - Dec. 18, 2005 - Gym cleared, fans pepper sprayed when two out of control spectators ruin Sto-Rox High School's basketball game.
School officials close gym for three games after spectator fights.
Prattville, Alabama February 2005 - Riot at high school basketball games. Police fire tasers to clear gym. Game cancelled.
For a detailed listing of post-game handshake incidents, see the post-game handshakes bookmark on the Sportsmanship
page.
Shootings/Stabbings, etc... (click here for a listing of school associated violent deaths and school shootings).
San Jose, CA - July 2, 2011 - We all know that poor sportsmanship can lead to some dangerous situations, but seldom do we see a situation where a sore loser's post-game reaction can be deadly. However, when a trained martial artist lost his cool, returned to the gym after he lost in a high school taekwondo tournament, and delivered a roundhouse kick to the face of the unsuspecting boy who had defeated him the results were nearly deadly. The San Jose Mercury News reports that the victim of this unprovoked attack came within inches of having his nose bone driven back into his face, which would have killed him. As it was, the victim lost several teeth, and obviously needed medical treatment. The Mercury News reports that the attacker told investigators that he was upset with the contest official's rulings. So, there you have it. The perfect defense. Yes, the loser has invoked the bad old ref made me do it defense. This time nobody's buying it. See Taekwondo Fallout: Loser Booked On Felony Assault Following Match by Sean Webby, San Jose Mercury News, July 8, 2011.
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Muskegon, MI - May 15, 2010 - Don't Verbally Abuse The Coach When James Ian Sherril Is Around! See Youth Soccer Coach Says Man Was Trying To Defend Her When He Pulled Out Pistol by Heather Lynn Peters, Muskegon Chronicle, May 17, 2010. On a more serious note, one of the problems of poor sportsmanship (such as having a parent verbally abuse a coach) is that it invites other people to intercede. Sherril appears to be a well-meaning sort who allegedly picked a rather poor method of telling a verbally abusive parent to back off. Now, we should note that the parent who allegedly verbally abused the coach was way out of line. It is not the parent's role to "discipline" or "manage" the coach. By the same token, it is not Sherril's role to "manage" the spectators. Where everybody strays from their proper role, chaos rules and problems occur.
Pinole, CA - April 14, 2010 - Youth Shot As High School Track Meet Turns Violent by John Cote´, San Francisco Chronicle, April 15, 2010 page C2. This just doesn't happen at track meets, but it did. Something triggered a series of fights at a track meet between Pinole Valley, El Cerrito, De Anza and Hercules High Schools. Multiple fights broke out on the track, and one person was shot. The alleged shooter then fled, and was later caught by police near a Red Onion restaurant. It is not clear how this fight started, and it's not even clear whether the fighters were members of the track teams. As mid-week track meets don't normally tend to draw a large crowd, one does have to wonder whether the fights were linked to the meet. Time will tell.
Omaha, NE - December 4, 2009 - Gunshots Fly at Omaha Basketball Game. See Violence Sparks Increased Tournament Security by Jodi Baker, WOWT, Dec. 4, 2009.
Chicago, IL - September 6, 2009 - Chicago coach shot because he removed player from game. Sad but true: A player in a league designed to keep troubled youth off the streets, kind of missed the point of the league, got mad at his coach and tried to kill him. The player shot his coach twice, but, fortunately, ran out of bullets before he could finish the coach off. See Baseball Coach Shot At Abbott Park in Roseland, WGN, September 6, 2009; Teen Baseball Player Shoots Coach After Argument by Jeremy Gorner and Will Lee, Chicago Tribune, September 7, 2009.
Pittsburgh, PA - August 25, 2009 - Good clean fun, hazing, thuggery? We just don't know. What we do know is 5 football players decided that it was a good idea to shoot bb guns at their teammates during a break in practice. They're off the team and facing expulsion. Zero tolerance? The heck with that. Demarrio Patterson, one of the players on the team, put it all in perspective - at least from a youth perspective - telling news reporters, "It was an air soft bb gun ... that stings for 20 seconds and goes away." Yeah, tell 'em Demarrio. Toughen up. Who are we adults to complain about bb guns and coaches who punch their athletes and fights and guns at games. Suck it up and get tough. For more, see 5 H.S. Players Accused In Pellet Gun Shooting Kicked Off Team, WPXI, Pittsburgh, PA, August 25, 2009; and HS Students Face Punishment In Pellet Gun Fight, KDKA Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA, August 26, 2009..
Douglas County, GA - August 14, 2009 - A gang fight results in a stabbing at a high school football scrimmage. The unfortunate reality of our youth sports world is the extraordinary amount of poor sportsmanship and even violence that mar what should be joyful experiences. The poor economy may bring out some even uglier incidents this year as people will be on edge and have idle time on their hands. This early season incident could be a harbinger of very ugly things to come. See High School football Brawl, Stabbing Result in 7 Arrests by Alexis Stevens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 15, 2009.
Memphis, TN - July 8, 2009 - Gang Related Problems Put Everybody on Edge. A Coach in Memphis tried to do the right thing by telling a player to remove a gang related shirt. The kid refused. Think the coach was unreasonable? Think again. The kid, who was denying that his shirt was gang-related, tried to dissuade his coach of that notion by pulling a gun on him. See Football Player Arrested For Pulling Gun on Coach, WREG Channel 3, Memphis.
Chicago, IL - January 20, 2009 - 2 Cited After Fight, Wounding of Player by Lauren R. Harrison, Bob Sakamoto and Pat Curry, Chicago Tribune, January 21, 2009. When It Rains, It Pours: Less than 2 weeks after 5 people were shot at a Dunbar High School game, Chicago has another shooting. See also, 2 Charged In Shooting After School's Basketball Game, MyFoxChicago, January 21, 2009.
Chicago, IL - January 9, 2009. 5 Shot After Chicago High School Game. It’s the biggest fear of anybody who runs an urban athletic program, and it just happened in Chicago. A group of gang-bangers with no affiliation with the school or program decide to bring their foolishness into your gym. See No Arrests In High School Shooting, NBC Chicago, Jan. 9, 2009; Five Shot Outside Dunbar High After Basketball Game, Chicago1st.com, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Injured in Shooting at Dunbar High by Art Golab, Chicago Sun Times, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Hurt by Gunfire Outside Chicago High School After Basketball Game by Ruba Shenoy, Associated Press Wire in San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 2009 page A6.
New Castle, Del. - January 8, 2009 - Arrests Made In Delaware High School Fight by Dann Cuellar, ABC 6 Action News (Philadelphia, PA), January 9, 2009. Fight over boyfriend leads to shooting at William Penn HS Basketball Game.
Houston, TX - September 6, 2008 - Fight at High School Football Game Leads To Freeway Shooting, Fox 26 TV Houston.
Portland, OR - September 2, 2008 - Possible Gang-Related Shooting At Madison High Worries Police by Aimee Green, The Oregonian, September 2, 2008. What's the world coming to? It's bad enough that there was a shooting, but this shooting was at a high school football game that was covered by a large contingent of police officers. The shooters shot into the crowd in front of the stadium despite the presence of 15 officers in that very location. Worse, the shooters taunted the police officers as they escaped. If 15 police officers don't deter sports violence, what will?
Philadelphia, PA - July 21, 2008 - Referee Gets Shot - Youth League Cancelled. See Shooting Victim Had Been Target Before by Kia Gregory, Philadelphia Inquirer, July 23, 2008.
Oklahoma City, OK - July 14, 2008 - Church Men's League Basketball Game Interrupted by Gunfire. See Shot Fired In Memorial Road Church Parking Lot by Matt Dinger, newsok.com, July 14, 2008.
Detroit Man Takes The Game Too Seriously - Shoots Opposing Fan. See Detroit Man Charged In Shooting Death Following Youth Football Game by David Josar, Detroit News, June 20, 2008.
Portland, OR - March 20, 2008 - Man Tries To Shoot His Opponent After A Pick-Up Basketball Game. See Portland Man Arrested In Attempted Murder Over Basketball Game by Cheryl McDermott, Bend Weekly News, March 20, 2008.
Warr Acres, OK - January 15, 2008 - Gun Violence Hits Basketball Game at Oklahoma's Putnam City High School. See Police Link Area Gangs To Shooting by Robert Medley, newsok.com, January 17, 2008.
San Francisco, CA - January 12, 2008 - Anti-Violence Activist Slain Outside Daughter's Basketball Game by Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, January 13, 2008; Sacred Heart Cathedral Shaken By Death of Player's Father by Mitch Stephens, USA Today, January 14, 2008; Tragedy Strikes During Halftime by Brent Begin, San Francisco Examiner, January 14, 2008; and Rogers Struggles To Overcome Tragedy by Chris Hansen, ESPN.com, January 18, 2008.
Indianapolis, IN - January 12, 2008 - 2 Shot As Fight Spills From High School Game Into Streets, IndyChannel.com, January 12, 2008.
Philadelphia, PA - October 24, 2006 - Dad pulls gun on coach at youth football game: his son didn't get enough playing time. Referee tries to separate the dad's brother, the dad and the coach, and ends up getting arrested for punching the dad's brother. Crazy scene in Philadelphia pee-wee football game played by 7 year olds. See A Dad and The Ref Are Charged by David Gambacorta and Christine Olley, Philadelphia Daily News, October 24, 2006. See Also Police: Dad Pulls Gun Because Son Sat Bench, WNBC, October 24, 2006.
Duncanville, TX October 2005 - Student Dead Others Injured In Football Postgame Shootings.
Canton, TX. April 2005 - Parent shoots son's high school football coach. Jan.12, 2006 - Good News - Gary Joe Kinne, the coach who was shot, recovered and was hired as linebackers coach at Baylor University. Click here for more on Gary Joe Kinne.
Specific Schools, Leagues, Organizations, and Others
San Diego, CA - October 2009 - State association rules kids ineligible and penalizes schools for recruiting; parents and schools fight back by playing the race card. Click here for details.
Samoa - April 2, 2009 - In 2009, the principal of St. Joseph's College High School took a stand and shut his school's sports program down due to violence. See Samoan College Pulls Out of Inter-School Sports Because of Violence, Radio Australia (Interview With St. Joseph's College Principal, Brother Stephen Filipo), April 2, 2009. Click here for The Samoa News's Reaction to the Wave of Violence. This wave of violence is nothing new in Samoa. In 2008, interscholastic sports in Samoa were shut down in the wake of violent spectator brawls. In one attack, spectators threw Molotov Cocktails and attacked their rivals with metal bars. See Samoan Government Bans School Sports After Violence, Actualdot.com, May 6, 2008. There have also been rock throwing incidents. See More Violence Disrupts American Samoa High School Sports, Radio New Zealand, February 21, 2008. The government reinstated high school sports for 2009, but it's still violent.
Miami, FL - July 12, 2007 - School Officials Ignore Statutory Rape So Football Team Can Win. Superintendent Lets Team Continue - Fires Coaches, and Staffers Who Knew About The Rape - See Football Spared But Coaches Ousted At Northwestern High by Tania deLuzuriaga and Andre C. Fernandez, Miami Herald, July 12, 2007, and At Miami-Northwestern: Season Saved, But Coaches Axed, USA Today Prep Rally - Online, July 11, 2007. The most telling report here is the Grand Jury Report, which contains all the ugly details. This incident tells us a lot about the all-consuming power of sports. Over 20 teachers and administrators knew about this incident. None reported it because they didn't want to hurt the football team. The Superintendent initially threatened to shut down football, angering the entire community. Ultimately, the Superintendent cleaned house of all the adults who knew, but didn't report the crime but spared the sport itself, which was probably the right thing to do.
San Diego, CA 2005 - Huge Brawl Leads To Tough New Policies (CIF San Diego Section sends right message with strict, new suspension policy on fighting).
