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Old Tue Jan 30, 2007, 11:28pm
tomegun tomegun is offline
Huck Finn
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 3,347
I spoke to Lazo today and he has been going through some stuff the last couple of days. He sounded like he was beat. He told me that the only time he can get this situation off his mind is when he is officiating. I just told him to keep his head up. This bothers me because this is basically a situation where an official's judgement has been questioned to the point of going to court. What is next? Here are some parts of the ESPN article. Lazo did tell me that the New York Times called his cell phone.

Under state athletics rules, the penalty for receiving two technical fouls in a game or being ejected from a game is a two-game suspension. A student who "in protest lays hands or attempts to lay hands upon an official" can be declared ineligible for up to a year.
Mayo's five teammates were suspended for leaving the bench area. Upon his ejection, Mayo was escorted off the court by a police officer.
"We feel O.J. certainly didn't do anything intentional," his attorney, Mike Woelfel, who also is an assistant coach at Huntington, told The Herald-Dispatch on Monday. "If there was contact, it was inadvertent or may have been accidentally initiated by the referee himself."
Huntington (15-0) is ranked second and Artesia (21-1) No. 11 in the most recent USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings. Huntington also is scheduled to play Friday against Scott County (Ky.) in Lexington, Ky.
Under SSAC rules, if a student plays under a restraining order that is later reversed, the team could be forced to forfeit any victories in which the student played. Mike Hayden, executive director of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, didn't immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.
Mayo signed a letter of intent in November to play next season at USC.
The New York Times, in a story reported in Tuesday's editions, detailed the events that led to Mayo's ejection:
• Mayo was called for his first technical foul for taunting after a dunk late in the second half against Capital. Following that whistle, he walked to midcourt, where players from both teams had gathered and were jawing. Mayo then walked away.
• The second technical was called after Mayo walked back toward the players gathered at midcourt. From the video, which has been available on the Internet via the Web site of WSAZ in West Virginia, Mayo does not appear to say or do anything, The Times reported.
• But when Lazo, the official, walked to the scorer's table to report the technical, Mayo followed and appeared to make subtle, if any, contact with Lazo. The official then dropped suddenly to the ground. On the video, The Times said, it appeared Lazo's fall was exaggerated.
Lazo could not be reached for comment Monday, according to The Times.
"This official wanted to be the star of the show," William Bands, a lawyer in Charleston who watched from the stands, said, according to The Times. "That resulted in a situation that could have cost Huntington High School and the state of West Virginia a once-in-a-lifetime honor, to win a mythical national championship."
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