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There are clearly a number of places here where the officials could have erred based on the facts we do know. We know that there was a pushing foul by B1 on A1, which precipitated a fight in which 6 bench personnel from team A left the bench. While it's not clear who participated and who didn't, we know that two players at a minimum on the floor faught and should've been ejected with double flagrant Ts. We don't know if anyone else on the floor participated in the fight on either side. Based on the penalty enforcement, if all 6 bench personnel participated in the fight, the HC should have been ejected as well, and it's clear he was not from the article. Also, team A would've been entitled to FTs for the original foul, which it's not clear whether they were attempted. So it's clear that the officials probably erred in some way, but not in any way close to the whacked out interpretation provided by the AD.
I agree with Mark, you don't leave the bench unless you're gonna participate in the fight. Without video, it is nearly impossible for the officials to determine precisely who actively participated and who was "pulling people off" particularly when there's no way of defining participant. If bench personnel is in the melee, chances are I will rule that he was a participant without the benefit of video.
The comments of the AD were a joke in my opinion, and I'm not talking about his rules interpretation. He expresses no remorse for the actions of his team and his coach nor has he taken any action. I coach HS baseball, and if I left the bench to participate in a fight, or even if my players did, I would be held responsible and probably lose my job the next day. No accountability, and for him to blame the officiating for mistakes is unbelievable. Take responsibility and take action at the HS level, don't blame the refs because your entire team was out of control and the coaches that you hired lacked control. Judging by the final score, it was not a very well played game either...
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