Two Entire Rosters Suspended
 

Two entire Pa. basketball rosters suspended after bench-clearing brawl

https://www.instagram.com/p/_nDQABQ5NK/

The incident itself is not amusing at all. However, I noted two things that made me chuckle.

1. One of the coaches said afterwards, "It seems that since all of the players from both benches left the bench to come over and help their teammates out, they are all thrown out from the game." He almost sounded surprised by this ruling, proving once again that coaches don't know the rules.

2. I thought it was funny how the lead in the video came in with the most feeble attempt at a technical signal I've ever seen. In his defense, I think he realized before he even finished the motion just how futile a technical was going to be here; it rapidly became the least of his concerns. :eek:

They are fighting and the L backs up like he's watching the play like any other post play. Casually backs up for a better view.

Wonder how many officials are jumping in there like one of these officials.

I'll try to prevent a fight, but I won't try to break one up. Once players come off the bench, I have other, more-pressing duties.

I'll jump in if no punches have been thrown. Once punches are thrown, or non-players enter the court, I'm backing away and observing.

What I would probably do. On the bright side the officials got to go home early :p

We're instructed to do two things in the event of a fight:

1. Motion the coaching staff(s) onto the floor to break it up
2. Monitor the nearest bench to see which players come onto the floor

We are definitely not instructed to advance toward the scrum or try and break it up.

"The fight occurred when a whistle led to a skirmish"... really? the WHISTLE lead to the skirmish? Seems to me the foul led to the skirmish...

Head coaches can come on the floor. Pretty awkward having the rest of the staff come onto the floor and then assess them the technical fouls that they get, by rule.

In this case, once it becomes a group incident, instead of a couple players, I'm standing back watching the action and calling for the head coaches to come on the floor. along with security if it is present.

I am not trying to break up a group fight. The last thing I (or 99.9% of us) need is to become injured in a fight. I will stand back, take names and numbers, and deal with it as it needs to be dealt with.


Also, the idea that the officials "at least got to go home early" is likely very untrue.

In Michigan, if we have a fight like this, the officials are required to file an officials report. There is one officials report per ejection, plus reports of concern filed in this case because of non-game participants also being involved (people from the stands). As a crew, we need to have all the information straight as to who saw what before we file those reports. I suspect that Pennsylvania is similar. Not to mention, a situation like this normally also gets the legal authorities involved which means interviews with the police for the officials as well. It makes for a very long day/night.

Thankfully I never had a brawl during an HS event I officiated. I did however have one during college IM Flag football. The QB, after throwing a long TD pass, sprinted down the field and WWE dropped kicked a guy standing in the endzone. The police ended up coming in to break it up. I ended up having to testify in court about the incident because they charged the QB with several crimes (including pot possession, he had it in his shorts during the game).

Here's a thought: in a "rivalry" game...BLOW THE WHISTLE!

If the preceding game action was officiated with the same "slow" whistle that this jump ball situation was, it's no wonder the game ended like it did. This game didn't "erupt" into chaos suddenly...the fuse was already lit and had been "smoldering" for a while.

To be brutally honest: Your two cents is not worth a wooden nickel.

MTD, Sr.

You came out of your hiding three months early, fanboy.
You can take your two cents with you and hit the road.

And I will never, ever grab a player to try and break up a fight. If I can get between two players I will, but once the melee starts I'm simply observing.

This page has a slightly longer version of the video.

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/hi...d4ac9e6c6.html

Taken it a vacuum it appears there wasn't anything out of the ordinary as far as the officials were concerned. There was a rebound. B#14 and W#11 battled for it. A held ball was called (correctly, IMO). W#11 shoved B#14. The L gave a T to W#11...then all heck broke loose.

Sub varsity game:Very often there is only one coach and he left the other immature minors to run on the court... likely they will follow him - unfortunately.
So to "stir the pot"
Do we really need the coach on the floor for a fight?
I was at the NASO conference in STL this summer and during a presentation, an attorney said: Good officials Don't let athletes fight during their game"... He goes on to say: Don't think you won't be sued if a kid gets hurt during that fight and there's video footage of you standing there watching.
His illustration was NBA officals: Arguably the best officials in our game.
His question: Do you ever see NBA Officials backing away from a fight?
Answer: Hell no! They are dealing with the strongest basketball players in the world and they stop the fight - always!

This was a varsity game.

I'd be interested to know which team the coach in the gray shirt and tie belonged too. He seemed to want to blame the lead official for what happened by standing there pointing at him and running his mouth as things were being restored to some semblance of order.