Judge does the wrong thing!

[Nevadaref]

Recalling the fight situation that took place in PA during the state championship game last year, I heard about this and thought I should share it with everyone.

Following a regional quarter-final in Las Vegas, Cheyenne HS and Bishop Gorman had a bench clearing brawl. Here is the newspaper article, but as we know it will be typical of all press stories:

State KOs Cheyenne

Brawls leads to suspension; petition seeks judge's relief
By Adam Candee

LAS VEGAS SUN

David Peeples could not comprehend why his season had ended.

His mother would not accept that it had.

Deborah Johnson filed a request for an injunction this morning against the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's decision to remove Cheyenne's football team from the playoffs.

The suit alleges that the NIAA's decision goes against the organization's own guidelines for due process rights to a hearing in the case. The suit also requests more than $40,000 in damages, because the suspension during a playoffs stopped college scouts from evaluating Peeples for potential recruitment and scholarships.

The injunction request also names Jerry Hughes, executive director of the NIAA, the Clark County School District and William Garis, the school district's director of student athletics and activities.

District Judge Jennifer Togliatti was to handle the case and was expected to look over the injunction during her lunch break today. A hearing had not been scheduled.

Peeples, Cheyenne's star senior tailback, said he meant to give a hug to a friend on the Gorman team last week after the Desert Shields upset the Gaels, 32-27, in a Sunset Region quarterfinal. Somehow, both Peeples and Cheyenne principal Dr. Ronan Matthew said, the move was misinterpreted, sparking a minute-long brawl between the teams during the postgame handshakes.

Those within the Cheyenne program expected some suspensions as a result, but on Thursday they received a much worse penalty. The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association issued a one-game suspension to the entire Cheyenne team, ending the Shields' season with a forfeit of their Sunset Region semifinal against Centennial. The Bulldogs automatically advanced to the Sunset title game.

"I didn't even believe it," Peeples said, speaking in barely more than a whisper Thursday night from his home.

Gorman also received a one-game team suspension, effective for its first Southwest Division game of 2004. That is little consolation to Cheyenne coach Dave Snyder, whose Shields, the fourth seed from the Northwest Division, finish with a 6-4 record and plenty of what-ifs.

"It's been a baffling experience," Snyder said. "I haven't seen anything so bizarre in my life."

Centennial coach Joel Bertsch, whose team will now have its second open date in the past three weekends, would have preferred his Bulldogs earn their way into the next round.

"It's unbelievable," Centennial coach Joel Bertsch said. "We were in disbelief."

Hughes spent the past two days reviewing TV news films of the fight and meeting with school district administrators in Las Vegas to determine what penalties would be issued. Hughes decided that the brawl warranted the harshest of responses.

"This is a very unfortunate situation," Hughes said. "A precedent has been set in the past that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Nevada high school sports. While these decisions are very difficult, it must be emphasized that we expect our athletes to be good citizens who respect each other both on and off the field."

Both Matthew and Snyder distanced the school itself from any possible legal action.

"The school will not take it to court," Matthew said. "We have accepted the ruling of the NIAA. (But) as you know, the kids have parents."

Matthew met with Hughes on Thursday morning before the decision was made. They reviewed the tapes and Hughes outlined the NIAA's options for punishing the teams. Those included suspensions at the beginning of next season, as well as suspending athletes who play other sports during the winter or spring seasons.

Hughes' ultimate decision left Matthew and Snyder with the unenviable task of breaking the news to the team at the end of the school day.

"A lot of them wanted to know why -- why do you blame all of us?" Snyder said.

Snyder contends that just a handful of players from both sides were actually involved in the fight, while most were attempting to separate the teams. Foremost among the peacemakers, Hughes said, was Peeples.

"They started it," said Peeples, who ran for nearly 300 yards in the victory.

The NIAA decision also stated that individual suspensions will be handed down, but the names of the players will not be released. The ruling does not appear to distinguish which team instigated the fight and the NIAA is leaving the investigation into the brawl open, with the threat of further disciplinary action looming.

The threat meant little to the Shields.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Anyway the big news is that the judge overturned the NIAA's decision to suspend the team and the game will be played on Monday. I think this is a terrible decision. The league office finally took a stand on the side of sportsmanship only to be thwarted by some whiny parents and a judge. What is HS sports coming to?

[cropduster]

Ya gotta grease the squeaky wheel. Or at least the loudest squeaky wheel.

[canuckrefguy]

Originally posted by Nevadaref
Here is the newspaper article, but as we know it will be typical of all press stories:

Careful with generalizations like that. I have a friend who works in the press, and he is an honest man, as are many who work in that profession.

Your statement is shallow and ignorant.

[Camron Rust]

Originally posted by canuckrefguy

Careful with generalizations like that. I have a friend who works in the press, and he is an honest man, as are many who work in that profession.

Your statement is shallow and ignorant.

All stories have more than one side. Often all sides are honest but just from a different perspective. Journalists can be entirely honest and potray an event in their choice of ways.

[canuckrefguy]

I can live with that.

But there's too big a tendency, especially these days, to blame newspapers and TV for everything we don't agree with, and that's something that bothers me.

[Nevadaref]

This newsreporter clearly wrote with a sympathy for the players on team. Nowhere in the article does he mention sportsmanship or praise the league officials for attempting to put a stop to these type of fights at the HS events.
The most important quote in the whole article is passed over without so much as a word from the writer:
"This is a very unfortunate situation," Hughes said. "A precedent has been set in the past that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Nevada high school sports. While these decisions are very difficult, it must be emphasized that we expect our athletes to be good citizens who respect each other both on and off the field."

As evidence of his siding with the HS team, despite admitting that "Hughes spent the past two days reviewing TV news films of the fight and meeting with school district administrators in Las Vegas to determine what penalties would be issued," look at the words chosen to describe the decision to declare a forfeit:
1. they received a much worse penalty.
2. Hughes decided that the brawl warranted the harshest of responses.
3. the threat of further disciplinary action looming

This author clearly wanted to convey the decision as something dark and terrible. Rather than simply reporting the event, his personal opinion of the NIAA's decision comes out in the article, and it is obviously a negative one.

Then there is the inclusion of obligatory sensational comments:

1. The suit also requests more than $40,000 in damages, because the suspension during a playoffs stopped college scouts from evaluating Peeples for potential recruitment and scholarships. (Oh, please!)

2. "It's been a baffling experience," Snyder said. "I haven't seen anything so bizarre in my life."

3. "It's unbelievable,"

4. why do you blame all of us?

5. "They started it," said Peeples, who ran for nearly 300 yards in the victory.
I particulary love this one. It's so childish that any decent reporter wouldn't have even bothered to include it. Notice how all of the blame is shifted to the NIAA officials and deflected from the student athletes. Does the writer criticize the behavior of the players anywhere in the story? Nope.

Finally, the article ends with the tear-jerking closing line:

"The threat meant little to the Shields."


Canuckrefguy,
I think that "shallow and ignorant" applies far more to this piece of work than my generalization, which probably contains more truth than most would want to admit.

As for your friend, I believe that he is honest and a good person because you say so, but if he were to write something like this and pass it off as reporting, I would criticize him as well.

[Ref in PA]

Nevedaref,

We agree on this one. I agree with your assessment of the article and I support the decisions of the NIAA on this matter. I wish the PIAA had the same perspective.

[canuckrefguy]

My comment was directed at the notion that the article you dislike so much is "typical" of all press reports.

I suppose if fans see an official kick a call, and then believe it's "typical", then that's okay too, then.

We, as officials, are very quick to denounce the ignorance of coaches and fans for not respecting us, and the tendency to generalize one incident to all of us.

Hypocritical doesn't even begin to describe it.

[oc]

Originally posted by Nevadaref
This newsreporter clearly wrote with a sympathy for the players on team. Nowhere in the article does he mention sportsmanship or praise the league officials for attempting to put a stop to these type of fights at the HS events.
The most important quote in the whole article is passed over without so much as a word from the writer:
"This is a very unfortunate situation," Hughes said. "A precedent has been set in the past that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Nevada high school sports. While these decisions are very difficult, it must be emphasized that we expect our athletes to be good citizens who respect each other both on and off the field."

As evidence of his siding with the HS team, despite admitting that "Hughes spent the past two days reviewing TV news films of the fight and meeting with school district administrators in Las Vegas to determine what penalties would be issued," look at the words chosen to describe the decision to declare a forfeit:
1. they received a much worse penalty.
2. Hughes decided that the brawl warranted the harshest of responses.
3. the threat of further disciplinary action looming

This author clearly wanted to convey the decision as something dark and terrible. Rather than simply reporting the event, his personal opinion of the NIAA's decision comes out in the article, and it is obviously a negative one.

Then there is the inclusion of obligatory sensational comments:

1. The suit also requests more than $40,000 in damages, because the suspension during a playoffs stopped college scouts from evaluating Peeples for potential recruitment and scholarships. (Oh, please!)

2. "It's been a baffling experience," Snyder said. "I haven't seen anything so bizarre in my life."

3. "It's unbelievable,"

4. why do you blame all of us?

5. "They started it," said Peeples, who ran for nearly 300 yards in the victory.
I particulary love this one. It's so childish that any decent reporter wouldn't have even bothered to include it. Notice how all of the blame is shifted to the NIAA officials and deflected from the student athletes. Does the writer criticize the behavior of the players anywhere in the story? Nope.

Finally, the article ends with the tear-jerking closing line:

"The threat meant little to the Shields."


Canuckrefguy,
I think that "shallow and ignorant" applies far more to this piece of work than my generalization, which probably contains more truth than most would want to admit.

As for your friend, I believe that he is honest and a good person because you say so, but if he were to write something like this and pass it off as reporting, I would criticize him as well.

Great response-analysis. Can you teach the section on propaganda to my history class or critical thinking and watching for bias in my Psychology class?

[oc]

Hey I just noticed I made senior member-woo hoo!

[cowbyfan1]

One thing that might have helped all this is something that needs to be seriously looked at.

What is the one thing that most officials do as soon as a game is over? Hall a$$ to the locker room. If the officials had stayed on the field after the game to observe the handshake, they could have been independent observers of what happened and maybe a "fair" judgement made.

By that I mean, if the losing team did start the fight then they became the winners as they got the other forfeitted for playing the next game that they deserve to. Who's to say it was not intentional? Or couldn't be intentionally done in the future.

While I agree if players fight, they should be suspended. The game officials could have possibly seen who started it and who should be the one(s) to sit on suspension. As a result a large number of kids will not get that chance due to the actions of a few.

It is customary for baseball officials to watch the handshake at the end of a game. One would think that a physical contact sport like football should have it done as well.

[JeffTheRef]

Originally posted by canuckrefguy

Careful with generalizations like that. I have a friend who works in the press, and he is an honest man, as are many who work in that profession.

Your statement is shallow and ignorant.

canuck . . .

[A Pennsylvania Coach]

So rather than dole out appropriate punishments to the teams for their state final brawl, here is the result for all of us:

This season, anytime there is to be a throw-in in front of either team's bench area, the official will, using his or her judgement, move the throw-in spot beyond the bench area, either nearer the endline or midcourt.

Seriously.

This got only slightly less uproar from the coaches at the interpretation meeting than the "defender with foot on sideline is blocking" rule.

[rainmaker]

Originally posted by Nevadaref
David Peeples could not comprehend why his season had ended.

His mother would not accept that it had.

Deborah Johnson filed a request for an injunction this morning against the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's decision to remove Cheyenne's football team from the playoffs.

The suit alleges that the NIAA's decision goes against the organization's own guidelines for due process rights to a hearing in the case.e decision. The league office finally took a stand on the side of sportsmanship only to be thwarted by some whiny parents and a judge. What is HS sports coming to?

To me, it's a parenting issue. The mother is so worried about her little boopsie getting his college scholarship that she doesn't see the person he's becoming. If this had been my brother, my dad would have said, "Son, to avoid suspicion, don't tie your shoes in the watermelon patch." David Peebles should not have tried to give the opponent a hug. He could have said a nice word quietly, and slapped hands or something less open to mis-interpretation. The mother needs to say, "Son, if you get a scholarship, I'll be very proud, but lots of good players don't get scholarships, and you'll just have to live with it." That's life.

[rockyroad]

I don't have any sympathy for this parent or her kid...now if the legal action was taken by a player and parents who were not involved in the fight, that would be different...why punish the entire team/program for something that some of (but not all) the players did? Seems like a pretty harsh penalty to me...suspend or kick off the kids who were involved in the fight, but not the entire team...same thing as if there is a fight in the lunchroom at school, and the principal suspends/expells everyone who was in there whether they were in the fight or not...doesn't seem right to me...