Worst thing you ever saw happen in a game?

[Mark Padgett]

With the season winding down, we have fewer "rules posts" so I thought I'd start this thread. At our season ending pizza party last week, one of the guys asked some of us what was the worst thing we ever saw happen at a game. I told him that about 10 years ago at an 8th grade boys rec game, a coach slapped a player right across the face as the player came to his bench!

Apparently, the player was the coach's son and the coach was upset that the kid wasn't listening to his instructions out on the court. Obviously, I tossed the guy immediately. He protested, saying it was his son (as if that made it OK). I told him I didn't care if it was his great-grandfather, any physical violence against any player would not be tolerated regardless of the situation. I reported it to our Board and they kicked him out for the season (3 more games). Since this was his youngest kid, he wasn't going to coach anymore so we didn't have to deal with upcoming years (I'm sure we would have suspended him permanently).

When this happened, there was about two minutes to go in the game and the kid sat on the bench for that time. When the game was over, I made sure another parent on that team took him out with the promise that if the dad wasn't outside, they would take him home. I don't know what happened after that. I do know his mom wasn't at the game.

Anybody have anything like this happen at one of your games?

[rockyroad]

Worst thing at a game was when a HS player landed on someone's foot and broke his ankle/lower leg - sounded like a gunshot went off! Kid screamed and crumpled to the floor. Grabbed his leg and his foot was pointing backwards from the rest of his leg. I almost threw up right there.

[jdw3018]

Like rocky, the worst thing I've ever seen was an obviously broken leg (both fibula and tibia).

Can't say I have anything that comes close to Mark's from a "conduct" standpoint.

[crazy voyager]

so do I...

[SWMOzebra]

Just a few weeks ago, 6th grade competitive (as if the "competitive" part means anything to anyone but the coaches): 59.6 secs left in the game and fast break where I become the trail. There's 1 defender (B1) matching the dribbler (A1) stride for stride.

Both players go straight up, but there's definitely some contact by the defender on the arm of A1. My P has the whistle as the shooter goes down hard to the floor and then screams. My P is turning to report the foul, so I run to the downed player...and his left knee is about the size of a cantalope when I kneel down next to him. Completely dislocated. The coach is hollering for an intentional and my P is trying to calm him down while I flag the boys' parents out of the stands.

Suddenly, parents of team A are alternating screaming at parents of team B for "playing dirty" and my P and I for letting the game get out of hand. Parents of team B are screaming back that it was just "good" foul. A1 is screaming because he's in pain. It was an Excedrin 3 night all around.

I've broken some bones in my time, but I have never seen something swell up so big and ugly as fast as this dislocated knee.

[Dan_ref]

Working a girl's HS game a long time ago. I was T, girl next to me just suddenly crumbled to the floor, I couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying. Turns out she was crying, learned later she tore an ACL. I can not imagine what caused that.

The sad part was it took 20 minutes for the ambulance to show up and no one got the girl up off the floor so we could continue the game... sigh...

[just another ref]

Years ago in a boys jh game, there was a scramble for a loose ball and a kid slipped and fell on his back. It didn't appear to be a big deal. The ball bounced several feet away and my attention followed. A couple of seconds later I heard the kid on the floor scream, and looked around to see his coach running out on the floor. (no, we didn't T him up) When I looked back at the kid on the floor I saw a pool of blood spreading out from the back of his head. It turned out to be a rather innocent looking little cut, just happened to be in the right spot to bleed A LOT. As I recall, the kid said later that it didn't even hurt much, but he was, understandably, unnerved at the sight of that much of his own blood.

[kmw]

A1 and B1 running down court in fast break situation. A1 & B1 get tangled up and A1 does a somersault and splits her head open above the eyebrow. So much blood, ugh. Squad is called because of all the blood and she needed something like 40 stitches to close the wound. Gross!

[Coltdoggs]

In HS I was undercut while in the air going to the rim hard....I had a pretty good vertical back then...about 33" and my knees hit the kid right in the chest and it made me top heavy and I came down face first and landed chin first into the floor. Busted open my chin a little wider and about as deep as a quarter....required about 10 stitches...there was blood everywhere....

In College in a pick-up game a dude took off for a dunk on a fast break and when he planted it sounded like a gunshot followed by screaming and he went to the floor like a 50' redwood tree going down....he basically put his knee on backwards when he planted to take off....It was a little scary...IIRC, he tore up just about every major ligament!

[rainmaker]

Girls' JV. Dribbler has a clear path to an easy lay-up. Defender is right behind dribbler. As the dribbler goes up for the shot, defender reaches over the top to try to block the shot (not a real high level game!). She brings the arm down hard, whacking the shooter hard on the head. The angle was just wrong and the shooter's head snapped back, and she went down like a ton of bricks, and whacked her head on the floor as she fell. It took half an hour for the ambulance to get there, and she went out on a backboard. It was awful.

Amazingly, in the long run she was okay. Whiplash and a concussion, but nothing really serious.

We didn't call it intentional or flagrant. It was just a really stupid pointless foul. Oh, and the substitute shot the FT's.

[JugglingReferee]

Did a college game about 7 years ago and my P called an INT on a foul where the shooter (on a breakaway) went down hard and chipped a tooth. Other than that, had a broken wrist once. Not much else.

In football, I have had a couple of broken ankles, including one on the first scrimmage play in a provincial final.

[Mark Padgett]

Actually, the worst thing that ever happened to me in regards to a game was when I was leaving the gym and walking down the front door steps of the school. I was talking with my partner and somehow missed a step. I came down kind of twisted and dislocated my kneecap. My left leg was in a cast up to almost my hip for six weeks. This was about 15 years ago. I still make sure I always hold the handrail going down steps, even in front of my house.

Got good meds for it, though.

[oc]

HS Girl while getting ready to take a free-throw has a grand mal seizure. Ambulance had to take her to the hospital.

[Stat-Man]

Here are my two worst moments from games I've been at. both came at what as then an annul pro-am basketball tournament, but different years.

(1) A guy went up for a dunk and his timing was off. He ended up falling to the floor and breaking ribs. Game was suspended until he was carried away on a stretcher.

(2) In a game involving my college and a team made of local pros, one of the guys from my alma mater's team took a hard elbow to the face and was bleeding profusely. The sight of that much blood almost made me pass out at the scorers table, but somehow I kept enough consciousness not to miss any action.

[eyezen]

My worst was just this year in my last college game of my season.

Player misses a driving layup, teammate goes to follow and comes up short because the aforementioned player was still in the way and got his hand caught in the net and his momentum swung him completely feet above head and he landed squarely on his shoulder, back and head.

In a short while he started having seizures, the training staff did an excellent job of keeping him calm, holding his head steady and putting pressure on his chest, I assume to help regulate his breathing. The ambulance crew came and carted him off.