Team T'd for Wearing Pink
 

Opposing High School Gets Technical, Complains About Pink-Tinged Uniforms For Charity | The Big Lead

Home team wore pink. Didn't get it approved. Opposing team's AD told his team's coach at halftime. T.

I Learned A Lot About Sportsmanship That Evening ...
 

As a fourteen year old, I played on a terrible baseball team. There was also another team in the league that was just as bad as us. We finally played each other, both teams winless. Previous to this game there had been a few rainouts. We're the home team. Our best pitcher, Gary Rispoli, throws the first pitch of the game down the middle. Strike.

I'm in centerfield. I see the opposing coach, Mr. Atkinson, come running out of his dugout to speak to the umpire, with a rulebook in his hand. Our coach joins the group, and after a few minutes, he calls us all into the dugout. We forfeited, the umpire is leaving, and we're all going home. Seems that there was some type of innings pitched limit rule, or a pitcher "rest period" rule, that was broken. The rainouts had confused our coach.

Coach Atkinson saw Gary warming up, saw his name listed as a pitcher on the batting order, and never said anything to anybody. He just waited for that first pitch, and then sprang from his dugout to singlehandedly win his first game of the year. Man, he must have been so proud of himself. I bet that that ice cream that he bought for his team after "they won the game" tasted real good.

We were fourteen years old. We didn't care that much about winning, and losing. We just wanted to play baseball that evening. That a**hole Atkinson ruined it for us.

That AD is a complete idiot!

Mr. Integrity
 

Fine Mr. Hotshot. Illegal uniforms are penalized when discovered. Everyone in the building discovered the pink at the opening tip, with the exception of your AD who discovered later in the first half. Even if failing to award the merited free throws is correctable, it's too late. Sit down.

The team that decided it needed two shots and the ball to start the second half to maintain the integrity of the game won by 15 and is 16-3.

This is a case of "You can be right and be dead at the same time." I agree it is a violation of the rules, but does this really get in the way of the spirit of the rule? The school should have received approval first or at the very least talked to the officials before the contest to not make them the bad guys.

Peace

Jeff:

I agree with you 100%, but there is a bigger problem here and that is the attitude of the Visitor's AD and HC.

I am going be honest and state for the record that I know of only one person in my extended (wife's and my sides) family who had breast cancer and she was on my maternal grandmother's side of the family.

BUT, that is where the AD and HC's attitude needs to be examined. I played basketball in a championship program in high school, but the desire to win would never had been allowed to go down the dark path that these two poor excuses of male half of the human race took.

I have to get ready to leave for a game. Have a good one everybody.

MTD, Sr.

I hold the AD at fault, and NOT the officials. It's certainly not beyond the realm of possibility that had the officials not enforced the rule, and then the AD contacted the state, that the officials would have been reprimanded.

I just read this article and came here to see if anyone posted on the news. I am embarrassed for this coach and AD. I recently received my coaches certification and the classes all stressed "student centered" teaching and Sportsmanship. You are a teacher and mentor to the kids you coach. You coach/teach by example. What a horrible example these 2 displayed. Let's just hope that by this story going mainstream more money will be raised towards their charity...

Would anybody say to the shooting player, "Hey, this technical is a bunch of bologna, but we have to enforce it. Do you want to show some good sportsmanship and miss these two free throws and then give the ball to the other team on your inbounds pass?"

That would be classy and maybe make the AD and HC look like a$$es. Maybe everyone would learn an important lesson.

Not saying it is the right thing to do but a third option. Thoughts?

Hell no

Nah. If the offended team wants to be sporting about it, they can figure it out themselves.

What are you a soccer official? :eek:

MTD, Sr.

Not as an official. But when I coached high school there was a game where the officials called one of the worst technical fouls I had and still have witnessed. I told the officials I didn't care and they didn't have to penalize. It had something to do with a stupid uniform rule.

I told my shooter to miss the shots. I had to give the kids a lesson on honor and integrity after that game as they were all whining about that decision of mine. We lost the game by 4.

Careful....:D

No but I play soccer. Can't say I have ever seen it in basketball. I wish there was more of it though when players knew the refs got the wrong call. Or for injuries. Yeah a team can try and score four on five but that isn't all that sporting. Just stop the attack to the basket and take the ball out once the officials stop the clock.

In soccer, no team is going to give away a free kick/throw-in if the officials get it wrong. When was the last time you saw a team intentionally miss a P.K. because they knew the C.R. got it wrong? Heck soccer players are the most notorious athletes in regards to trying to fool the officials by diving at the slightest bit of contact.

And you can't expect players on a court to stop play when they have an advantage...most of the time they wouldn't even know if they have that advantage because they're quicker than the other team or a player was injured...once someone was able to recognize it, it would probably mean that they've pulled the ball out, and by rule we're blowing the play dead.

Everyone was wrong...
 

First off, let me preface by saying that I know the crew that worked this game, I work with a couple of them all the time here in Omaha... I feel terrible because their hands were tied...BUT, when we ask coaches before the game if their players are properly equipped, we expect to get an honest answer.

All the Burke coach had to do during a pregame conference was say hey, we've got this fundraiser, our girls are wearing light pink unis, is that a problem? I'd turn to the other coach, and ask him/her if it was an issue... 10 times out of 10 they'd say no, and we'd be covered.

Is the Columbus AD in the wrong when it comes to the 'spirit' of the rule--absolutely. You know who's the 'most' wrong--the Omaha World-Herald, for making a huge story out of it (and then covering their own *** and donating $1000 to Make-a-Wish)

The other coach saying it's okay really doesn't change anything. Whether it's okay with him or not, my thought is that I simply wouldn't call a T in this situation and let the chips fall where they may.

Yeah you are probably right on the professional level. It is not such a big deal to us here just playing for rec. OK, you win. Just saying, it would be nice if there was more honesty/sportsmanship though. "No ref, i touched it last."

I think you've been seen that one Values commercial one too many times. ;)

Did you notice the "ref' calls it "blue" ball?

This is a direct to the head coach, correct?

No, but soccer players do routinely put the ball out of play so injured players can be seen to. Then, the team with the restart will play the ball back to the team who had the injured player defensive third and allow that team to start possession from there 95% of the time. If this doesn't happen, you usually have a very tense situation to try to defuse. It's one of the strongest unwritten rules of any sport I know.

That's the example that was being referenced.

I know that...hence why I referred to why in basketball, that practice would be unrealistic and unnecessary (under NFHS and NCAA rules).

This brings back memories and a few teary eyes as well. I was coaching a 6th grade team in a summer tournament playing a 6th/7th grade tournament. Needless to say we were getting run out of the gym. Other team's coach had a son that, without trying to sound mean, had something wrong with him. Very small for his age and mentally challenged in some respect. He decided to let him play near the end of the game and when they realized he had not added to the book, a technical was called. After noticing a couple of my kids talking to the refs and hoping that they were not causing trouble, the lead ref came to me and said that my kids had asked if they could let the kid on the other team shoot OUR technical free throws. He informed me that he had no idea what the ruling on that was (these were just college kids) and asked if I cared. After telling him that I ABSOLUTELY didn't have a problem with it, I proceeded to watch 9 out of 10 kids on the floor spend the remaining 3 minutes running plays in cooperation trying to get the other to score. It all ended with about 10 seconds to go when one of the other teams kids picked him up so he could reach. It amazes me to this day how a gym filled with only about 100 spectators could be so LOUD. Keep in mind that this was a pretty competitive tourney that we had driven 4 hours to get to.

These kids, now Seniors in HS still talk about it to this day. One common experience that they will always remember and probably the proudest day of my father/coaching life.

This post probably doesn't belong here but it took me back so I thought I would share.

I don't think it needs to be unrealistic (unless you think basketball players and coaches are that much more ruthless than their soccer counterparts). As to necessity, what other choice does a coach who doesn't want to "win that way" have? He can't decline the penalty as if it's football.

This story is making news all across the country. I agree with those who say the visiting AD/Head Coach were @$$es for forcing the officials' hand in calling the T, the real blame falls on the AD/Head Coach of the home team for not getting the waiver from NFHS. They all know the rule regarding illegal uniforms. If the had time to have the uniforms made and ordered, they had time to get the waiver and this would have been a non-issue. If NFHS had said "no" to the waiver, they could have made a story out of that (How embarrassing that would be for NFHS?).The responsible adults did not handle their responsibilities. They are the ones who let the kids down. Once again, the visiting AD/HC were jerks about it, but put the blame were it should be ... home HC/AD.

They would have to get an exemption from the state association rather than NFHS.

Ok, same here in our state. Just seems like that would have made more sense than what happened.

That commercial irritates my wife so badly every time it comes on. Hilarious.