Illinois H.S. post-game brawl

[Rich]

Originally Posted by amusedofficial

Absolutely correct as to the players.

The controversy over officials standing by for a post-game handshake in Mass. was a lot of hooey perpetrated by officials who, unfortunately, also forget their place and are more interested in emulating their NBE and NCAA heroes, who run off the court after the horn, than in a simple act to promote sportsmanship in games involving kids.

As an excuse, they tried to say insurance wouldn't cover refs for the handshake, even though by its very terms it covers officials during the entire time they have jurisdiction, which, by rule, ends when they leave the visual confines. From what I hear from guys and gals from Mass with whom I work here in Live Free or Die land, standing and watching two groups of adolescents shake hands after an athletic contest has been spectacularly uneventful in all sports, not just hoops.

A question to which I don't have an answer, is whether this brawl would have happened if the officials were still on the court watching the handshake-- not because the officials would have been called on to stop it, but because their presence may have instilled the idea that the event was not "over" and thereby muted any inclination by players with a little too much AAU under their belts to "get physical."

There are parents and coaches and administrators on the court and/or nearby, but 2-3 people in stripes are the ones that should be there to provide a presence.

Complete and utter hooey. Thankfully, my years living in MA ended about 12 years ago and my number of handshakes watched remains at ZERO.