Ruling on player fan interaction.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by frezer11

If the scenario in the OP ever happened during one of my games (knock on wood...) I think I would have to exercise this option. If it's a fan in the stands heckling, probably not, the player needs to get over it. But a fan who physically initiates an altercation is a little bit different scenario.

I don't want to be the guy on the forum who is always suggesting a forfeit, I know I brought that up in a recent thread, but I think it's a legitimate discussion for the sake of player safety here, or more likely suspending the game until another time. We all remember the "Malice at the Palace," and that game's final seconds were called off after the incident, and I think rightly so. Of course that was a 15 point game with only 45 seconds left, so a little bit different, but I'd have to be pretty certain that player safety was not an issue to continue this game at this time.

Heckling has no place in high school sports. That fan needs to be removed, and no, I'm not calling a technical. Just because I can does not mean I should.

Next, I've got nothing on the initial take-down, but the follow up counseling from #9 warrants a flagrant.

Finally, if player safety is a concern, I'm going to clear the stands before I'll suspend a game. Actually, I'd probably give GM the choice and make sure I had an armed police escort to my car after the game.