Referee Hurt In Fight at Big Rapids (MI) HS

[Bad Zebra]

Originally Posted by Adam

I agree. If a juvenile record is on the table, I just about guarantee you'd see an immediate virtual stop to fighting in the games.

Maybe...but guess who would be dragged in to court to testify about participants, retaliation, who started it, who threw the first punch..."What was your vantage point at the moment of impact?", "The other official on court at the time saw it differently". Lots of land mines when you start talking minors and criminal records.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

Maybe...but guess who would be dragged in to court to testify about participants, retaliation, who started it, who threw the first punch..."What was your vantage point at the moment of impact?", "The other official on court at the time saw it differently". Lots of land mines when you start talking minors and criminal records.

And lots of game films available to show to the court, or use before it ever makes it to a court room.

[JRutledge]

I do not think the courts want to get that deep involved in a sporting event. And it would take a lot of time over multiple events and stories to sort out. I get it if the action is ultra violent and there are other things other than a altercation that is on the court or field. But if it is just a fist fight and involving the participants directly in that game (no fans), I do not think that is a great thing to have as a policy. Courts do not want to deal with minor conflicts if possible, I doubt they want to bring up anything in court over an incident with many witnesses and versions of the same story. And with the video that we see and so much is hard to decipher, I doubt a District Attorney is going to want to take away time for a fight that did not occur in a bar or with alcohol and spend it on a situation like this where more time will be spent than most cases.

Peace

[luvhoops]

I feel that every home team should be required to film their games. The game in question for the OP had no game films.

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by luvhoops

I feel that every home team should be required to film their games. The game in question for the OP had no game films.

Schools in South Carolina don't have to film, but if you have a situation like this and don't have any film to show the SCHSL office, the officials' report is the only thing that will be used to determine what action will be taken. In a "he said/she said" scenario, the SCHSL will almost invariably be siding with the officials.