I've been spending way too much time arguing with "Facebook Referees" about the events, mostly defending the officials when posters complained they didn't dive in and break up the fights. I know one Refstriper has a lot of good insight, but I suspect he's going to stay on the sidelines ... as he probably should. Here's what I posted elsewhere:
As a former Georgia official, I've been following the case rather closely, and there's some assumptions here that need to be cleared up:
This took place during a playoff game where Gainesville was ahead of Brunswick 42-0. A Brunswick player initiated the brawl, literally ripping a helmet off a Gainesville player and striking him repeatedly. During the ensuing fight, a number of players on the field participated, and players from both sidelines rushed the field, some joining in, some not. Officials on the field wrote down numbers and ejected the players they were able to identify during the game.
After the game, GHSA reviewed game film and identified 39 players from Gainesville (the winning team) and 41 players from Brunswick and ruled that the Gainesville players were suspended for the next playoff game. They ruled the suspended Brunswick players would be suspended during the first game of next season, and Brunswick would be banned from postseason play in 2026. . Both schools were fined $5,000.
Gainesville, which was to play a playoff game the following Friday, filed with the GHSA for an appeal and presented film evidence to try and overturn the suspensions. After hearing the appeal, GHSA ruled that based on the evidence provided by the school, four players previously suspended could be reinstated for the Friday game. Gainesville, not happy that all the players weren't allowed to fight and play the next week, decided to go the legal route and were able to find a local judge who ruled that all the players should be allowed to play.
GHSA decided that to hopefully prevent the precedent of all high school sports decisions now being decided by courts, it would appeal the ruling, noting that since the initial ruling came down at 3pm on the day before the Thanksgiving holidays when courts were closed, it would suspend the scheduled playoff game until the case was resolved (which given the courts docket could be in 6 months or more).
Then, today, GHSA announced that the Gainesville-Hughes playoff game would be played this Friday, and the schedule would be adjusted to accommodate the delay. It appears that why it still plans to appeal the ruling, it's going to back down and let the 35 remaining players participate Friday.
Three points: One, previous posters are correct. Officials on the field only eject players for their actions during the game. Any rules about what happens after the game ends, or subsequent games, is a decision for the state athletics authority, not officials. Once we leave the field and file our reports, our hands are washed of the issue.
Two, the case creates a number of troubling trends. Gainesvilles coaches and the entire community have created an environment where they've convinced their players that they're victims, not participants and perpetrators. By rule, they fought. They left the benches. They're *supposed* to be ejected and sit out one week. But they don't see it anymore. "Let them Play" signs litter Gainesville.
Three, the other trend is one we're seeing way too often. Coaches, fans, players aren't happy with the rules of the game, so they go outside of the playing field and try and drag judges and courts into giving them a ruling they want. If it continues, the officials already tired of fans with iPhone cameras and Facebook accounts second-guessing them will now have judges and juries joining the fray. The exodus of officials will accelerate.
As Fred Thompson said in The Hunt for Red October, "Nothing good will come of this, and we'll be lucky to live through it."
