West Virginia AAA football championship to be decided in court

[WVRed]

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/231661-...ootball-ruling

For those who haven't been following this, a fight broke out during South Charleston's quarterfinal matchup in the playoffs and four players were to be suspended for the following game. The school filed suit against the WVSSAC and an injunction was issued, and South Charleston kept their four players and defeated Brooke County to play in the championship game in Wheeling on Saturday.

Brooke County has now filed suit and a judge has ruled that the championship game cannot be played until a state hearing takes place.

Three possible scenarios could play out:

1. South Charleston is allowed to keep their players and the one game suspension takes effect on another extra curricular activity such as basketball or baseball, meaning they are off the hook.

2. The players are suspended in which they would miss the championship game against Martinsburg

3. South Charleston would have to forfeit their win against Brooke which would send Brooke to the state championship in Wheeling.

Either way, this is an absolute mess. Curious to hear what my fellow West Virginians have to say (among others )

[Yachtzee]

I think the honorable thing would have been for the school to suspend the kids from the next game on its own. It seems they're trying to argue that the suspensions are invalid because of a technicality.

[Captain13]

As a HS official, according to NFHS rules, my jurisdiction ends at the end of the game. Once the Referee hold the ball over his head, my job is done. I'm not writing any reports or sticking my nose into anything. All I'm worried about is getting my fellow officials and myself off the field as quickly and safely as possible. The state association can do what they want, but I can't eject a kid after the game.

[Homer Bailey]

South Charleston should be allowed to do whatever they want....

And the fact that this is where I lived until I was 6 and where my parents lived for 35 years has nothing to do with it

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

I think the honorable thing would have been for the school to suspend the kids from the next game on its own. It seems they're trying to argue that the suspensions are invalid because of a technicality.

Agreed. Having lived in the state for seven years and following high school sports in the area, it would be fair to compare Charleston with New York in terms of environment, at least on a state level. Just like the Jets/Giants or Yankees/Mets, Charleston teams have a decided home field advantage that includes refs.

Of course, the honorable thing to do would have been to suspend the players against Brooke, but taking it before a state judge who is going to be in need of votes come election time is even better.

This is, after all, where OJ Mayo was ejected after the infamous "ref flop"

YouTube - The OJ Mayo Incident Revisited--Streaming Live

Originally Posted by Captain13

As a HS official, according to NFHS rules, my jurisdiction ends at the end of the game. Once the Referee hold the ball over his head, my job is done. I'm not writing any reports or sticking my nose into anything. All I'm worried about is getting my fellow officials and myself off the field as quickly and safely as possible. The state association can do what they want, but I can't eject a kid after the game.

I thought I had read that the final seconds was when the fight took place, but I went back and read that it was indeed after the game.

I did find something that pretty much sums it up:

In Hooterville there is Petticoat Junction
In Knoxville there is Malfunction Junction
In Schoolhouse Rock there is Conjunction Junction
In West Virginia there is Injunction Junction.

[reds1869]

I think the whole thing is a mess. Clearly the right thing to do is just cancel the whole thing and award the state title to Parkersburg.

This could all have been avoided if SC had done the right thing to begin with!

[WVRed]

Looks like a decision has been reached:

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/231806-...-of-title-game

The state court ruled that judges had no business interfering with the WVSSAC so the injunction was null and void. As a result, South Charleston forfeits their win against Brooke and now Brooke will play Martinsburg on Saturday in Wheeling.

If South Charleston would have just done the honorable thing, they could have still won against Brooke and have been playing for the state championship. Instead, they have embarrassed themself in the eyes of the rest of the state and now have to forfeit their spot in the championship.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by WVRed

If South Charleston would have just done the honorable thing, they could have still won against Brooke and have been playing for the state championship. Instead, they have embarrassed themself in the eyes of the rest of the state and now have to forfeit their spot in the championship.

Amen. And what do they teach the youth of society (the ones they educate 5 days/week)? That it is okay to fight and hurt other people... b/c we got your back in the court system to allow you to play sports? Unbelievable and shameful. Good for the state court for doing the RIGHT THING. Someone oughta get that other judge off his bench before he makes another screwed-up ruling that ruins a person's life.

[Boston Red]

Has Brooke County been practicing since losing the semifinal?

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by WVRed

Looks like a decision has been reached:

http://www.wvrecord.com/news/231806-...-of-title-game

The state court ruled that judges had no business interfering with the WVSSAC so the injunction was null and void. As a result, South Charleston forfeits their win against Brooke and now Brooke will play Martinsburg on Saturday in Wheeling.

If South Charleston would have just done the honorable thing, they could have still won against Brooke and have been playing for the state championship. Instead, they have embarrassed themself in the eyes of the rest of the state and now have to forfeit their spot in the championship.

Would South Charleston have won without the four players who were suspended? South Charleston defeated Brooke 29-28. Unless the four players were bench warmers I assume they contributed to the narrow victory.

[WVRed]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

Has Brooke County been practicing since losing the semifinal?

Watched WSAZ last night and they said that Brooke had been practicing.

Originally Posted by RedsBaron

Would South Charleston have won without the four players who were susopended? South Charleston defeated Brooke 29-28. Unless the four players were bench warmers I assume they contributed to the narrow victory.

True, but its something that we will never know.