In one of the most out-of-control states in the country, Illinois, the Section 2A Final has gone under Illinois High School Association review. Harrisburg High defeated South Holland Seton Academy 50-44.
Several incidents marred the game:
- Numerous N-word racial slurs are accused of the Harrisburg team, so many, in fact, that the referees ceased hearing of the complaints of South Holland Seton.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, this is the second time in a month such racist comments were being accused of being hurled by Harrisburg High students. A former black student, Roman Moore, fled the school and filed a Federal lawsuit against the Harrisburg School District (which has still not been received, apparently) for having his name put with a noose around it in the school's locker room.
- With 2:05 to go in the first half of the game, Mark Weems Jr., the best player on SHS, and already on one technical foul for complaining to the officials in the half, makes contact with one of the officials, gets his second technical, and is tossed. SHS was up by 8 at the time, and lost by 6 by the end of the game.
- An end of the game that should not have occurred, in my honest opinion, and nearly didn't! At halftime, the IHSA threatened an unprecedented step that, once they were notified by SHS of the racial slur allegations, they should have followed through on: They threatened to cancel the state championship game! The game, even by their standards, was completely out of control:
"(We) expressed our concerns to the schools about what had occurred in
the first half, including three technical fouls [a Harrisburg player also got a T for backtalk to the refs], a player ejection and a
bench warning [the Harrisburg bench]," IHSA executive director Marty Hickman told the Tribune.
"At that time, Seton Academy also expressed concerns over the use of
racial slurs. The onus was put on the coaches to provide the necessary
leadership to change the tenor of the game. We also made it very clear
that if things did not change, we would take the unprecedented step of
canceling the game."
- SHS assistant Art Kimber said the referees failed to follow up on the directive, and the game continued to deteriorate! This statement forced the IHSA to investigate the game fully.
- Finally, at the end of the game, in an act seen as unsportsmanlike (but this layman will state was probably the only way the entire building did not erupt into a riot!!), SHS head coach Brandon Thomas pulled his team from the floor after Harrisburg's victory and refused to take part in the trophy ceremony. He has, in effect, been suspended as the coach (he is technically "on leave", but let's not fool ourselves!!) while the school district and the IHSA investigate.
WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU WAITING FOR, AN EVENING-NEWS LEVEL RIOT??
That game, at MAXIMUM, should have been called at the end of the half, especially after the allegations were on the table from the SHS team and players.
The IHSA is extremely fortunate the entire building did not disintegrate like has been seen in some playoff games in places like New York City, where the entire gym basically falls victim to a riot.
The title should lay vacant, if it can be proven that Harrisburg did utter the slurs. SHS has no claim to the title after the contact with an official on the part of Weems.
But if this is the kind of thing which "being a man" and sports are degenerating to, oh boy...
EDIT 4/3/13: A "statement" condemning the actions of the teams was made on the Illinois High School Assocation's website, but no further action is expected.
