Girls Ejected from Game for Fighting - Is it their fault?

This morning, I read an article in the local newspaper about coaches and players being ejected from a basketball game for an "altercation...between players and coaches." At first, I was saddened to read that players got physical (not in a good sense) during the game resulting in several players being thrown out of the game as well as the coaches from both teams. As I read on, though, I was sympathetic to their situation. In November, I attended a panel discussion at New York University, entitled, Head Injuries in Sports: Care, Conflict & Controversy. While much of the discussion centered around professional sports, I reflected on my experiences as a parent and as a coach. The popularity of youth and high school sports has increased tremendously in recent years. As new sports are added at these levels, there is a definite lack of experienced coaches and referees. This causes a perfect storm for injury for players involved. Emotion runs high during a normal competition and when someone feels consistently pushed or fouled, even the most level headed players and coaches start to lose their cool. A few years ago, I had to ask a referee at a girls lacrosse match to please make the calls before the girls killed each other. Of course, the discipline is placed on the coaches as well as the referees but not all coaches think alike. I digress. This is not about injury but sportsmanship and competitiveness. Around here, basketball is not a new sport and I would expect that generally, the referees and coaches have years of experience. I was not at that game, but I know that I always like to see the referees set the tone at the beginning of a game/match/set by making tight calls. And coaches need to know when to take a player out to settle them down. If the players are wrong, I agree that they should pay the price. In this case, if it is true that one of the ejected players was only trying to pull her teammate out of the melee, I hope that the team wins their appeal and the team is able to advance to the state playoffs. Maybe without their other teammate and coach. Either way, a lesson is learned. Which is what sports are about, right?

http://www.njherald.com/story/16681647/2012/02/05/kittatinny-girls-may-miss-tourney