Czar talks Flagrant Fouls Vid

So a new viral video is out on YouTube about some nasty fouls in a high school game in Washington just before the holidays (Flagrant Fouls Video). Take a look at it and gather your thoughts.  Here are some things that struck me.

• Yes the refs are horrid, but you already knew that.
• I hear lots of fans yelling but nothing from the coaches.
• For the kids getting hacked, where are their teammates to defend them?
• For the team committing the fouls, where's the leadership on the floor from teammates?
• Those are the types of fouls that start brawls in the NBA.  There's a line between playing hard and plays that do nothing but risk injury.  Thankfully nothing broke out.
• Along those lines, if I'm the coach of the other team, I would have strongly considered pulling my team off the floor.
• Lots of publicity on the refs and the kids.  Where is the accountability for the head coach for not pulling those kids out of the game for those fouls?

Fox 9's Dawn Mitchell used this in her sports segment this evening.  She made a point of mentioning the names of the kids.  Seems like that strongly implies "That's who the thug is!".  In my opinion, that's taking a personal level shot at the kids which is an unspoken No No in our business (those of you who read my Adrian Wackett tirade in the early days of this blog correctly held me accountable for that).  Its a fine line between saying that was a dirty play and that's a dirty player.  Were the names of the kids that important to making the story?  Was it really necessary?  If so, then why not include these names first?

• Coach of the team with the kids committing the fouls.
• The AD for that coach.
• Conference Commissioner for that league to see if any action will be taken
• The names of the officials (which was the whole point of the video, to point out the officiating)
• The director of the officials association that those officials are in
• The director of officials for the state

Those folks are all adults who can and should be held accountable.  My actions would be to see that the AD disciplines the coach and the players.  The Conference Commissioner should be happy with that punishment and impose more if too lenient.  The officials should be reviewed by their superiors as well and held accountable.