Clearing some things up about fights

There have been discussions over the last few days about the incident that occurred at Hunt High School last weekend. A lot of it has been centered around: "Who should have stopped it?" and "Why weren't the officials doing their job?"

Well, lets put that to rest right now.

No body should have had to stop the fight because it should have never happened. The student-athletes have to be held accountable for starting the fight. They are old enough to realize that fighting with one another will not get either team anywhere.

Once the fight broke out, the officials did their jobs. They took a step back, watched who was involved, and ejected them. The officials filled out their ejection reports after the game, and then sent them to the N.C. High School Athletic Association office in Chapel Hill - just like they're supposed to do.

The NCHSAA rules do not require officials to break up fights, in fact, they prohibit them from doing so.

Instead, school officials and law enforcement officers are supposed to work together to break up fights. Whether or not that is what happened at Hunt, no one seems to know.

The Coach

Randy Raper, the head football coach at Hunt, was in the stands watching the game. His daughter played in the game, and she was also the Hunt player involved in the fight.

Raper left the stands and went onto the field of play to break up the fight when it happened. As a result, the Gray's Creek player fell to the ground.

Yes, Raper is the head football coach, but no, he was not acting as a coach when the fight took place - he was acting as a spectator. He has been punished as such.

The NCHSAA Handbook clearly lays out consequences for spectators who break rules. Among those consequences is the option for the NCHSAA to ban spectators from NCHSAA sanctioned events for up to one year. Raper was banned for the remainder of the springs sports season.

The initial punishment was levied on Raper by the school. The NCHSAA affirmed the punishment, and Que Tucker told WRAL that more penalties could be handed down by the Association in the future. The penalties will not impact his football coaching.

In Conclusion...

Tucker gave some very good advice for people who are watching their kids play sports: "Just stay out of it."

Think what could have happened if there were some hot headed parents on the Gray's Creek side. They could have jumped the fence, started a fight with Raper, then other parents come out, the school officials get involved, and there's a full-blown brawl taking place. That is why the NCHSAA has these rules in place.

Spectators should NEVER intervene in a fight that is taking place on the field of play.