HUNTER DWORACZYK [email protected]
As local basketball teams begin to enter district play, sportsmanship is on the minds of several athletic directors in the area.
The conversation revolves around the new policy from Texas Association of Sports Officials that allows the organization to refuse to officiate games within the district after three incidents where spectators have been removed from contests at the request of officials.
Hutto Independent School District Athletic Director Brad LaPlante sent a letter to Hutto parents, students and fans Dec. 1 reminding them to be classy when watching games.
In the letter, the AD said that Hutto ISD game administrators have the ability to remove spectators from the game and ban them from future games.
“Questioning calls by officials, officiating from the stands or verbally
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Questioning calls by officials, officiating from the stands or verbally expressing dissatisfaction to the officials will not be tolerated by Hutto ISD.”
- Brad LaPlante, Hutto Independent School District athletic director
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With this in place, it is more reading the temperament of the officials in my eyes.”
- Aaron Vanecek, Thrall Independent School District athletic director expressing dissatisfaction to the officials will not be tolerated by Hutto ISD, the UIL or the Officials Association,” LaPlante said in the letter.
Both Granger Independent School District and Thrall Independent School District released similar messages recently.
Granger ISD AD Stephen Brosch said it is important for fans, coaches and players to exhibit sportsmanship during games since the competitors are still in high school.
“High school sports is unlike any sporting world that we’re all passionate and fans of,” Brosch said. “It’s not college athletics, it’s not professional athletics. The high school side of things, those games and competitions are the classrooms for our student athletes. The expectations for how you handle those settings have to be productive for those kids.”
He also said it is important for him to form his athletes into good, ethical people who represent Granger in a positive way.
Brosch said in his letter that incidents across Texas are at an all-time high.
Meanwhile, he said there is a massive shortage of referees at the high school level for every sport.
“We know that they are officials that are going to make judgment decisions that not only are we not going to agree with as coaches but you’re not going to agree with as fans,” Brosch said. “But we can’t let that take away from the core purpose of it being an athletic classroom.”
Thrall ISD AD Aaron Vanecek said the Tigers’ program typically has a good relationship with referees who don’t mind working at their games.
He said smaller schools like Thrall aren’t always the first choice for officials, so he thinks it’s important to keep the frequent referees happy.
While Vanecek said he doesn’t think Thrall will get to a point where it has to worry about a third strike, he wants spectators to be mindful of the rules and said he takes the referee’s preferences in mind when determining what a spectator can do before a removal is required.
“If a fan does something so egregious that my immediate reaction is that it’s completely unacceptable, then yes I’ll remove them,” Vanecek said. “With this in place, it is more reading the temperament of the officials in my eyes and making sure we are protecting them and that they are comfortable.”
Vanecek added that basketball is the sport that typically brings the most incidents with officials because spectators are close to the court and a lot of fouls are subjective.
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High school sports is unlike any sporting world that we’re all passionate and fans of.”
-Stephen Brosch, Granger Independent School District athletic director
