Parents Question Conference Assignment After Ugly Game
Story from staff reports. File photo by Hal Goodtree.
Cary, NC – Playing tough is one thing. But an excessively hostile atmosphere at a game in Person County last week is causing some parents to ask the NCHSAA to take another look at a plan that reassigns Panther Creek and Green Hope to the PAC 6 Conference.
More Than a Rough Game
Spectators described the game between Green Hope and Person High in Roxboro as more than hard play.
This from Twitter via JMBPreps:
Person County fans unanimously booing Green Hope’s cheerleaders. Folks, this is a hostile environment.
Not impressed w/the Person fans as they boo another GH cheerleader. She’s just doing flips guys. Chill out.
Things getting classless in Roxboro. Rockets player throws elbow on a screen to Flemmings, gets T’d up.
From the parent of a player:
One of their players stuck his foot out to trip one of our cheerleaders when she was back flipping on the court, they intimidated the referees who were afraid to call anything against them. We had 4 pretty good injuries – 2 concussions, split chin and a possible broken nose for which NONE had fouls called on them.
From the parent of a student:
[My son] goes to many of the football & basketball games, both home & away. I have always felt safe with him going to these events. I would NOT have had that same good feeling sending him off to root for the Falcons at these other schools that we will soon be in conference with.
The car of a GH parent was vandalized in Roxboro:
Upon arriving in Roxboro, after our hour and a half drive, we ran into Bojangles (literally 2 minutes from the school) for a drink in our Green Hope shirts and in the 5 minutes we were in there somebody drew on my white car in “Rocket” blue permanent marker. [Editor’s Note: Person High is home to the Rockets].
In the end, the Green Hope boys lost to Person High.
Parents Question Conference Assignment
Now Green Hope parents are questioning the reassignment to the Durham Conference. Panther Creek is affected as well.
GHHS Booster parents are reaching out to PCHS parents, school officials and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to reconsider the change.
Traditional Rivalries in Tri-9
Parents who wish to comment on the plan must do so by February 28, 2012, according to information on the GH Booster Club’s Yahoo Group.
The focus is on preserving traditional rivalries between Green Hope and Panther Creek with Cary High, Apex, Athens Drive, Middle Creek and the other Tri-9 schools.
If you have a opinion, you can write to Wake County Superintendent of Schools Tony Tata or NCHSSA Commissioner Davis Whitfield.
As a NCAA baseball coach, former professional player and instructor, it is the coaches and officials that control the game. Unfortunately, the high school players emulate what they see in the pro games where there has been little restraint in hot dogging, taunting and dirty hits…If one of our players pulled any of that, he was pulled out of the game by us…I wasn’t at the game but it sounds like nobody had the guts to stop it probably because it was a play-off game.
Green Hope parents won’t like this comment, but didn’t a Green Hope female basketball player initiate an altercation last Sat. and is being sanctioned? Sports is rough and school spirit can sometimes get out of hand. All teams should be respectful of one another regardless of socioeconomic status of the school. ALL H.S. leaders need to convey a message that poor sportsmanship reflects badly on their school. As the parent of an Apex High varsity player, I’ve seen some ugliness and lack of respect from NC schools where resources certainly weren’t lacking. This is a subject for the coaches to address with their players and respective principals and for those principals to remind their entire student body that there will be consequences for inappropriate behavior. The answer isn’t isolation.
To D White – it would be nice if you could try to be part of the solution instead of adding to the issue at hand. Your rant against the students, athletes, and families of Cary does nothing to help ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again. The bitterness you’re showing and the last five sentences of your post are completely uncalled for. They show an alarming sense of anger and contempt against the citizens of Cary – one can only hope that you and the parents of the kids at Person are not passing these feelings of contempt along to their children. Unfortunately, I don’t find much in the way of hope for that.
Did the Holier-than-thou fans of Green Hope happen to not see the cheap fouls committed by their players? Your star was trash-talking to the opposing coach and there was no tech called. Your guy basically shoved a Person player before the favor was returned. If 2 of your players did actually receive concussions, you should fire your coach because both returned to the game almost immediately. Let’s not forget the cheap fouls by your designated thug at the end of the game. There was no attempt to make a play on the ball-just the other player’s head. I think it was your #22. As for the booing of the cheerleaders and vandalism, those were classless and unfortunate. Please don’t try to get anyone to believe this doesn’t happen in Cary. Start teaching your kids to act like the perfect people you think they are instead of letting them think their actions are ok because of your income or perceived status because of where they live. I really don’t blame you for not wanting to be in this league. You were beaten by 18 wit Flemming scoring 27. It would be really embarrassing next year when you’d be lucky to score 20 points total. Find an easy conference so your uptight fans can relax.
The Green Hope Booster Club has an online petition with over 850 signatures that was started today.
link here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/nchsaa-keep-green-hope-and-panther-creek-in-the-tri-9-conference?ue=dun#comment-2224719
Tami you raise an excellent question. These schools already have those in place as business as usual. Here in Cary However, we are not used to more than a resource officer on the premises during sporting events. And we only employ one Cary police officer per game.
In light of what happened at the Girls BB game on Friday night, I believe more attention needs to be put on this issue. So far you’re the only media I’ve seen covering this. If the assignment changes do take effect will Wake Co schools provide the metal detectors and extra police security that these two schools will need to protect themselves, or will they leave the schools having to find their own funding to protect their students and families.
A reader emailed in after publication that the Cary Town Council voted unanimously last week for the Town staff to draft a resolution in opposition to the proposed Tri9 Change.