After I have heard a few stories, rumors, etc., and heard it mentioned a few times on this blog, I have decided to go against better judgement and tell what I saw Sun February 21, 2010. I was there, and was not in the middle of any of it. I was high enough up that I could see things unfold, as the name of this blog site, this is the one true word.
The 130 lb match for Henlopen Conference finals consisted of Collins from Sussex Central, and Bonneville from Milford. This was a close intense match (7-5), and the head coach from Milford was more than upset with a few calls the official had made. Milford head coach (Don Parsley), was yelling at the official for 2 periods. At the conclusion each match in a tournament the competing wrestlers ALWAYS go to the opposite side and shake the other coach's hand. When Collins went to shake the other coach's hands... Parsley turned his back and walked away. Very tacky move as a coach.
Mr. Collins walked over to Don Parsley and then proceeded to tell him that he "was an asshole for not acknowledging his son". After this Parsley followed Mr Collins to his seat (happens to be right in front of the entire Sussex Central crowd), and started waiving his hands in the air asking for the man that verbally assaulted him be thrown out of the gym.
At this point no one is responding to Mr Parsley quickly enough which prompts a fan from the Milford section to stand up and lean over to point out Mr Collins. This starts a few other people to point back and forth and yelling at each other. During this time someone grabbed a 15 yr old girl by the arm and pushed her telling her to shut the "f" up. The girl was Chip Illian's daughter who was trying to comfort and shield her 5 yr old little brother. Chip was about 10 feet away with 2 or 3 other wrestlers trying to keep them away from the arguing. Chip's daughter or someone then yelled for him to get over there, at that point he was trying to get to his kids. A few other people saw Chip and grabbed him to stop him from getting in the middle of it all. Chip NEVER EVER got to the middle of the action, was grabbed by police and asked to get into the lobby. He did as he was asked.
Someone had gotten up from the other side of the gym and was running over to the "action" when he got hit by another kid. The kid that got hit was the 160 lb wrestler from Milford, and it was another kid that hit him. These 2 people were not even involved in the incident regarding Chip's daughter. A lot of coaches grabbed kids and people to keep them from further escalating any situation that was already bad. The thing that is bad here, is that Chip was blamed b/c he was the last person being held back. Chip and Don were reprimanded along with 5 or 6 other people, by being sat out of the Dual Meet State Tournament and the Individual State Tournament.
Now let me say this... I am not condoning any actions of any one that night. A lot of things could have been done different. As a coach myself you have to hold yourself a lot higher than the people competing, and those that do not understand the rules, and/or the sport. All of this could have been avoided if 2 things happened.
1. He should have shaken the kid's hand.
2. When he was "verbally assaulted," simply walk over to an officer and ask to have the spectator removed.
It's probably a good thing Chip never got to that guy. I think that he would have crushed that dude.
I have to pose this one question, and most of us have kids... What would you do if that was your daughter or 5 yr old child for that matter???? Don't even tell me for one second that if another adult grabbed your kid you would not fly off the handle.
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ReplyDeletei mean no personal harm, but i'm taking the chance responding here....
i would ask... if the intensity at a high school wrestling match is that intense should even a 5 year old be there?
I take what you said as the truth.
No worries I understand that comment,no personal harm. Let me clarify when I said earlier that it was intense. I mean that the intensity was hieghtened by the head coach in that he was relentless with the official. You would have to understand the rivalry between SC and Milford with wrestling.
ReplyDeleteMy theory is that anytime there is a sport where the spectators are right on top of the action the adrenaline level increases. Football is one of the most violent sports out there, but you dont see these things at a HS game b/c you are removed from the action by 20 ft or so. Wrestling, boxing, HS basketball, the spectators are right on top of the action.
I understand the question. There are a lot of kids always there. I can't answer it honestly? If it were me, my kid would probably be there also. On the flip side... something like this really does not happen often. Can't think of the last time it did.
If I was a parent, I would not have concern for my daughter, but more so my son for wanting to go out and get cozy with another dude on the mat.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a home video one TV one time of a Pop Warner football game in California where a parent ran from the sidelines and attacked the referee.
ReplyDeleteI also have coached in the past and have plenty of stories to tell about parents either verbally or physically crossing a line..........I've had parents call me at home to complain about playing time. I've had parents walk into my dugout, upon which I've had to ask them to leave.....I've had parents (within earshot) tell their kids to ignore me and do it their way.....I've had parents at games (and I coached BBall on both the middle school and high school levels) verbally assault me or call names to both myself and my players.....I even had a time when coaching high school baseball and was at Seaford coaching 3rd base. The Seaford side stands were right there next to the 3rd base coach's box. As the game progressed the fans became more ignorant and abusive. I even tried to walk over to them in between innings and try to create a conversation.
Bottom line is that most of the time the parents with the loudest mouths usually have no athletic ability themselves, never played sports, or if they did sat the bench and were practice bait, and have no other avenues of interest in their lives except for living their youths through their kids!!!!!!!
I also believe the MIlford coach should be reprimanded for his nonsportsmanship actions and should be counseled what to do when a parent gets out of hand. But I've also seen wrestling coaches at matches get WAY TOO INTO THE INTENSITY of the match.
Listen, your time on this earth is short. You may not think so, but believe me I still have to take a step back and realize that I'm only 6 more short years from becoming 50! There are a lot more important things and stressful things to worry about than a high school match, game, etc...
In the words of infamous Rodney King..."Can't we all just get along?"