Blake at Churchill basketball game

[Anonymous]

Referees don't get paid enough to get in the middle of a melee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aerial view helps. Clearly Churchill player started it, but I don't see wrongdoing by coaches, right?

Is churchill in black or white? I think White.

If you go to the 1st second of the clip a white boy in black on on the ground, he gets up and bunches the black kid in white which knocks him out of bounds.

The black kid in white comes in from the out of bounds goes down the court and punches the white kid in black.

Video does show the entire incident.

Churchill (white jersey) blindsided Blake player and knocked him to the ground. Blake player gets up and shoves Churchill player out of bounds. Churchill player runs down court and throws first punch.

Then the Blake bench clears to turn it into a brawl while the Churchill players stay at their bench. The Churchill coaches seem to do a good job keeping their players under control. Then a Blake player with a guy in a white T-Shirt who seems known to the Blake player and coaches, pulls what appears to be a Churchill parent onto the court and knocks them down with a punch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no email from Principal Taylor admonishing the violence? Why no reinforcement that such behavior is not going to be tolerated at Churchill? Same for the Blake Principal.

Every offender needs consequences. There needs to be clear messaging or what’s the point of rules?

I am a Churchill parent and we did receive an email a few hours ago. It did not tell me anything that was not already in this thread, but I am not sure why you don't think it is being addressed at the schools.

Winston Churchill High School Families and Community:

I am writing to let you know about a serious incident that occured at Winston Churchill High School, during the Boy’s Varsity Basketball game vs. Blake High School on January 31. An altercation during the last two minutes of the contest between players from each team moved into the Churchill stands, and led to a chaotic scene as game personnel, chaperones and administration separated the players. We are dismayed and disappointed by the behaviors displayed in this incident which do not represent the R.A.I.S.E. Core Values of MCPS Athletics, nor the values and expectations of Winston Churchill High School and our Churchill Athletics program.

I am working very closely with the principal of Blake High School, Montgomery County Public Schools Athletics, the Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Teaching, Learning and Schools and the athletics specialists at both schools to conduct a collaborative and thorough investigation into what transpired during the game. In addition to interviews with involved individuals, videos will be reviewed to ensure a comprehensive and appropriate response. This investigation began immediately following the game and is ongoing at this time. We will be identifying all coaches, athletes, and fans who participated in this incident and will be taking actions to address their actions in alignment with the MCPS Code of Conduct and the rules and regulations that govern MCPS Athletics. Additionally, along with ensuring accountability and appropriate apologies, restorative practices will be initiated as appropriate to support students and staff as they recover from this incident.

We appreciate the staff members and administrators who were able to quickly restore calm to the situation and then move all of the teams to safe locations and assist in the orderly dismissal of the spectators. This is an unfortunate incident and we will work hard with our staff and student athletes to ensure that in the future we can all live up to the values of athletic sportsmanship, respect and character that we hold for everyone at Winston Churchill High School. If you have any further questions or concerns, please call the school at 240-740-5400.

Sincerely,

John Taylor

Principal

[Anonymous]

Why we think it's not being addressed at schools is the fact that these incidents even happened in the first place. The coaches should have enough influence over their players to ensure violence and harassment does not occur.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why we think it's not being addressed at schools is the fact that these incidents even happened in the first place. The coaches should have enough influence over their players to ensure violence and harassment does not occur.

And I am sure you also believe that all the misbehavior at schools is the fault of teachers. Pushing at games has been going on forever. Clearly, the players were extra heated here and it got out of control, but it sounds like things were under control within a few minutes. In fact, if anything the white team's coaches had his team stay on their side and they did listen to the coach (not sure which school that was). Hard to see what happened on the other side as the two fighting players ended up on that side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aerial view helps. Clearly Churchill player started it, but I don't see wrongdoing by coaches, right?

Is churchill in black or white? I think White.

If you go to the 1st second of the clip a white boy in black on on the ground, he gets up and bunches the black kid in white which knocks him out of bounds.

The black kid in white comes in from the out of bounds goes down the court and punches the white kid in black.

Video does show the entire incident.

Churchill (white jersey) blindsided Blake player and knocked him to the ground. Blake player gets up and shoves Churchill player out of bounds. Churchill player runs down court and throws first punch.

Pushing happens in basketball .. punching doesn’t.

Blake threw 1st punch.

I personally don’t care about either school.

The airel view looks like Churchill threw the first punch.

There was def shoving beforehand, and the refs need a tighter whistle in these types of games, but looks like the white team escalated

The refs did nothing to try and stop the fight. In our experience with MoCo athletics, the refs contributed to many poor decisions that would escalate tensions during games.no excuse for throwing any punches.

Refs don't stop fights, especially melees. That's up to game management and security. The most you can hope for is that the refs call a tight enough game that it doesn't get too chippy leading to this sort of thing.

Who the hell wants to ref these days, anyway? Even with decent game management and security on site, the parents are simply atrocious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why no email from Principal Taylor admonishing the violence? Why no reinforcement that such behavior is not going to be tolerated at Churchill? Same for the Blake Principal.

Every offender needs consequences. There needs to be clear messaging or what’s the point of rules?

I am a Churchill parent and we did receive an email a few hours ago. It did not tell me anything that was not already in this thread, but I am not sure why you don't think it is being addressed at the schools.

Winston Churchill High School Families and Community:

I am writing to let you know about a serious incident that occured at Winston Churchill High School, during the Boy’s Varsity Basketball game vs. Blake High School on January 31. An altercation during the last two minutes of the contest between players from each team moved into the Churchill stands, and led to a chaotic scene as game personnel, chaperones and administration separated the players. We are dismayed and disappointed by the behaviors displayed in this incident which do not represent the R.A.I.S.E. Core Values of MCPS Athletics, nor the values and expectations of Winston Churchill High School and our Churchill Athletics program.

I am working very closely with the principal of Blake High School, Montgomery County Public Schools Athletics, the Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Teaching, Learning and Schools and the athletics specialists at both schools to conduct a collaborative and thorough investigation into what transpired during the game. In addition to interviews with involved individuals, videos will be reviewed to ensure a comprehensive and appropriate response. This investigation began immediately following the game and is ongoing at this time. We will be identifying all coaches, athletes, and fans who participated in this incident and will be taking actions to address their actions in alignment with the MCPS Code of Conduct and the rules and regulations that govern MCPS Athletics. Additionally, along with ensuring accountability and appropriate apologies, restorative practices will be initiated as appropriate to support students and staff as they recover from this incident.

We appreciate the staff members and administrators who were able to quickly restore calm to the situation and then move all of the teams to safe locations and assist in the orderly dismissal of the spectators. This is an unfortunate incident and we will work hard with our staff and student athletes to ensure that in the future we can all live up to the values of athletic sportsmanship, respect and character that we hold for everyone at Winston Churchill High School. If you have any further questions or concerns, please call the school at 240-740-5400.

Sincerely,

John Taylor

Principal

Appropriate apologies and restorative practices - Like this is enough to end the violence.

Why not try you are off the team (for coaches and students) and you are banned from any MCPS athletics events in the future (spectators). For adults who landed punches - what about police charges for assault?

Seriously, this is such a weak response. How come these emails no matter what the school sound like the same robot wrote it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aerial view helps. Clearly Churchill player started it, but I don't see wrongdoing by coaches, right?

Is churchill in black or white? I think White.

If you go to the 1st second of the clip a white boy in black on on the ground, he gets up and bunches the black kid in white which knocks him out of bounds.

The black kid in white comes in from the out of bounds goes down the court and punches the white kid in black.

Video does show the entire incident.

Churchill (white jersey) blindsided Blake player and knocked him to the ground. Blake player gets up and shoves Churchill player out of bounds. Churchill player runs down court and throws first punch.

Pushing happens in basketball .. punching doesn’t.

Blake threw 1st punch.

I personally don’t care about either school.

The airel view looks like Churchill threw the first punch.

There was def shoving beforehand, and the refs need a tighter whistle in these types of games, but looks like the white team escalated

The refs did nothing to try and stop the fight. In our experience with MoCo athletics, the refs contributed to many poor decisions that would escalate tensions during games.no excuse for throwing any punches.

Refs don't stop fights, especially melees. That's up to game management and security. The most you can hope for is that the refs call a tight enough game that it doesn't get too chippy leading to this sort of thing.

Who the hell wants to ref these days, anyway? Even with decent game management and security on site, the parents are simply atrocious.

And where was security??? And where were school administrators??? Was there police on site???

[Anonymous]

Blake's principal sent an identical letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why we think it's not being addressed at schools is the fact that these incidents even happened in the first place. The coaches should have enough influence over their players to ensure violence and harassment does not occur.

And I am sure you also believe that all the misbehavior at schools is the fault of teachers. Pushing at games has been going on forever. Clearly, the players were extra heated here and it got out of control, but it sounds like things were under control within a few minutes. In fact, if anything the white team's coaches had his team stay on their side and they did listen to the coach (not sure which school that was). Hard to see what happened on the other side as the two fighting players ended up on that side.

The schools can have power over players if they start kicking any player off a team who fights. Coaches who participate should be fired and never rehired. Parents who participate should be ejected and banned from all athletics events for life.

[Anonymous]

Is it really clear that the Churchill kid threw the first punch? The dark uniforms (Blake?) looked like they were the aggressors, if only from that short clip?

[Anonymous]

^^ although as I tell my kids - it takes two to fight!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blake's principal sent an identical letter.

The letter I got didn’t have the last paragraph that Churchill’s letter had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Blake's principal sent an identical letter.

Neither Principal wrote the letter. It came from Central Office.

This letter makes both principals look weak. Do they really need to be spoon fed their response to a mass fight incident at a basketball game? Restorative practices??? Really???

[Anonymous]

Churchill coach was not there last night - out sick. Assistant coaches were handling.