Security often required as fans get into the games

By Tom Kreager, DNJ

Step into a high school gymnasium and grab a seat for a basketball game.

But be prepared for more than a highly contested basketball game between teams trying to keep their dreams alive to win a state tournament.

These days the crowd is just as heated as the action on the basketball court.

A growing trend this year has overshadowed some of the best basketball in Middle Tennessee. Fans - adults and students - have alarmingly become part of the event with an overabundance of bickering on perceived bad calls by officials or anger with coaches or play on the court.

That has carried over to the court in at least three incidents in Middle Tennessee this season involving fans getting out of control, sparking fights during high school basketball games.

Those incidents include:

• Three student fans at Smyrna High School attacking a school resource officer during a holiday basketball tournament, which led to the expulsion of two students.
• A fight breaking out between Lawrence County and Shelbyville fans and players. Multiple Shelbyville players were suspended for the season and both schools were fined and placed on two years of probation.
• A fight between Stratford and Maplewood girls basketball players and fans, resulting in both schools being placed on probation, fined and neither team being allowed to compete in next year's postseason.

"I think right now it is the No. 1 issue as far as sportsmanship is concerned," TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said. "It's embarrassing that we have adults acting worse than the kids.

"We have people now that think, 'If I buy a ticket to a game, I have the freedom to do what I want to do.'"

None of the incidents were scarier than what happened on Dec. 29 during the Smyrna Bulldog Classic. It was late in the game, which involved the Smyrna boys basketball team, that an incident between teams occurred.

A fan resisted School Resource Officer Dustin Cox's request to leave the game and then resisted arrest, according to a police report.

That led to two other fans jumping on Cox and hitting and kicking him, according to the report. Cox also said he felt one of them going for his gun holster.

Two of the three fans were Smyrna students and were expelled. The two are currently enrolled in Smyrna West Alternative School.

Maj. Bill Kennedy, who oversees the SROs in Rutherford County, said while the incident at Smyrna may be extreme, there have always been problems with crowds at sporting events.

"Honestly, we've always had this problem," Kennedy said. "It's nothing new.

"But out of the thousands of football games, wrestling events, basketball games, swimming events and soccer events, that is an uncommon event. But when it does happen, we are trained to handle it and (Cox) handled it perfectly.

Kennedy said a minimum of three officers are required at every high school game and two for every middle school game. More security is needed for some rivalry games.

'Be part of the solution'

Childress, a former Columbia Central basketball standout and MTSU men's basketball assistant, doesn't agree with fans being entitled to jeer officials at contests.

"We're losing the battle," Childress said. "I tell fans that if officials aren't as good as you'd like, then why not be part of the solution? Become an official."

TSSAA bylaws state that each tournament game must be supervised with security. There was no security at the Maplewood girls basketball game at Stratford the night a fight broke out between 75-100 fans.

Ken Melton, a supervisor of referees in the Murfreesboro area, said the expectations of high school officials are "unreal."

"They don't have that type of expectations for the coaches or the players themselves," Melton said.

Blackman parent O.J. Smith said while he understands there may be some people who step across the line, he doesn't feel it is a problem. Smith, whose son, DeShawn Smith, played football and basketball at Blackman, stands on the sidelines at most games.

He admits he'll say some things to referees, but it doesn't get heated.

"I am a guy that talks anyway," Smith said. "I talk during basketball and football. I don't ever get to the point of stepping across the line.

"Sometimes I get on the referee just to get on them. But sometimes we'll just stand here and talk."

Melton said his officials are told not to be part of ejecting fans from games. They leave that to school administration to handle. However, he said he wishes security at times was more visible.

"Not only do I feel like we need more security, but I want the security to be present and seen," Melton said. "No disrespect to those in uniform, but they tend not to be visible.

"Sometimes just being visible is preventive."