Holy smokes! Check this out

In today’s paper we have an article (see previous blog entry) about bad sportsman. This unedited press release just came in today from the EPD:

 

On February 17^th, 2009 at about 8:29pm an officer from the Eureka Police Department was dispatched to a report of a disturbance at a basketball game at the Eureka High School.  Upon arrival the officer contacted the school principal who told him that a 17 year old student had been physically assaulted by a female adult later identified as Roseanne REDNER of Eureka.  Redner had confronted the juvenile after the basketball game in front of the gym.  Another female tried to break up the incident, allowing the juvenile to escape.  Redner then assaulted her.

 

The officer contacted the irate Redner who began yelling at members of the crowd – advancing on them and challenging them to fight.  Redner would not calm down and talk to the officer, and continued to try to advance on members of the crowd – again challenging them to fight.

 

The officer attempted to take her into custody and tried to grasp her wrist to handcuff her.  Redner pulled away from the officer and tried to punch him.  The officer grabbed her by the upper body and took her to the ground in a second attempt to handcuff her.  She rolled onto her back and kicked the officer in the chest.

 

The officer deployed his taser on Redner, which had minimal effect due to the thickness of her clothing.  After a brief struggle, the officer was able to handcuff Redner and take her into custody.

 

After Redner was taking into custody some of the members of the large crowd erupted in spontaneous applause.  This angered other members of the crowd.  About 15-20 members of the crowd then began angrily advancing on the officer and Redner in essence demanding that he leave her alone.  Having no backup and fearing he was about to be assaulted by the angry crowd, the officer drew his handgun and pointed it at the advancing crowd, demanding that they stop.  They stopped about 20 feet from him and did not advance further. 

 

After backup officers arrived, Redner was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where she was booked on charges of Felony Child Abuse, Resisting Arrest, Challenging Another to Fight, and Disturbance of a School Function.

 

 

 

Bad sportsmanship riles school board

By Elaine Weinreb

Press Staff Writer

 

Complaints of inappropriate behavior at high school basketball games were discussed at the Feb. 10 meeting of the Northern Humboldt Unified High School District (NHUHSD) board. 

Three board members said that they had attended a game between Eureka and Arcata High Schools on Feb. 6, and were appalled by the rude behavior and profanity which they observed.  

Board member Robin Marks said that she was offended by a large sign, saying “Arcata Sucks,” which was carried into the gym by an adult fan. 

Board member Dan Johnson also saw the sign, and wondered why Eureka High School administrators waited until the third quarter to have the sign removed.  

That was not the only thing he found distasteful.  

“They had some guy who must have weighed about 400 pounds, and he went out there and danced while their juniors were doing their routine and mocked it,” he said. 

“The players were inappropriate because of the way they talked back to the referees.  The chants – ‘Bullshit, bullshit,’ whenever the referee made a bad call – were inappropriate,” he said.

“The referees were inappropriate because they had lost control of the game,” he continued. “I was quite frankly appalled.” 

Board member Sarie Toste, who had also attended the game, said that although she admired the skill of the players, she was dismayed by the “inappropriate signs and inappropriate behavior” displayed by the fans. 

“This lack of respect just galls me,” she remarked. 

Marks said that the rude behavior was not limited to Eureka fans. 

“At a game between Arcata and Del Norte, our fans booed one particular student every single time he touched the ball.”  

She also observed a fan throw a water bottle at a referee.  

Some of the board members worried that the problem could worsen with coming games, as the end of the season approaches, and feelings run high.  

“When you have 2,000 people all together, things can get out of control,” said board member Dan Collum.  

“We need a police officer there,” said board member Mike Pigg. “The students might take things to the next level.” 

Marks said that at one time, all schools participating in the Humboldt Del Norte Basketball League had to meet certain standards of behavior. Signs were posted at each game outlining what was acceptable, and what was not. Rules of conduct were read aloud. 

But those standards, she noted, had apparently disappeared over the years. 

Superintendent Kenny Richards observed that some school districts avoid these problems by banning all fans from the games. 

“Nobody gets to go in except the teams. But we don’t want to go that far,” he said. 

Instead, he suggested writing a letter to the Eureka City Schools administration, telling them that Northern Humboldt wasn’t going to put up with poor sportsmanship. 

Arcata High School Principal Lisa Gray said that AHS tries to head off problems by reminding fans what the school guidelines are before each game. 

Last June, the NHUHSD board adopted changes to the district’s athletic policies, basically forbidding rowdy behaviors at games. 

Prohibited acts include yelling, booing, and chanting at opposing teams, noisemakers, rude signs, turning backwards during introductions, and displaying messages painted on bare skin.