Letter to the GHSA

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Below is an e-mail I wrote to Gregory S. Norton the official contact for the North West Ga Football Officials Association and all the board members of the NWGFOA regarding a hit and ignored taunting during a recent football game I covered.Dear Mr. Norton, and NWGFOA Board Members,

I recently covered a football game between the Northwest Whitfield Bruins and the Gilmer High School Bobcats. During the game there was a vicious hit that occurred, during the field of play. While the contact was helmet to helmet, I believe that the Northwest Whitfield player was making a legal block and did not “ear hole” the Gilmer player and the hit, while devastating was not dirty. However, after the play he stood over the prone Gilmer player and was assessed no penalty for taunting or unsportsmanlike conduct. As you can see, the moment was caught on camera and shared on social media.

I am writing this e-mail not to condemn a high school player, who is being a high school kid. I am writing this e-mail because I think that the officials on duty did a gross disservice to both of the individuals and teams involved. Because of the lack of penalty, I saw first hand how the GHS bench became incensed, and ready for retaliation.

These are teenage athletes and prone to mistakes, however, the adults involved did not do their duty. If sometime later during the game a fight would have broken out or a cheap shot had been taken, then the player(s) involved would be disciplined/suspended, but when the referees involved do not do what they can to curb those things before they start, then they are should be held accountable as well.

Again my issue was not with the hit itself, but the reaction and lack of penalty on it. When no penalty is issued on things of that nature, teenage boys involved in a full contact sport like football tend to want to dole out justice themselves, much to the detriment of all involved.

The officials of games must not allow these types of instances to go unanswered, because, as you can see from the picture I’ve included, kids are just that, kids. It’s up to the adults to be responsible.

Thank you for your time,

LT Melton

Sports Director
www.FetchYourNews.com

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