HSFB Brawl injures coach

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hard to put a simple headline on this one, let me give a quick background for those who haven't heard/read about it yet (it's gotten national press already, including CNN)

Warren County (6-2) at Hancock Central (3-6) two Fridays ago. A couple of small (Class A) schools separated by about 20 miles. Warren wins easily 21-2. Game ends, Warren heads to the visitors locker room/fieldhouse & finds the door locked tight. They also run into 30 or so players from Hancock, a predictable fight breaks out, a Warren player goes down after being struck in the back of the head by a helmet, Warren head coach arrives (after being delayed with the usual post-game stuff on the field) and rushes forward to cover his injured player ... and has his face smashed ("like cornflakes") by a helmet-swinging Hancock Central player. Multiple facial reconstruction surgeries & several day in the hospital follow for a well-thought of veteran coach in his first year as HC.

There's one other bit of back story to know about the Warren HC. He was a retired / retiring (I'm not 100% clear) long-time ass't who was pressed into service after the season started when the then-HC was abruptly dismissed for blatantly violating rules concerning player physicals & workouts. That fired HC was almost immediately hired as the DC for Hancock Central.

Here's the CNN version of the story, mostly a slightly more generic version of what I've already written here.
http://megaportal.us/hot-news/investigation-begun-in-georgia-high-school-football-brawl

Warren Co asks the GBI to investigate, state law prohibits that unless the local agency requests it, Hancock Co sheriff refuses to call them in, basically saying he'll handle it himself.

And that's pretty much where the story stood until a TV station got a copy of the Warren Co BoE attorney letter to the GBI.

Here's the linkage for that letter
http://wtho.com/images/WCHS_GBI_Request.pdf
You'll do best just to read it for yourself, I don't think I can do it justice.

The details in the letter are, no hyperbole intended, some of the most shocking stuff I've ever read. Certainly among the most disturbing I've seen at the local/state level & exponentially beyond the pale of anything to do with local sports.

FOFC, you know me. I'm about as competitive as they come, no shortage of "take no prisoners" attitude that I'm sincere about. But there's a line somewhere and this is way the hell past it.

If the accusations are true, this shapes up to be what amounts to a planned attack/assault, an apparent conspiracy that involved coaches, players, administrators, and at least two law enforcement agencies. Over a HS football game.

And yes, I'll admit that it's even more shocking to me that it involves a HS football game where one of the teams has been a doormat for so long that, well, it isn't like this is anything new to them. Hancock has had one winning season & eight different head coaches since 1985 for crying out loud. Even with somewhat of a geographic rivalry, this one actually one of the closer games they've played in the past decade but no obvious history of Warren running up scores or anything like that.

I know Hancock County/Sparta is pretty much the dregs of the state of Georgia. The poorest county in the state, the 50th poorest county in the entire nation. In short, an absolute shithole of a place & has been for quite some time. There aren't exactly high expectations for anything there but this? If this went down the way it seems to have gone down, it really seems like it veers into territory that's well beyond anything we've ever seen here before.

And I say that as someone who watched back in the 80's deputies from rival counties draw weapons on each other in the lobby at a HS basketball game. That was a lack of maturity by several people in a tense situation, this feels like something more than that to me.

Anyhow, figured the story might be somewhat interesting to the FOFC so I posted it.

[BYU 14]

Holy shit, I have seen some jacked up shit in 25 years of coaching, but this has go to take the cake. Rage isn't even strong enough to express how I feel about this. First off coach Blount should be barred from coaching anywhere, ever again, what a piece of shit. Second, I sure hope he is not an english teacher.

This goes entirely on the coaches, you don't leave your players unattended, knowing how high the tension is and there is absolutely no way they didn't have some kind of inkling of what may happen.

If the law enforcement acted as depicted in that letter, then some of them, including the Sheriff need to be unemployed at best.

It just makes me sick to read that letter....I am pretty much speechless!

[SirFozzie]

The coach who was attacked was in the coach's booth last night
after multiple reconstructive surgeries during the week, and of course the player with a concussion missed the game.

The GBI have been invited in, at least partially.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Holy shit, I have seen some jacked up shit in 25 years of coaching, but this has go to take the cake.

Whew, I was (honestly) afraid it might just be me being a little naive.

I've been torn between being angry & being sickened, can't really decide which is stronger.

The text msgs alone should end Blount's career afaic, as well as the p.o.s. police chief, but I suspect that the locals will rally around both of them, probably under the guise of "local control" or something similar.

The saddest thing to me is that, to be honest, I don't believe there's any confidence at any level that the GHSA will act on this in a significant fashion. There's a rising swell from the grass roots that wants unprecedented penalties - i.e. program wide death penalty - but I'd be stunned if there was anything more than maybe a coach or two being suspended coming from the governing body. And even that will be delayed as long as possible now that law enforcement is involved.

[JonInMiddleGA]

The GBI have been invited in, at least partially.

Sorry Fozzie, I only just realized that I left that postscript out. Kind of got caught up in providing the backstory to the allegations in the letter & failed to flesh out the most recent developments.

[JonInMiddleGA]

As Foz rightfully mentioned, the GBI has subsequently been invited to participate in the investigation (although it seems more likely to have been due to political pressure & the glare of the national media rather than the request of the neighboring school super, as the article below seems to claim).

Here's the AJC's piece from Sunday that updates several points, along with some social background, comments from the injured coach, etc.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/small-town-rivalry-sullied-1208047.html

[PilotMan]

Wow, I'm not even done with half the letter, and my blood is up.

[wade moore]

Not sure what you can say besides, "wow".

[Ksyrup]

Not sports related, but several months ago we had a first-time state Senator who worked as a high school teacher get a severe head injury trying to break up a fight at school. He barely survived and is rehabbing in Atlanta, I believe. Just the other day, he (through his family) formally resigned his position in the Senate. Very sad.

[lungs]

Some people take HS sports waaaay too seriously.

[Coffee Warlord]

What the fuck is wrong with people?

[BYU 14]

The saddest thing to me is that, to be honest, I don't believe there's any confidence at any level that the GHSA will act on this in a significant fashion. There's a rising swell from the grass roots that wants unprecedented penalties - i.e. program wide death penalty .

Hopefully your HS governing board steps in with severe penalties once the investigation by law enforcement is complete. Especially against that POS Blount.

The AIA, our governing board here in AZ has been less than consistent itself over the years and there is a big outcry here for changes. Part of the problem in this state is there is too much "comfort" for the officers of the AIA in terms of time in office and no one to hold them accountable. It is kind of an old boys network, where they dictate to the schools and pick and choose what to pursue and censure anyone who speaks out against them. Don't know if it is similar with the GHSA, but hopefully they act appropriately.

[MacroGuru]

I want to fly to Atlanta and whip Blounts ass.

Just wow...I am dumbfounded..

Hancock needs to have the death penalty thrown at it as far as HS Athletics go.

I am honestly pissed about this I am speechless..

[CU Tiger]

- Blount should be barred from coaching and criminal charges filed for instigating a riot, leading a lynch mob or similar as that is clearly what this became.
-Whomever swung the helmet should be charged with 2 counts of attempted murder and barred from sports.
- I'll stop short killing off the program as with positive mentors it could be the only structure in some of these kids lives. No reason to punish all for the action of some.
- Maybe I am naive but I don't think the police were "in on" a planned assault. Rather I suspect that given the economic climate most of the law enforcement officers in the area are minimally educated and grew up local and part of the rivalry and once the proverbial stuff hit the electrically powered oscilating device their "instincts" came out. Make no mistake those instincts should cost them their jobs as well, but I dont think this was some sinister plot.
- I'd like to see a map or overhead of the parking area in question. I am curious whether the parking request and subsequent denial was an unreasonable request, a response to an over zealou attitude or something much more dubious. IF there is a bigger conspiracy at work....it may be enema tme for the entire Hancock school, if not county.
- I am also embarassed at the poor grammar of hese high school students, much less the coach/educator involved.

[digamma]

Wow indeed.

My mother was born in Sparta and my grandfather was principal of Sparta High School which *I think* was folded into Hancock Central.

[Ben E Lou]

Having played Class A ball in Georgia in a Region where most of the schools had similar demographics to Hancock and Warren, the only thing I'm surprised about this whole deal is that JIMGA is surprised about it. I guess he's too much of a city-slicker to get it. ;) Oh, and I strongly suspect that CU Tiger nailed it: the law enforcement officers involved were very likely graduates of Hancock Central, and all of a sudden they were back in high school and just lost to Warren County again.

In all seriousness, there were threats, hometown law enforcement way too caught up in the rivalries, and several of the other ingredients involved here in my experience. No, this sort of thing didn't happen at this level 25 years ago, but I'd argue that where we are now is pretty much the natural progression from what I saw in rural impoverished towns like these in the mid-80s. It's not really even about football.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Having played Class A ball in Georgia in a Region where most of the schools had similar demographics to Hancock and Warren, the only thing I'm surprised about this whole deal is that JIMGA is surprised about it. I guess he's too much of a city-slicker to get it. ;)

There might be something to that in a way. The demographics of the Pickens/Gilmer/Fannin round-robin of hatred were quite a bit different. Ditto the bitter Pickens/Cherokee rivalry that predated the escalation of Pickens/Glimer.

It wasn't the money that was different, no shortage of relatively poor folks or even outright white trash (although most of those didn't play ball). It wasn't the nearly all-white vs 70% black (now) in Hancock either, at least I don't believe it's that simple. I grew up in what was what you might call "poor but proud" territory, borderline "mountain folks". Sparta, and a lot of places like it, have become something more like "poor & don't give a fuck", or something along that lines. Hell, I'm not sure I know exactly how to explain it, the difference really doesn't seem to be money or race specifically, it's something beyond that, like "attitude" for lack of a better word.

I saw glimpses of it with the Monticello-Putnam County rivalry for a few years there. My wife vividly recalls the local police chief stopping her in traffic on game night, telling her to take the baby home, lock the car, double check every door lock & not to come out for any reason (we lived a literal stones throw from the stadium). Later that night, a fight/riot broke out three block away, and included a city cop losing his gun & being rescued at the last minute by a veteran county deputy who had, umm, more firepower than normal (or legal) who charged in & scared the shit out of the bad boys. I guess full-auto warning shots will do that ;)

Oh, and I strongly suspect that CU Tiger nailed it: the law enforcement officers involved were very likely graduates of Hancock Central, and all of a sudden they were back in high school and just lost to Warren County again. In all seriousness, there were threats, hometown law enforcement way too caught up in the rivalries, and several of the other ingredients involved here in my experience. No, this sort of thing didn't happen at this level 25 years ago, but I'd argue that where we are now is pretty much the natural progression from what I saw in rural impoverished towns like these in the mid-80s. It's not really even about football.

Like I mentioned, I've seen some pretty bizarre stuff -- armed parents & siblings going after officials, drunks in the stands pulling knives on each other (no injuries because they were literally too drunk to fight in the bleachers without falling down), football dogpiles that made rugby scrums look like high teas, on & on. But there's something ... different about this deal.

We wouldn't have hesitated to beat the bloody hell out of a rival, would have been quite happy to cripple any number of Gilmer Bobcats for life & giggled while doing so ... but I can't say that it ever even crossed my mind to go after one of their coaches (and a couple of them were purely obnoxious assholes). Not even the deep-seated hatred of a rival b'ball coach ever got to that level, and that sorry sumbitch walked into our gym & spit on the floor during a live interview when asked what he thought of playing in such a hostile environment.

From my recollection, the kids would have happily fought the other kids, the adults would have happily fought the other adults, and probably quite a few coaches would have happily fought one another ... but crossing the lines between those groups just doesn't like something we ever considered.

Seems like this incident is coming from a place very different than anything I can really get my head around

[MacroGuru]

CNN has a video up on it...to me it appears as if they (CNN, Hancock and a little bit of Warren are trying to blame social media for this...)

Online Trash Talk Leads to Brawl
(http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/11/02/mattingly-ga-hs-football-violence.cnn?&hpt=hp_c2)

[BrianD]

CNN has a video up on it...to me it appears as if they (CNN, Hancock and a little bit of Warren are trying to blame social media for this...)

Online Trash Talk Leads to Brawl
(http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/11/02/mattingly-ga-hs-football-violence.cnn?&hpt=hp_c2)

It does sound like they are trying to blame social media in general, and Facebook specifically, which is absurd. It is true that people tend to be more brave saying things from behind a keyboard and that stupidity can spread faster with the help of social media, but the fault still lies with the idiots who used the tools in a stupid way.

[Matthean]

CNN has a video up on it...to me it appears as if they (CNN, Hancock and a little bit of Warren are trying to blame social media for this...)

Online Trash Talk Leads to Brawl
(http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/11/02/mattingly-ga-hs-football-violence.cnn?&hpt=hp_c2)

"Run, it's the media." - Chris Rock

[JonInMiddleGA]

Not exactly a big surprise here, it's a Hancock County grand jury after all. Having the worst excuse for a DA I've seen in my lifetime probably didn't help, he couldn't convict water of being wet.

No indictments in postgame brawl between Hancock Central, Warren County (http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2012-01-25/no-indictments-postgame-brawl-between-hancock-central-warren-county)

[Chief Rum]

Not exactly a big surprise here, it's a Hancock County grand jury after all. Having the worst excuse for a DA I've seen in my lifetime probably didn't help, he couldn't convict water of being wet.

No indictments in postgame brawl between Hancock Central, Warren County (http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2012-01-25/no-indictments-postgame-brawl-between-hancock-central-warren-county)

Wow, I remember being amazed when this happened. Can't believe no one got in trouble for this. That's crazy.

[PackerFanatic]

I hadn't seen this when it was first posted, but reading that letter...wow. That is just plain wrong. I get as fired up about sports as anyone, and I know there are a lot of places that take their HS football a lot more seriously than even their local pro teams at times, but seriously. This is way past any reasonable reaction to anything...and the fact that no one got in trouble for it is even more disturbing. Really sad when you can't even turn to your state gov't for help.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Really sad when you can't even turn to your state gov't for help.

The state really couldn't do much, by law it pretty much had to be heard by the grand jury from that county.

[PackerFanatic]

The state really couldn't do much, by law it pretty much had to be heard by the grand jury from that county.

That's a bummer...I mean I guess I understand why, but when you have that many people (from the school, to the law enforcement) seemingly behind the whole thing, you have to think that the county isn't going to be much different. Can they appeal to the state to get a little more unbias look at it? Not sure how that all works.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Can they appeal to the state to get a little more unbias look at it? Not sure how that all works.

Looks like the best avenue for recourse is going to be the civil suit that's been filed.

Legally, even the GBI couldn't get involved without a specific request from local law enforcement (which finally happened after the media pressure). Naturally, the accounts conflicted enough that their investigation wasn't all that enlightening best I can tell.

Combine a biased grand jury with an inept prosecutor (I lived in his jurisdiction for more than a decade) and the outcome here wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. Alas, being incredibly fucked up isn't grounds for anyone to intervene, there's no such thing as a statewide grand jury or similar to consider a different indictment, and without an indictment there really isn't anything for another court to consider, plus there really isn't another court to consider it anyway since there's been nothing (like a civil rights complaint or anything) that would kick it up to something like a U.S. District Court.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Interesting aftermath item on this story

Warren County forfeits to avoid playing Hancock Central in wake of October brawl | Prep Zone: High School Sports (http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-high-school-sports/2012/02/14/warren-county-forfeits-to-avoid-playing-hancock-central-in-wake-of-october-brawl/)

Warren County’s boys basketball team forfeited its Region 7-A tournament game scheduled for Wednesday against Hancock Central because of concerns over violence that broke out when the schools met in football in October.

The basketball tournament is a qualifier for the state tournament, so the forfeit ended Warren County’s season.

“This is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions we have ever made,” Warren County Schools Superintendent Carole Jean Carey told the Augusta Chronicle.

It is possible that the girls teams from Hancock Central and Warren County could meet. on Friday. Carey told the Augusta Chronicle that Warren County would forfeit that game if the two were scheduled to play.
... The Georgia High School Association approved an appeal by Warren County not to compete in the same subregion as Hancock Central beginning in 2012-13 so that the two schools don’t have to schedule each other in sports.

FWIW, this was not a game that looked like an automatic win for Hancock or anything like that, it was a couple of just over .500 teams, a #2 from one half vs a #3 from the other half, with a guaranteed berth in the state tournament at stake.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2012-08-22/warren-county-football-coach-abruptly-retires?mmo_ccc=xfinity

Warren County football coach David Daniel has retired for health reasons, Warren County Schools Superintendent Carole Jean Carey said. Daniel’s last day was Tuesday.

Daniel was seriously injured during last season’s postgame brawl between Warren County and Hancock Central on Oct. 14. Metal plates were put in his head as part of the process to fix his face. But he’s still in pain from getting hit. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s report said he was by a member of the Hancock Central team.

The report says the player hit Daniel only after Daniel hit him first, though Daniel has denied that claim.

“He’s in excruciating pain almost every minute,” Carey said about Daniel. “It’s just agonizing. He needs to concentrate on getting better.”

Carey said no new head coach has been named. Originally, she wanted co-head coaches this season, but the plan fell through and Daniel remained the only head coach. Carey said she doesn’t know whether an interim coach will be named or the staff will “just pull it together.”

Warren County begins its season Aug. 31 at home against Glascock County.

Hancock Central was fined $500 for the incident by the Georgia High School Association, which also placed the school on “severe warning status” for the next two years.

The GHSA has also approved a security plan it asked Hancock Central to come up with for football and basketball games.

The two teams are scheduled to play this season in Warrenton on Sept. 28. Carey said Daniel’s retirement won’t change that.

“It’s just sad for all of us,” Carey said. “He wanted to get through this year; he loves the Screaming Devils and he loves the kids.”