Protest vs protest

[Momo'sDad]

ASA

Have you ever had a game where both teams protested? Well, I can now check that off my "bucket" list.

Situation: A few anonymous tips came in before a semifinal that a player had switched uniforms after her team was eliminated Sunday morning. She was listed as a substitute on the lineup card with her correct name. During the 2nd inning, she entered the game to run for the catcher. Following the next at-bat, a series of events followed which involved the site director having to verify rosters and resolution with the TD's staff during the same time as the umpire was notified of our protest. Play continued as it took some time to get all the necessary verifications, which were then reported back to the umpire who informed the opposing coach of the determination. The local rules dictate that a player may not play for 2 different teams in the same tournament. At that point - and this is 2nd-hand information that was relayed to me by the site director - the opposing coach had been directed via phone by the TD to surrender the game, but elected not to do so and wanted to continue coaching.

This is where things got even weirder. Once the forfeit was announced by the PU and play was stopped, the opposing coach said that he wanted to protest our roster, too. Yes, #1 is not on our official team roster and will not enter Championship Play with us, but she and another player were properly brought on as guest players for the weekend due to injuries. Their home team was not entered in this tournament and they played all 6 games with us. We followed the rules. Even though the offending team had been disqualified, if it was determined that we, too, had used an illegal player, then we were subject to disqualification as well and the 2 teams in the other semifinal would've been champion and runner-up, by default.

Of course their protest was denied, but not for the reason you might think. Even though our players were all legal, because the other coach had refused to surrender at the time he was supposed to, the final ruling was that he'd waived his right to protest with that action. And thus, the case was closed....at least until the other message board caught wind of the affair.

 

[Ken Krause]

Wow that sounds like one crazy scenario.

Here's a tip for all you youngsters as they like to say on TV. Follow the rules and you'll never have a problem with them.

 

[texas4life]

Wow that's crazy I'm glad that team got sent home due to cheating. Have never heard of a coach being brave enough to try and pull this one off.

 

[Sweet Lou]

The aristocrats.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Wow that's crazy I'm glad that team got sent home due to cheating. Have never heard of a coach being brave enough to try and pull this one off.

One irony is that the player was from a team they had defeated in their 1st game of the day. There were many parts of this they didn't think through, not the least of which was the fact that 12yo's typically don't keep secrets very well or that they can be honest.

 

[laker]

The aristocrats.

You read my mind!

 

[BuckeyeGuy]

One irony is that the player was from a team they had defeated in their 1st game of the day. There were many parts of this they didn't think through, not the least of which was the fact that 12yo's typically don't keep secrets very well or that they can be honest.

You know, I'm only shocked by these stories when you guys whip out the "12yo" or "10U" aspects...

 

[darken]

You know, I'm only shocked by these stories when you guys whip out the "12yo" or "10U" aspects...

Actually, I think the opposite. I assume it's 10u/12u when I hear about these type of antics. Whether it's that asshat coaches are weeded out or they come to realize that $2 plastic trophies are not worth compromising their integrity, I'm just thankful less of this happens in the older age groups.

A quick question about the incident that the OP describes. If the offended team knew about this illegal player, why didn't someone (a coach) have the intestinal fortitude to simply talk to the other team before the game. Remind them of the rules and that you would protest if that player was on the lineup card? Wouldn't that be the "right thing to do" in a 10u/12u game to avoid the in game bruhaha? I think about the 20+ girls who are sitting in the dugouts wondering why they can't just go out and play some ball.

 

[BretMan]

A quick question about the incident that the OP describes. If the offended team knew about this illegal player, why didn't someone (a coach) have the intestinal fortitude to simply talk to the other team before the game. Remind them of the rules and that you would protest if that player was on the lineup card? Wouldn't that be the "right thing to do" in a 10u/12u game to avoid the in game bruhaha? I think about the 20+ girls who are sitting in the dugouts wondering why they can't just go out and play some ball.

Yeah, maybe. But I have a hard time with the old "it's your fault because you didn't tell us we aren't allowed to cheat" excuse.

 

[Momo'sDad]

A quick question about the incident that the OP describes. If the offended team knew about this illegal player, why didn't someone (a coach) have the intestinal fortitude to simply talk to the other team before the game. Remind them of the rules and that you would protest if that player was on the lineup card? Wouldn't that be the "right thing to do" in a 10u/12u game to avoid the in game bruhaha? I think about the 20+ girls who are sitting in the dugouts wondering why they can't just go out and play some ball.

We suspected something based on the allegations and in the interest of full disclosure, we lodged our protest on about a 95% certainty we were right. It was only after they didn't deny that she was illegal and a roster verification which took place off-site that we were 100% certain. None of the coaches on our team has any relationship whatsoever with the other team. Additionally, prior to receiving word from the TD, we also did not know the penalty. I thought the player would be ejected, but didn't know the team would be disqualified. The girls played over an hour before the game was forfeited and they were not aware that anything was going on.

But let's flip your query around a little. If they had a player on bad wheels who needed someone to run for her, why didn't they have the intestinal fortitude to ask us to look the other way instead of trying to do it on the sly?

As an aside, when we played their older team a year ago, 1 of our players got injured and we had to play with 8. That older group were very poor sports, collectively. So, sins of the older sisters and all that is how I read the outcome on Sunday.