Blown call game in football game ends up in the hands of a judge

You won't believe this one. A high school football game with a blown call that affected the outcome of the ball game and the school on the short end of that game has gone to court to get things rectified

From the NY Times

LOCUST GROVE, Okla. — The marquee at the Quik Shop in this rural town says, "Go Pirates Win State." It seems a reasonable expectation for undefeated and top-ranked Locust Grove High School, considering its star quarterback has thrown 65 touchdown passes this season and only five interceptions.

Yet, the Class 3A playoffs for Oklahoma's midsize schools are being delayed in a state that takes football as seriously as the weather. The next play will be made in a courtroom, not on the field.

On Wednesday, a district judge is scheduled to affirm or invalidate Locust Grove's disputed 20-19 quarterfinal victory Nov. 28 over Frederick A. Douglass High School of Oklahoma City. Douglass is seeking to have the final 64 seconds or the entire game replayed because of an admitted and crucial mistake made by the referees in negating a late touchdown.

At issue, essentially, is whether the mistake should be corrected or whether human error should be allowed to stand as one of life's harsh but unavoidable lessons.

Legal experts said they could not recall a high school game being replayed for legal reasons.

"The courts are very sensitive to the fact that if they start to utilize their powers to overturn decisions of officials -- whether they're right or wrong -- then you would basically have athletic competition decided in the courtroom and not on the field," said Alan S. Goldberger, a New Jersey lawyer who specializes in sports law and who is the author of "Sports Officiating: A Legal Guide." "That would kind of be a full-time job in some places."

With 1 minute 4 seconds remaining in the Oklahoma playoff game last month, Douglass High School scored on a remarkable 58-yard yard touchdown pass and seemed to take a 25-20 lead over Locust Grove. 

Receiver Qua'Sean Sims caught a short pass near the sideline on fourth down, whirled toward the middle of the field and wove elusively to the end zone.

Video shows a Douglass coach running excitedly along the sideline and appearing to unintentionally impede or bump one of the referees. Earlier, Douglass had received a warning for a similar infraction. This time the referee threw a flag.

The violation is considered minor; rules call for a 5-yard penalty to be assessed on the extra-point attempt or the ensuing kickoff. Instead, the referees wrongly annulled the go-ahead touchdown, infuriating the Douglass coaches and some fans.

The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association later apologized to Douglass, calling the referees' mistake "inexcusable." But the association also said that state and national bylaws did not permit protesting the outcome of a game because of an official's ruling on the field.

Oklahoma City public school officials disagreed and are seeking in court to have some or all of the game replayed. Last week, Judge Bernard M. Jones II of District Court in Oklahoma City issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting Locust Grove from playing its scheduled semifinal playoff game.

During the hearing, though, Judge Jones expressed some skepticism about courts intervening in the results of athletic contests, noting that a decision to order a replay would be extraordinary.

"I know of no other court that has been asked to do what has been asked here," he said, according to The Associated Press.

But the Oklahoma City school district, in support of Douglass High, says it is only fair to remedy a correctable mistake.

"Adults in a split second can negate months and years of hard work by kids," Keith Sinor, the athletic director of Oklahoma City public schools, said Monday. "Our kids shouldn't be held accountable for those mistakes -- especially in a situation where they can be corrected."

Brandon Carey, the general counsel for Oklahoma City public schools, said that the Douglass case presented a "very unique and different situation." The school district is not questioning the referees' judgment in calling a penalty, Mr. Carey said, but seeking redress because the referees did not know the rules about assessing the penalty.

"The ruling negated a touchdown in the final 64 seconds and probably completely changed the outcome," he said. Referring to a potential replay of the Douglass-Locust Grove game, Mr. Carey added, "Just because it hasn't been done doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do."

Among supporters of a replay is Barry Switzer, who won three national championships coaching the University of Oklahoma and a Super Bowl title coaching the Dallas Cowboys.

"Let the play on the field determine who won the ballgame," Mr. Switzer told reporters.

In 1972, a state football semifinal between two Louisiana schools was replayed in its entirety, not for legal reasons but because the score was 0-0, the tiebreakers remained even and there was no provision for overtime.

It has grown increasingly common over the past two decades for courts to address issues of eligibility for high school players and teams in state playoffs. In 2005, a high school quarterback from Oklahoma challenged a two-game suspension for kicking an opponent during a playoff game. Eventually, the Oklahoma Supreme Court upheld the suspension.

While some attempts to replay games have succeeded in lower courts, they have been reversed by appellate courts, said Mr. Goldberger, the sports law expert.

He cited a 1981 case in which the Georgia Supreme Court overturned a lower-court ruling to replay the final seven minutes of a high school football game there because of a referee's mistake.

Playing sports is not a constitutional right, Mr. Goldberger said, adding that the legal system "is not designed to correct every mistake that is made in life."

Lawyers for Douglass High intend to cite a recent case involving college volleyball teams. Last month, the N.C.A.A. permitted a replay of a portion of a women's volleyball game between Iowa State and Texas Tech because a referee misapplied a rule.

Mark Grossman, the lawyer representing the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, said there was a crucial difference between the Douglass-Locust Grove playoff game and the N.C.A.A. volleyball match, a regular-season meeting in which a portion of the protested fifth set was replayed: N.C.A.A. rules specifically allow for such a do-over, while high school rules do not.

The Oklahoma schools association, Mr. Grossman added, was also concerned that an extended football season might interfere with final exams as the holiday break approaches and, at smaller schools, could disrupt the beginning of basketball and wrestling seasons with many athletes playing several sports.

"You potentially put everything on hold," Mr. Grossman said.

In Locust Grove, a town of 1,400 in northeast Oklahoma, Coach Matt Hennesy said his team was preparing for a semifinal game this weekend and presumed Judge Jones would rule in the school's favor.

"It would be a travesty for high school athletics -- maybe all of athletics -- if we're going to let the courts get involved every time there's a bad call," Mr. Hennesy said Sunday. "In football, you deal with the elements, turnovers, injuries, officials' bad calls. That's part of the game."

Yet one school is certain not to be happy with Judge Jones's ruling Wednesday. Appeals are possible, even likely, and the playoffs could be further delayed.

Cushing High School has reached the championship game on the other side of Oklahoma's Class 3A bracket -- made up of schools with about 500 students -- but now must sit and wait for an opponent. So must Heritage Hall High School, which will face either Locust Grove or Douglass in the semifinals.

Anyone hoping for a quick resolution might consider this: In the spring of 2013, the Class 1A baseball playoffs in Oklahoma were held up for a month as one team fought an ineligibility ruling in court. The delay became so lengthy, Mr. Grossman said, that a player graduated and left for military duty.

Andy Bogert, the football coach at Heritage Hall, said Monday: "We are most certainly in limbo. If something doesn't get settled on Wednesday, we might be playing in January."