A school district in Northwest Ohio is investigating an incident at a high school girls basketball game Saturday where one player appeared to yank an opponent to the floor by her hair after she hit a 3-pointer. Video of what happened was posted on social media and made its way to WTOL 11 in Toledo.
Jarring as the sound the girl's head makes as it slams onto the court, even more concerning is that the officials of the game don't seem to do anything about what happened until one coach, presumably of the player who was thrown to the floor, goes absolutely ballistic. The only available context for the incident appears to be the brief 87-second video itself. The student pulling her opponent to the ground came from Bellevue High School, while the student getting pulled down plays for Norwalk High School.
"First and foremost, I am concerned with the health of our injured student athlete," Norwalk superintendent George Fisk said to WTOL via email on Sunday. "She is a fantastic hardworking young lady and in no way deserved the aggressive unsportsmanlike action taken against her. I have been in contact with the administration of Bellevue City Schools, they have assured me that appropriate action will be taken upon the conclusion of their investigation. Additionally, it is my hope the Ohio High School Athletic Association will not remain silent and uninvolved in this situation."
The superintendent, Kim Schubert, and athletic director, Brian Schubert, of Bellevue told WTOL that the school does not comment on individual discipline, but added no further comment beyond that. However, Schubert's comment seems to have come before seeing the everything that happened in Saturday's game, as she later offered an updated statement.
"Since viewing the video on Saturday, with the knowledge that no foul was called during the game, we quickly came to the conclusion that it would be our obligation to address the incident with disciplinary action and we have done so," Schubert told WTOL. "I hope that this clarification will provide a conclusion to this situation leaving no doubt that the situation was immediately addressed. Our priority is the health and safety of all student athletes, including athletes at opposing schools and our own athletes."
Tim Stried, senior director of communications for the Ohio High School Athletics Association (OHSAA), said Monday the organization is "working with the two schools on this matter," but will first allow Bellevue to "respond and address this situation internally."
