Clueless in MA - MIAA at its worst

Yep. The high school rule books are full of stupid rules. A rule should come about as a response to some problem that is occuring. They choose instead to make rules based on what might happen. I have never heard of a case in which a runner was injured by jewelry, but the rule exists because it could possibly happen. As far as I know, profanity was never such a large problem that a rule needed to be created, but it's there anyway.

Not Kramer wrote:

Raw deal for McDonald

I could argue that, in today's society, there is little that offends, but that's another story.

I applaud the MIAA for disqualifying this runner. Perhaps he will learn a lesson about what is acceptable conduct. Maybe our society as a whole would be better off if we were more willing to stand up for decency.

Just heard that the "profanity" that the runner uttered was...

"Dammit."

Phew. Sure glad those MIAA obscenity police are protecting women and children from this outrageous filth.

I have mailed them a nickel - hopefully they will use it to buy a clue.

You are kidding, right? This word was used this week in an editorial in the Sacramento Bee - a major newspaper.

This athlete's school should sue the MIAA on his behalf.

http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/80347.html

I did not agree with your original post. Most kids I've heard over the years use a stronger profanity. You know the one.

If you are correct, I tend to believe the official could have taken action to either ignore it or preferably distract attention away from the remark by reminding the kid to keep his composure.

Does anyone know the exact wording of the NFHS Rule Book that governs this incident? The MIAA Rule Book (The so called Blue Book) references the National Rule. The latest edition of the NFHS rules that I have is from 2001.

All the best,

Giles

hey guys its a tough situation

yes, you can argue that the MIAA was lame by DQing Eric while not DQing Ryan, thats a legitimate claim

but the truth is, do not blame the MIAA for the DQ, Eric put himself in that position and he was totally in control of avoiding the situation

i have personally talked to people on the line at the meet, and the word that was said, according to these ears was not dammit, it was f*ck, but, there is no way to be sure

regardless of the swear, the MIAA had the right to do what they did, even though they also had the choice to avoid it, making the DQ lame but realistic

if you are totally one-sided on this situation and do not take in consideration both sides of the argument, then you are just being a hot-headed fool, the MIAA was just trying to protect the integrety of cross country

you cannot compare high school cross country to other sports, especially professional sports teams like the celtics, for high school cross county has built up a reputation for being a clean and fair sport, and although people have rightful claims that the call was poor, it was done with the though of keeping xc clean

eric mcdonald is a fantastic runner, and deserves to be recognized as a top D2 MA runner, and should have been a globe all-scholastic this year, however he killed his chances for both of these when he swore

he brought upon his own downfall, no matter how you look at it

we can only hope that eric will not make a simple mistake like this again, one that has drastic consequences within the MIAA rules and instead of getting mad at the MIAA we should be wishing him luck in the outdoor season

2006 NFHS Rule 9-7-3 (p. 72) [in the cross country section of the book]

A competitor who is unsportsmanlike or uses unacceptable conduct. (See 4-5-1, 2)

...

PENALTY: (All articles) Disqualification from the event.

2006 NFHS Rule 4-5-2 (p. 27) [referenced by the cross country rule]

Unacceptable conduct by a competitor includes, but is not limited to, willful failure to follow the directions of a meet official, using profanity that is not directed at someone or any action which could bring discredit to the individual or his/her school.

PENALTY: Disqualification from that event.

This is just another example of officials thinking they are more important then the event. Give the kid his third place our sport should be free of subjective bull shit...oops I swore.

jonathan Little wrote:

This is just another example of officials thinking they are more important then the event. Give the kid his third place our sport should be free of subjective bull shit...oops I swore.

the massachusetts people think that they are more important than any kid - even if their dumb@ss actions cost a kid $1,000's in lost scholarships

miaa really really suck

he said dammit, not f*ck, i know

Naugatuck wrote:

miaa really really suck

This may be true, but not because of the incident being discussed here. As previously posted, the applied rule is from the NFHS not the MIAA. The same official(s) who ruled against this young man apply the rule whether they are working a meet for the MIAA, MSTCA, or high school conference. It gets enforced all the time, so it was appropriate to enforce it at this meet.

Naugatuck wrote:

he said dammit, not f*ck, i know

That's what MacDonald is claiming, though witnesses at the finish line claim it was the f-word.

First off there is an enormous difference between wearing a wristband and swearing. In one case you are demeaning the sport, yourself, and your school. Personally I wouldn't want to take my 8 year old to a high school sporting event, having my son look up to these kids and start imitating them if they are swearing. There is no need for it. I've been outkicked before, but usually by the end of an xc race I'm a little tired to yell anything.

Secondly, if you really want to take the jewelry arguement to its extreme, I guess you shoudl DQ anyone in the race who wore a watch. Probably not a big deal because not that many runners I know wear watches 24/7. The fact is that he broke the rule, he broke the rule in a manner which was deemed bad enough to warrant a DQ. Is it a bit petty maybe, but so is tucking your shirt in at the beginning of a track race, yet you don't see mass protest at the starting line. Follow the rules. And it seems to me like he is a bit of a hot-head.

Ivy Tree wrote:

Secondly, if you really want to take the jewelry arguement to its extreme, I guess you shoudl DQ anyone in the race who wore a watch.

Watches are allowed under the jewelry rule. Everything else you wrote is spot on.

Naugatuck wrote:

the massachusetts people think that they are more important than any kid - even if their dumb@ss actions cost a kid $1,000's in lost scholarships

actually it would be the dumbass kid's action (swearing) that cost him any lost scholarships, not the officials for enforcing the rules

and nobody lost a scholarship as a result of this. people who hand out scholarships know exactly how fast every one of their potential runners are.

funny how idiot whiners like you cry whenever people actually have the balls to actually enforce rules.

The MIAA has alot of strange rules, like the jewelry rule, watches used to be considered jewelry but they have gotten better...I remember a few years ago at indoor state relays they DQ'd a girl in the high jump relay because her sports bra didn't match the other girls on her team (under their matching uniforms rule)

That was a stupid call and it got reversed but the kid swearing is a legit call...granted it's lame and i don't think that many people would be appauled by hearing f*ck or damn or whatever he said but it's a high school event and profanity goes against the whole idea of sportsmanship that the MIAA tries to promote...it sucks but the kid made a mistake it's not the end of the world if the kid is going to get scholarship money then im sure he has run well before and will run well again

nopers wrote

funny how idiot whiners like you cry whenever people actually have the balls to actually enforce rules.

enforce this...

Im an old mass runner who has been on the wrong side of the jewelry rule. O few years ago when I was running the 2mile at the wmass championships the officals DQ'ed me for having a ring on. and when i crossed the finish line they looked at my hands saying where there was no ring. they had said that I tossed the ring off on one of my laps. But the thing about it was i never had a ring on and have never owned a ring so it was impossible for me to have one on during the race. anyways what I am trying to say is that the MIAA sucks. If any of you were around for the 2002 crosss country championships where andrew pitts and sean quigly were racing down the finsh line and pitts "bumbed" into quigly and then pitts was DQ'ed is another example of the officails blowing things out of proportion. I even had the finsih on tape and tried to show it to them but they would not look at it. But I believe that if a kid is DQ'ed for saying a cuss word then yes the kind should be DQ'ed for jewelry i dont care if he won the race or not. be fair to all kinds.

I guess im just ranting about how bad the MIAA is. man i hate them. glad im not running in high school anymore

Cummings Park wrote:

enforce this...

http://www.northrunning.com/images/Collins_Finish.jpg

Two words: PhotoShop