Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Every year, from somewhere in the country, a story like this surfaces. This year, it hit closer to home than ever before.
The most recent case in point involves a Layton High School sophomore who was arrested last Thursday following a junior varsity football game against longtime rival, Davis. Apparently, in the time-honored tradition of high school rivalries, Davis students had recently damaged Layton’s football field with some kind of chemical. This is normal. It’s almost expected. But that one Layton soph took it personally.
The Layton/Davis junior varsity game proceeded normally, with Layton eventually winning. After the game, the two teams lined up to exchange handshakes, high-fives, bum slaps, and whatever else high school jocks do to each other in the name of sportsmanship. Well, the one Layton soph decided to get a little revenge for the field-trashing incident and slipped some thumbtacks into his glove. I’m sure you can imagine how a handshake, high-five, or slap on the butt would feel with the added sting of a few well-placed thumbtacks. The kid almost got away with it too, but a few of the Davis players told their coach, who told the Layton coach, who questioned the kid, who confessed to what he’d done.
No big deal, right? Just a little high school prank, some harmless retaliation. Apparently not. One of the Davis players told his parents what had happened and the parents called the police that night. After questioning the suspected player, the cops charged him with juvenile class B misdemeanor assault and according to the Standard-Examiner, the kid is now in the juvenile court system and might have to spend a while locked up.
The ironic thing about the whole incident is that the kids had just spent 48 minutes trying to rip each other’s heads off on the field, inflicting more pain than a thumbtack could ever do. Apparently, the Davis players are fine suffering from concussions, torn ligaments, broken ribs and life-altering knee injuries, but pin pricks to the hand are unacceptable.
I can definitely see this case making national headlines, especially if the boy in question does have to spend some time in juvenile hall, or whatever prison for kids is called. A few years ago, a similar case sparked a nationwide debate and threatened to shut down high school football in parts of California. In that case, a player’s father was tired of seeing his son getting head-slapped on the field and decided to do something about it. A head-slap, if you’re not into football, is exactly what it sounds like, a move that’s technically illegal (at least in the NFL) but hard to catch and rarely penalized at the high school level. It usually goes on in the trenches and I’ve never seen it called in a game, but its bastard brother, the facemask penalty, is called several times a night. Anyway, Dad gets tired of watching Junior get head-slapped and steals the kid’s helmet one night. In the garage, Dad replaces the buckles on Junior’s helmet with new, razor sharp steel ones instead of the round plastic or aluminum buckles that are standard. In the next game Junior plays, members of the opposing team keep leaving the field with deep cuts on their hands and arms, many of which require stitches. That’ll teach ‘em! The opposing coach realizes something is going on, asks the refs to inspect the other team’s equipment, and Junior is busted. But nothing happened to the kid. Dad took the blame and was charged with aggravated assault.
There’s a case like that every year, and Utah was lucky enough to get the infamy this season. So now, along with polygamy, incest, religious fanaticism, anti-depressant dependence, high rates of teen suicide, bankruptcy, and abnormal Jello consumption, we can add high school football scandal to the list. What a great state.
The most recent case in point involves a Layton High School sophomore who was arrested last Thursday following a junior varsity football game against longtime rival, Davis. Apparently, in the time-honored tradition of high school rivalries, Davis students had recently damaged Layton’s football field with some kind of chemical. This is normal. It’s almost expected. But that one Layton soph took it personally.
The Layton/Davis junior varsity game proceeded normally, with Layton eventually winning. After the game, the two teams lined up to exchange handshakes, high-fives, bum slaps, and whatever else high school jocks do to each other in the name of sportsmanship. Well, the one Layton soph decided to get a little revenge for the field-trashing incident and slipped some thumbtacks into his glove. I’m sure you can imagine how a handshake, high-five, or slap on the butt would feel with the added sting of a few well-placed thumbtacks. The kid almost got away with it too, but a few of the Davis players told their coach, who told the Layton coach, who questioned the kid, who confessed to what he’d done.
No big deal, right? Just a little high school prank, some harmless retaliation. Apparently not. One of the Davis players told his parents what had happened and the parents called the police that night. After questioning the suspected player, the cops charged him with juvenile class B misdemeanor assault and according to the Standard-Examiner, the kid is now in the juvenile court system and might have to spend a while locked up.
The ironic thing about the whole incident is that the kids had just spent 48 minutes trying to rip each other’s heads off on the field, inflicting more pain than a thumbtack could ever do. Apparently, the Davis players are fine suffering from concussions, torn ligaments, broken ribs and life-altering knee injuries, but pin pricks to the hand are unacceptable.
I can definitely see this case making national headlines, especially if the boy in question does have to spend some time in juvenile hall, or whatever prison for kids is called. A few years ago, a similar case sparked a nationwide debate and threatened to shut down high school football in parts of California. In that case, a player’s father was tired of seeing his son getting head-slapped on the field and decided to do something about it. A head-slap, if you’re not into football, is exactly what it sounds like, a move that’s technically illegal (at least in the NFL) but hard to catch and rarely penalized at the high school level. It usually goes on in the trenches and I’ve never seen it called in a game, but its bastard brother, the facemask penalty, is called several times a night. Anyway, Dad gets tired of watching Junior get head-slapped and steals the kid’s helmet one night. In the garage, Dad replaces the buckles on Junior’s helmet with new, razor sharp steel ones instead of the round plastic or aluminum buckles that are standard. In the next game Junior plays, members of the opposing team keep leaving the field with deep cuts on their hands and arms, many of which require stitches. That’ll teach ‘em! The opposing coach realizes something is going on, asks the refs to inspect the other team’s equipment, and Junior is busted. But nothing happened to the kid. Dad took the blame and was charged with aggravated assault.
There’s a case like that every year, and Utah was lucky enough to get the infamy this season. So now, along with polygamy, incest, religious fanaticism, anti-depressant dependence, high rates of teen suicide, bankruptcy, and abnormal Jello consumption, we can add high school football scandal to the list. What a great state.
