I have not forgotten how a Philadelphia Phillies fan took it upon himself to use a laser pointer to distract some St. Louis Cardinals players in a nationally-televised game in 2009. The fan escaped, thanks to his fellow fans refusing to hand him up. If this dweeb was in Massachusetts, however, he probably would be in jail within seconds.
I bring it up because there was another laser pointer incident recently, this time in a high school girls hockey game between Medway-Ashford and Winthrop. According to Yahoo!'s Prep Rally blog, Joseph Cordes, 42, an estranged father of one of the Winthrop players, began using the laser pointer to distract some of the opposing players, including their goaltender, who complained of headaches the next day. Winthrop won, 3-1, but despite the protests of Medway-Ashford parents, the result is being allowed to stand. Cordes, however, was arrested Wednesday and charged with disturbing the peace. He was caught at the game and ejected, but why it took so long for them to haul him off to jail after the game is beyond me.
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, oh, by the way, should also be considered for Weasel status for refusing to do the right thing and replay the game. Cordes' actions affected the outcome of the game, soiling the efforts of the players on both sides. Granted, these ladies tried to play through the distraction, and that's the argument the Association is using, suggesting that Cordes, trying to make good to his daughter for being an absentee parent, was acting as an independent party.
While Cordes was caught and ultimately will be brought before the court, the MIAA's refusal to act leaves the door open for copycats who figure that if they can pull a similar stunt to help their teams, nothing will ever be done to change the outcome. It's not underhanded if it's out in the open where hundreds or thousands of witnesses can see what's happening. The right thing to do is replay the game, and erase the record of last week's contest. In the 21st century, you're going to have more of these goofy little Weasels with access to the latest technology who can affect the outcome of a game for any reason, and it doesn't even have to involve gambling.
The time to act is now. The question is whether or not the Association has the collective cajones to try.
2 comments:
This goes beyond poor sportsmanship. Using a laser pointer and aiming it into someone's eyes is dangerous! You can potentially blind someone!
The game should have been nullified due to the intentional interference and rescheduled. It's not much different than if this guy had used a mirror to reflect the sun into someone's eyes.
I worry that people are going to end up getting searched not just for weapons (which is bad enough) but but for laser pointers too.
Then, the ruling body, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Association in this case, is just as blind, because they're ignoring the inherent danger present. They're more concerned with keeping their tournament in order, and that's an even bigger problem. Priorities, and how to put them in order in relation to an athlete's health & safety.
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