JV team forfeits after being roughed up

At the beginning of the fourth quarter last Thursday, junior-varsity basketball Coach Derrick Hamilton called his team off the court and together they left the gym, forfeiting the game against Astronaut.

“We were playing a game and this team is beating us, we can live with that,”  Hamilton said. “But what we cannot live with is the girls being bullied, beaten and bloodied on the court and the referees not doing anything about it.”

During the third quarter, three Lady Wildcats sustained injuries requiring medical attention from the athletic trainer.

“The final straw was watching one of my point-guards, an eighth-grader, get punched in the stomach deliberately, and the opponent who did it not being thrown out of the game,” Hamilton said.

Freshman Victoria Hahn also complained that the game was not being monitored properly.

“They were really rough,” she said.  “[Astronaut players] elbowed me in the eye, pushed another player to the ground and punched someone else in the ribs,” Hahn said. “Me and another player had to get checked for concussions by the trainer.”

The Florida High School Athletic Association does not allow forfeiture of a basketball game.   At this time possible penalties include suspension and/or fines for West Shore, but there has been no word from the state yet.

By Taylor Smith