The Philadelphia high school boys basketball team is urging officials to reconsider a rule that ended its season after players left the bench during an on-court brawl in the Public League quarterfinals.
Carver College of Engineering and Science was disqualified in the final minute of last week’s game against Constitution High School. Sports recording service HUDL captured video of the confrontation, which shows an E&S player raising his hands before being pushed. After a while, the fans ran onto the court.
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“They took what we earned. We did it ourselves,” senior point guard Matthew McField said.
McField said the team’s season ended unfairly in Thursday’s playoff game.
“We put in our blood, sweat and tears. So it’s an emotional game and it means a lot to us,” he said.
E&S led 61-49 with just over a minute left in the game when the incident occurred.
Parents said some Constitution players left the bench, followed by other E&S players.
“I feel like we came off the bench just to protect the guys,” McField said.
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Philadelphia Public League president James Lynch informed parents via email that the team’s conduct violated the league’s “unsportsmanlike conduct policy,” resulting in the loss and one-game suspension.
Constitution will advance to Tuesday’s semifinals against Imhotep.
“They took away a season that they worked so hard for. Not one year, but four years,” said parent David Macfield.
Parents are calling on league officials to resume the teams’ seasons and review rules governing such incidents.
“It’s frustrating,” said parent Miya Brown, president of the Philadelphia Family and School Council. “I think cases like this need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The rules don’t apply in every situation because every situation is going to be different.”
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“All I ask is that you get us back into the season because we really deserve it, we really earned it and we want to show everyone how hard we worked,” Matthew said.
Carver E&S players and parents said they remain hopeful even though the semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m.
We reached out to Constitution’s coaches and Public League officials for comment, but we’re still waiting to hear back.
