Basketball Teams Try To Lose - Two Tennessee girl's high school basketball teams have been placed on restrictive probation for the rest of the season and fined by the state high school athletic association after they allegedly both tried to lose a game against each other on Saturday.
According to a report from the referee, who officiated the game, both Smyrna and Riverdale high school girl's basketball teams did their most to lose the game. He revealed that both coaches brought in their second teams in the first quarter of the game.
He also reported that the Riverdale team willfully missed between 12 to 16 free throws and at least one player signaled to an official that she wanted to be called out of the game for 3 seconds. On the other hand, he revealed that Smyrna coach Shawn Middleton ordered his players to commit foul and at least one player in the team attempted to make a shot in the wrong basket. "Smyrna wouldn't get the ball across the half court line to get a 10 second count or to make us call an over and back violation intentionally," the referee wrote in his official match report.
Both teams had apparently tried to lose in order to avoid a matchup against Blackman High School, the state and national champions. The losing team stood to be moved to the opposite side of the Region 4-AAA. After much dubious tactics, a stern warning from the referee to both coaches and the intervention of Smyrna administrators, the team went on to win the District 7-AAA game against Riverdale by 55-29.
But the result of the game has been cancelled by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). On Monday, after meeting with administrators from both schools, the association placed the teams on restrictive probation for the remainder of the ongoing season and probation for the 2015/16 season. The teams were also fined $1,500 each.
Meanwhile, Riverdale Principal Tom Nolan has suspended the team's coach Cory Barnett. Smyrna Principal Rick Powell has however not decided on an appropriate punishment for the team's coach Middleton. Reports indicate that there is a possibility that both coaches will be fined by the Rutherford County schools director Don Odom.
