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Editor’s note: The final two games of the suspension were lifted after this column was originally drafted for publication.
Referees and officials for local sports have no more of an adamant supporter than me.
Officiating sports locally be at the youth or high school athletics is a thankless job, with the harassment these officials face is driving officials away from the sports and ultimately may cost some sports to no longer be viable.
But there are times when officials make mistakes, much the same way athletes do. You see a dropped pass, a fumbled ball, a missed layup or a missed open goal.
It happens – no one is perfect. I have misspelled names, gotten scores wrong, you name it. We all make mistakes.
The key in life is how you handle our foul-ups. If you have a chance to right a wrong, you must take it.
Even officials. No power play, no God complex – you make a mistake, make things right.
This is what needs to happen with the Contra Costa Officials Association regarding Amador Valley High football player Tommy Vespi.
To set the stage, Amador was playing at Monte Vista on Oct. 23, a game the Mustangs eventually won 34-14. At one point, the Mustangs called a run play, and the Dons were able to stand up the runner.
As has become the norm, when a runner is stood up, the defense tries to punch the ball loose with what is known as a “peanut punch”.
It’s part of the game – something seen at every level of football, be it high school, college or professional football. Fred Warner of the 49ers has made an art form of the move while teammate Dre Greenlaw maybe overuses it.
It’s a move taught to the players at every level, even the high school level.
Vespi tried just that against the Mustangs, but the Monte Vista player held on to the ball. I have seen video of the play and watched it maybe 25 to 30 times, and there was nothing more than an attempt to punch the ball loose, a legal football move.
One of the officials saw it differently and threw a penalty flag. The officials huddled together and when the huddle broke, Vespi was called for a penalty and disqualified from the game for throwing punches.
In the report after the game, it was deemed by the one official that Vespi was fighting and because of that he was hit with a three-game suspension. Given that the Dons only have two games left, in effect, it gave Vespi, a senior, the death penalty for his high school career.
I have read the high school rulebook and Section 11 deals with what constitutes fighting.
It states: “Fighting is any attempt by a player or non-player to strike or engage a player or non-player in a combative manner unrelated to football. Such acts include, but are not limited to, attempts to strike an opponent with the arm(s), hand(s), leg(s), or foot (feet), whether or not there is conflict.”
Here’s the rub – that statement “unrelated to football”. Trying to punch the ball loose is related to football. It’s a point that can’t be argued whether you like the rule or not. It is part of the game.
But the report was filed and Vespi was unjustly punished. Amador as a school mobilized and immediately appealed the decision.
The North Coast Section refused to hear the appeal and informed Amador Valley athletic director Phil Peacock that as “the official said there were several punches being thrown and in the official’s mind it was an act of fighting and not a legal football play, therefore, it does not meet the criteria for appeal.”
I have seen thousands of high school football games and as mentioned, I have seen the tape of the situation, and believe me, that was not an “act of fighting”.
The first thing I noticed was that none of the Monte Vista players reacted as if it was a fight. In every game I have seen where a potential fight occurs, the teams protect themselves. There was none of that here because there did not need to be – there was no attempt to start a fight.
I have talked to people from both sides and not one person feels that Vespi was trying to start a fight.
If this is what constitutes what is starting a fight, then every single football team in the area is guilty and has been lucky not to have multiple players suspended throughout the year.
But because the official interpreted in the heat of the moment it was an attempt to start a fight and because NCS was gutless enough not to look at the film and the ruling, a high school kid gets wrongly penalized.
Organizations like NCS are supposed to be all about the kids but in this case, they have failed – miserably.
It’s only going to get worse as the “punching out of a football” is something that needs to be addressed. But right now, it’s legal and is something that is coached.
I want to make something clear – I know the official didn’t seek out Vespi and make it personal. As I said above, officiating is a thankless job, and I will continue to defend officials when they are harassed by out-of-control fans.
If it was a heat of the moment decision, one that demands a cooling off period, perhaps review the film, and make the right decision.
You should not be allowed to play judge and jury without all the facilities available being used.
Let’s put the athletes first.
My guess is it’s probably too late, but NCS could step up and do the right thing instead of begging off the situation. It’s easy to stay out of tough situations. It’s not easy to be involved in a controversial situation but it’s something our athletes deserve.
Game of the Week
I knew this was going to be the Game of the Week sometime ago as the San Ramon Valley and Monte Vista football teams started so strong.
And along the way, both teams have only a loss to De La Salle to blemish their records. The SRV-MV games were always one of my favorite games to cover. Great players, great coaches, over-flowing crowds, and almost always some incredible action.
Friday night at Monte Vista in a 7:15 p.m. start, the Mustangs and Wolves will compete not just for the much-coveted title of Danville champs, but the EBAL Mountain Division title will also be on the line.
Both teams are 8-1 overall and 2-0 in Mountain play. Both have the losses to De La Salle. Monte Vista fell 51-0 at home to the Spartans while San Ramon Valley lost 31-14 on the road and led De La Salle at halftime. Both teams have had explosive offenses and each team’s defensive units have been solid.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. This column originally appeared in Tri-Valley Preps Playbook, a weekly sports e-newsletter published by Embarcadero Media Foundation. To sign up for free, visit here.
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