Plainfield requests NJSIAA investigate officiating at Friday’s football game at Montgomery
Plainfield superintendent Rashon Hasan sent a letter to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association on Tuesday requesting an investigation into the officiating at last Friday night’s Cardinals high school football varsity game at Montgomery.
The game, a hard-fought affair Plainfield lost 23-14, featured 44 accepted penalties, the letter says, with 36 of them being called against the Cardinals. Plainfield head coach James Williams, as well as one of his assistants, were ejected late in the fourth quarter. The ejection carries with it a one-game suspension, which the superintendent’s letter is also appealing.
“Multiple complaints and accounts of the game, which have been documented and shared with my office and on social media, paint a disheartening picture of the officiating, specifically concerning its discriminatory, unfair, and unethical nature,” the letter stated.
Plainfield has been informed by the NSJIAA that there will be an investigation, according to Vashon Hill, the Chief of Marketing and Communications for the Plainfield Public School District
Tee NJSIAA released a statement Friday morning, denying the appeal on the coaches' suspensions and addressing the issue.
“The NJSIAA takes seriously matters relating to sideline safety, behavior, sportsmanship, fair play, and certainly claims of racial bias. We’re strongly committed to upholding the rules and applying them evenly, which we will do.
“Per NJSIAA rules, any coach disqualified from an NJSIAA football game is required to serve a one-game suspension. There are no appeals to a disqualification once it has been filed by an official.
“Any bias incident reported to NJSIAA will be investigated, with all available information being forwarded to the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights.
“While we understand that a great deal of information is circulating in the press and via social media, and passions are running high, we should all take pause to ensure the facts are accurate and all parties are provided with due process.”
According to people at the game, there were plenty of complaints against the officials from both sides, including when Montgomery was flagged for a penalty when its band played during one of Plainfield’s offensive possessions. While there is no rule against it, and it is common practice, the officials, reportedly, told the band not to and threw the flag when they did it anyway.
More: 'Who do I pick?': Father and sons face off on the football field
Things, reportedly, boiled over with about 2:00 remaining in the game when Montgomery was awarded a first down on a close play that all but iced the contest, as the Cougars led 17-14 and would be able to run out the clock. Plainfield asked for a measurement to confirm the first down – as is procedurally correct -- but was denied by the officials, and the Cardinals sideline reacted, leading to the coaches being ejected.
The letter further alleges that officials acted unprofessionally and disrespectfully in how they addressed members of the Plainfield contingent.
“It has come to my attention that the officials referred to members of the Plainfield High School staff by the derogatory term "Boy" and made statements such as “Hurry up, boy” and “Stand right there, boy,” instead of showing human dignity and addressing them by their names,” Hassan wrote. “This is both disrespectful and unprofessional behavior, which further contributes to the perception that the officials failed to treat our students and coaching staff with the respect they rightfully deserve.
“The practice of white men and women referring to black men as "Boy" has a long and deeply troubling history in the United States. This racial slur was used to demean and dehumanize black men and reinforce the power dynamics of racial segregation and discrimination. It is important to recognize that the use of racially derogatory language has been a tool of oppression and dehumanization, and it is widely condemned today. The mere fact that officials who were selected and trained by the NJSIAA saw fit to use such derogatory language calls into question the values and cultural competencies of the NJSIAA.”
The letter says the sheer number of penalties against Plainfield compared with their opponent “cannot be justified by any reasonable standard.” Hassan wrote the disparity “raises questions about the fairness and impartiality of the officiating crew.”
“Equally concerning is the apparent disparity in how celebrations and expressions of victory were treated on the field. Plainfield's student-athletes appeared to be unfairly restricted in this regard, a stark contradiction to the Official’s Code of Ethics, which underscores the importance of upholding professionalism in all interactions with student-athletes and coaches.”
The letter uses six specific plays as examples, supported, the superintendent wrote, by video. He also alleges the officials were “trigger happy” with their penalty calls, and, “often pulled their flags before the ball was snapped, resulting in penalties that would typically be assessed during the play, such as holding.”
Hassan wrote he would categorize these as pre-meditated penalties, and said the majority of those were called by the head official.
“I understand officials are human and missed calls will happen from time to time. However, when you review the game footage, you will see many missed calls that drastically impacted this game,” Hassan wrote/ “This leads me to believe that the officiating crew is either lacking the skills needed to hold such critical positions or that they aimed to leverage their position of power to deprive our student-athletes of the chance to compete fairly.”
Plainfield will play host to Carteret on Saturday at Hub Stine Field.
Simeon Pincus has covered NJ sports since 1997. He can be reached at SPincus@GannettNJ.com. Follow him on Twitter @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ football: Plainfield requests NJSIAA investigate officiating
