Poll: 12 hours too old to play

[Lord Beautiful]

As a former HS football player I would have been DEVASTATED if this happened to me.

You dont get another chance to play your senior year of HS football ever again.

We are talking 12 hours here people. Not 12 days or 12 weeks but 12 freaking hours. Exceptions can and should be made sometimes and this is one where an exception should have been made.

For those of you who argue that it is just a game and no big deal remember that argument works both ways.

Also 12 hours isnt going to give the kid an unfair advantage. Not like 12 hours is going to turn that kid into this....

Even if 12 hours made him like that, I highly doubt someone like that would be mobile even enough to play defense.

 

[TehIrishSoap]

Thats so unfair!
I feel so sorry for the poor guy...

 

[blankedboy]

As a former HS football player I would have been DEVASTATED if this happened to me.

You dont get another chance to play your senior year of HS football ever again.

We are talking 12 hours here people. Not 12 days or 12 weeks but 12 freaking hours. Exceptions can and should be made sometimes and this is one where an exception should have been made.

For those of you who argue that it is just a game and no big deal remember that argument works both ways.

Also 12 hours isnt going to give the kid an unfair advantage. Not like 12 hours is going to turn that kid into this....

I love those uberfake steroids pictures xD

And yeah. Douchebag policy is douchebag. Let him play.

 

[BoredRolePlayer]

Imagine if Al Bundie was forced to not play Football his senior year. But on topic let the bloody kid play.

 

[Artina89]

I believe that it is completely asinine personally. It's the same as what everyone else has said at some point; there is no advantage that he will have over other people just because he is older by 12 hours. If he wants to play, let him play.

 

[Tron-tonian]

Okay... but who the FUCK legislates high school sports so damn strictly? Government really needs something better to do with its fucking time. There should be no fucking legislation on High School Sports, it's just stupid. It's not like it's professional sports fuck it's a high school team trying to play for fun. This shit is the same as the fucking kids that aren't allowed to play on another high school's sports team (even after they completely switched schools between years) because the other school refuses to let them play. Did the kid sign a contract? Then why all the ridiculous rules?

Did not RTFA, but keep in mind, high school sports are big business in some parts of the USA. To the point that the towns will take on considerable debt to get a new HS football stadium, at the cost of other services. If towns were allowed to bring in ringers, or keep players around, they would do everything in their power to recruit / "encourage" such things.

So, yeah, it sucks, and maybe the board could find a way to enact an exception, but it's a slippery slope.

For fun, read "Friday Night Lights" - gets into the whole thing way deeper than I could on a forum post.

 

[Wintermoot]

rules are rules you cant make exceptions or people that are older say stuff like "well you let that kid play why not me?"

 

[Ashcrexl]

it sucks and the school is being asinine. but its a necessary sort of evil. rules like this are strict for a reason. how long till 12 hours becomes a full day, then a week, then a month, then years?

 

[Hauntghost20]

I mean thre have been 7 year old in high school for f*cks sake put becasue of 12 hours to late he ccant play (d*cks)

 

[Oskamunda]

It's totally asinine. I hate rules fetishism on this level. It's common sense. Let the kid play his sport.

It IS asinine, but it's not rules fetishism. There are REAL reasons for these rules, not fake ones. Professional-level sports are worth BILLIONS of dollars all told, and scouting for them can begin even sooner than high-school, depending on the affluence of the area. The purpose of the rules is the protection of both the players and the integrity of the sport.

I still say it is stupid and unfair that the kid can't play, but it is just. Maybe if his parents knew of it as his CHILDhood dream, as the article quotes in its blatant attempt to sensationalize, they should have researched during his CHILDhood what potential things would hurt and/or help him. Then they could have enrolled him a year early and spent some time at home bringing him up to speed.

Wait, wait, I can see what you're about to say...parents, taking an interest in their kids' futures, especially the ones they express desire for? Whaaat? Parents, doing EXTRA WORK? WHAAAAT? That's unreasonable, you cad! Let's not forget that him being a year younger might hurt his chances, as he'll be under-developed! But, wait, I though a year didn't make any difference...

Any way you cut the cake, the cake you still have to eat says, "You must respect the rules of varsity sports," in its icing. Either that, or don't eat the cake. And STOP saying it's not about money or careers; how much of his parents' 401K has been spent on all the lawyer fees to get him into varsity sports for what will now be less than five months? That's being spent NOT because his not playing senior year hurts his chances for scholarships and professional scouting which could lead to millions of dollars?

People just don't want to accept that high-school sports may not be as innocent and pure as they believe it to be...after all, these rules wouldn't exist in the first place if coaches and superintendents hadn't exploited age differences to demonstrable effect in the past; that demonstrable effect necessitated regulation because it was DEMONSTRABLE.

HOPEFULLY, his court endeavors will allow them to push the cutoff date back, so things like this don't happen again...But I'm doubtful. After all, the courts have got to be weighing things pretty heavily, researching a lot to the validity of his case, and they haven't ruled FOR him, yet.

You can also check out these:
http://www.amazon.com/Payroll-Meet-Story-Corruption-Football/dp/0026271915
http://www.amazon.com/Meat-Market-Smash-Mouth-Football-Recruiting/dp/1933060395

Wait...reading? Research so that when you speak you actually know what you're talking about, rather than spewing unsolicited, nonsensical, factually-inaccurate opinions? CRAZY, I KNOW!

You can also read this tiny, tiny article that illustrates a tiny, tiny part of the bigger picture, and that references the second book, here:
http://whitmanpioneer.com/sports/2008/02/07/college-football-recruiting-rife-with-corruption/

~edited for spelling

 

[Jumping_Over_Fences]

Just because you don't agree with the rules, or the rules don't make sense, doesn't mean that you don't have to follow them.

They need to change the rules, that is for sure, but while they are in place they need to follow them. If they start breaking the rules for things like this then, honestly, where does it stop. Should a student be allowed to pass a class even though they are a few points away from a passing grade? No they shouldn't and this is the same basic idea, except football is just a silly game.

 

[magicmonkeybars]

If he's too old now then he's been too old all season.
He's been an unfair advantage all season long anyway might as well let him play one more game.

 

[farscythe]

rules are rules...that said imo it should be based on what year your in a years difference aint much (that said where im from..and at my level you only get to re do one year..fail twice and your out)
[/edit] reading that it seems kinda vague sorry..failing to find the words to put it better tho

 

[Amphoteric]

Good mabye he will do something useful now.

 

[TaboriHK]

It's totally asinine. I hate rules fetishism on this level. It's common sense. Let the kid play his sport.

It IS asinine, but it's not rules fetishism. There are REAL reasons for these rules, not fake ones. Professional-level sports are worth BILLIONS of dollars all told, and scouting for them can begin even sooner than high-school, depending on the affluence of the area. The purpose of the rules is the protection of both the players and the integrity of the sport.

I still say it is stupid and unfair that the kid can't play, but it is just. Maybe if his parents knew of it as his CHILDhood dream, as the article quotes in its blatant attempt to sensationalize, they should have researched during his CHILDhood what potential things would hurt and/or help him. Then they could have enrolled him a year early and spent some time at home bringing him up to speed.

Wait, wait, I can see what you're about to say...parents, taking an interest in their kids' futures, especially the ones they express desire for? Whaaat? Parents, doing EXTRA WORK? WHAAAAT? That's unreasonable, you cad! Let's not forget that him being a year younger might hurt his chances, as he'll be under-developed! But, wait, I though a year didn't make any difference...

Any way you cut the cake, the cake you still have to eat says, "You must respect the rules of varsity sports," in its icing. Either that, or don't eat the cake. And STOP saying it's not about money or careers; how much of his parents' 401K has been spent on all the lawyer fees to get him into varsity sports for what will now be less than five months? That's being spent NOT because his not playing senior year hurts his chances for scholarships and professional scouting which could lead to millions of dollars?

People just don't want to accept that high-school sports may not be as innocent and pure as they believe it to be...after all, these rules wouldn't exist in the first place if coaches and superintendents hadn't exploited age differences to demonstrable effect in the past; that demonstrable effect necessitated regulation because it was DEMONSTRABLE.

HOPEFULLY, his court endeavors will allow them to push the cutoff date back, so things like this don't happen again...But I'm doubtful. After all, the courts have got to be weighing things pretty heavily, researching a lot to the validity of his case, and they haven't ruled FOR him, yet.

You can also check out these:
http://www.amazon.com/Payroll-Meet-Story-Corruption-Football/dp/0026271915
http://www.amazon.com/Meat-Market-Smash-Mouth-Football-Recruiting/dp/1933060395

Wait...reading? Research so that when you speak you actually know what you're talking about, rather than spewing unsolicited, nonsensical, factually-inaccurate opinions? CRAZY, I KNOW!

You can also read this tiny, tiny article that illustrates a tiny, tiny part of the bigger picture, and that references the second book, here:
http://whitmanpioneer.com/sports/2008/02/07/college-football-recruiting-rife-with-corruption/

~edited for spelling

It can't be unfair AND just. "Just" doesn't work that way. I really don't care how innocent his family's intent is. I'm really not interested in the "morality" of the game. The kid is in school, and he's technically half a day too old? That's nonsense, and no amount of rationalizing or moralizing is going to change that. I couldn't care less that he has a greater opportunity to get picked up. That's how life is, and it has no effect whatsoever on how likely a professional career is. He has just as much a chance of bombing out as anyone else, at the end of the line. And football as a sport is simply not this important, no matter what any enthusiast says.

 

[Oskamunda]

"Those that were granted [exception] fell into a a couple of categories: students who entered the US as non-English speaking persons who were placed in a lower grade than their age would dictate; and documented specific medical or disability issues that required their repeat of grade."

--Tom Zimorsky, Deputy Director VHSL, in response to the restraining order requested by Sisson to allow him to play the rest of his senior year.

What does it all MEAN!?!?

It means he was held back voluntarily by his parents, against the advice of his school counselors for his "reading disability." It means that he is 19-and-a-half now, going to be 20 on July 31st, 2011. He is a full year-and-a-half older than most of his teammates NOW, and has been able to legally buy cigarettes since the first day of his junior year, and been legally able to drive the first day of his freshman year. He now reaps the consequences of what his parents have sown; rather than putting the extra legwork in themselves to help him catch up, they expected the school to do it for them with little regard for the social implications of his son being held back [you KNOW that Sisson got all kinds of hell from other kids], as the aforementioned counselors said it was unnecessary. It means his playing in senior year WILL yield an unfair advantage for his team, especially if he is first-string QB [which he is--hmmm...19.5 years old AND first-string QB? Coincidence? No, I must be crazy...it can't have anything to do with his age disparity, he really must be just THAT GOOD], and that his introduction to league will throw off all kinds of matriculation calculations. Change anything? No, prolly not.

http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/270369

A FEDERAL judge has denied him his claim...a man who sits on appeals to murder cases, who has the ability to decide life and death, has found no warrant in this claim, due to all the reasons listed in all the above comments. Perhaps we defer to the authority on the subject? No, prolly not.

Now he's going to sue. Will he win? Prolly not.

Have ANY of the people who are supporting his case actually READ anything about the subject of Varsity Sports, or even this particular case? Prolly not.

Discussion over? Prolly not.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

In my high school I knew of quite a few guys from my class and previous graduating classes that were 19 for half the season and they still played to the end, but then again I am quite sure Virginia is much different from Florida.