Incident report from the IHSGW State Championships.

[Ironbear]

IHSGW Report on January 12th incident at Kokomo Memorial Coliseum.docx

 

IHSGW Report on January 12^th incident at Kokomo Memorial Coliseum

 

First, I want to put in writing how the info was put out to the coaches and athletic directors across the state concerning the hats with glitter and feathers attached to them. I obtained a copy of all the coaches and athletic directors emails from the IHSAA. I sent out an official email to all stating that the hats presented a problem to the mats. I had asked permission to borrow the IHSAA mats and they would truck them in and let us borrow them for the event which we were very excited about. The problem lies in the fact that the boys would be using these mats the next month, and I was told to return them undamaged.

I made a decision to keep the hats with glitter and feathers attached to them out of the arena. The week before, the hats presented a problem because the glitter was getting ground into the mats through the course of the day. I heard a few complaints about the glitter getting in the eyes of the competitors. Now in my email, I state I just didn’t want the glitter damaging the mats and thought well that should be enough. I should have also included the safety risk but just saying please don’t bring them should have been enough.

When I obtained the list and went through it after the tournament it still had New Palestine’s athletic director’s email on it but from his last job. The head coach is new so his wasn’t on there either. With that being said, Mr. Andrew Frey listed as the boys/girls coach was told personally by Randall Hayes, our head official, not to bring the hats and why. This information was given to him the Monday before the state at a boy’s seeding meeting they were both at.

The coach told this to Jason Delois during the week. No email would have reached Mr. Delois because he is a volunteer coach but he was told not to bring those hats according to the head coach, Mr. Frey.

The reasons Mr. Delois received 2 unsportsman-like calls are as follows:  (The whole incident was filed by the referees witnessing the violations as they occurred.)

1.       Mr. Delois was told when entering the event that the hats could not be worn into the arena because of the mandate put out by me, Gary Myers. Mr. Delois disregarded that instruction and kept walking with the team. He then gets to the main gym with the hats still on and was told a second time by the host school that the hats could not be worn into the gym and why. Each time he was asked he disregarded the host schools directive. Randal Hayes, head official, Curt Crouch official, Pat Culp Tournament Director and IHSAA Official, Robert Faulkens all told him to get the hats out of the event. They all were disregarded and Mr. Delois said to them this is ridiculous and he continued to defy all directives.

 

2.       At no time after these violations were written up did it say Mr. Delois was banned from the IHSAA. The unsportsmanlike calls are for Mr. Delois’ behavior once he arrived at the event. If you are a coach that reads the rules you know that once these are written up you have to sit the next dual meet or tourney. Now, the girl’s season has concluded so this doesn’t really affect girl’s future duals or tournaments for this season.

 

 

3.       Debris on the mat is not allowed under any circumstance for the athlete’s safety. Glitter can get into a wrestler’s eyes and cause damage. It is as simple as that. During my conversation with Mr. Delois, I looked at him and said “Do you realize that you have glitter under your eye?”  Hence proving my point.

 

4.       Mr. Delois should have apologized and took the hats to his bus and that would have been the end of it. Sadly, that was not the path he chose. Mr. Delois had the option, over the next 30 minutes, to choose his course of action. He did not choose the likely path of sportsmanship and leadership. Mr. Delois chose defiance, disrespect, and the blatant disregard for the rules. This is why actions were taken against his behavior.

5.       One other coach was written up the same way Mr. Delois was and they left the floor and building immediately.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I just want to personally say that this is unfortunate as we are trying to build women’s wrestling and nobody wants anyone to leave a sporting event. However, when one person decides to disregard the rules there has to be a consequence especially when it affects the safety of others.

 

                                                                                                                         Gary Myers

                                                                                                                      President IHSGW

 

 

Edited January 20 by Y2CJ41
Fixed so didn't need to download

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

Sometimes you gotta stand up for what you believe in!

[awill0352]

11 hours ago, HeadLocksWinChampionships said:

Sometimes you gotta stand up for what you believe in!

Are you implying the thing the stand up for is the wearing of hats with glitter as the hill you die on?  

[navy80]

Good call on the unsportsmanlike.. 

[Lavin13]

Ok

Edited January 21 by Lavin13

[IndianaGirlsWrestling]

On 1/20/2024 at 6:19 PM, Ironbear said:

IHSGW Report on January 12th incident at Kokomo Memorial Coliseum.docx 15.19 kB · 365 downloads

 

IHSGW Report on January 12^th incident at Kokomo Memorial Coliseum

 

First, I want to put in writing how the info was put out to the coaches and athletic directors across the state concerning the hats with glitter and feathers attached to them. I obtained a copy of all the coaches and athletic directors emails from the IHSAA. I sent out an official email to all stating that the hats presented a problem to the mats. I had asked permission to borrow the IHSAA mats and they would truck them in and let us borrow them for the event which we were very excited about. The problem lies in the fact that the boys would be using these mats the next month, and I was told to return them undamaged.

I made a decision to keep the hats with glitter and feathers attached to them out of the arena. The week before, the hats presented a problem because the glitter was getting ground into the mats through the course of the day. I heard a few complaints about the glitter getting in the eyes of the competitors. Now in my email, I state I just didn’t want the glitter damaging the mats and thought well that should be enough. I should have also included the safety risk but just saying please don’t bring them should have been enough.

When I obtained the list and went through it after the tournament it still had New Palestine’s athletic director’s email on it but from his last job. The head coach is new so his wasn’t on there either. With that being said, Mr. Andrew Frey listed as the boys/girls coach was told personally by Randall Hayes, our head official, not to bring the hats and why. This information was given to him the Monday before the state at a boy’s seeding meeting they were both at.

The coach told this to Jason Delois during the week. No email would have reached Mr. Delois because he is a volunteer coach but he was told not to bring those hats according to the head coach, Mr. Frey.

The reasons Mr. Delois received 2 unsportsman-like calls are as follows:  (The whole incident was filed by the referees witnessing the violations as they occurred.)

1.       Mr. Delois was told when entering the event that the hats could not be worn into the arena because of the mandate put out by me, Gary Myers. Mr. Delois disregarded that instruction and kept walking with the team. He then gets to the main gym with the hats still on and was told a second time by the host school that the hats could not be worn into the gym and why. Each time he was asked he disregarded the host schools directive. Randal Hayes, head official, Curt Crouch official, Pat Culp Tournament Director and IHSAA Official, Robert Faulkens all told him to get the hats out of the event. They all were disregarded and Mr. Delois said to them this is ridiculous and he continued to defy all directives.

 

2.       At no time after these violations were written up did it say Mr. Delois was banned from the IHSAA. The unsportsmanlike calls are for Mr. Delois’ behavior once he arrived at the event. If you are a coach that reads the rules you know that once these are written up you have to sit the next dual meet or tourney. Now, the girl’s season has concluded so this doesn’t really affect girl’s future duals or tournaments for this season.

 

 

3.       Debris on the mat is not allowed under any circumstance for the athlete’s safety. Glitter can get into a wrestler’s eyes and cause damage. It is as simple as that. During my conversation with Mr. Delois, I looked at him and said “Do you realize that you have glitter under your eye?”  Hence proving my point.

 

4.       Mr. Delois should have apologized and took the hats to his bus and that would have been the end of it. Sadly, that was not the path he chose. Mr. Delois had the option, over the next 30 minutes, to choose his course of action. He did not choose the likely path of sportsmanship and leadership. Mr. Delois chose defiance, disrespect, and the blatant disregard for the rules. This is why actions were taken against his behavior.

5.       One other coach was written up the same way Mr. Delois was and they left the floor and building immediately.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I just want to personally say that this is unfortunate as we are trying to build women’s wrestling and nobody wants anyone to leave a sporting event. However, when one person decides to disregard the rules there has to be a consequence especially when it affects the safety of others.

 

                                                                                                                         Gary Myers

                                                                                                                      President IHSGW

 

 

Gary, your statement is flawed and has holes in it. If you were a fictional writer i would have an easier time believing this. Let’s not forget I have 18 minutes and 8 seconds of this entire conversation being recorded which Robert knew was being recorded that proves the hats left the building after Robert told me to take them out. So, I did in fact, choose the right path, and still was ejected. 

Edited January 21 by IndianaGirlsWrestling

[Jimmypock]

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

8 hours ago, awill0352 said:

Are you implying the thing the stand up for is the wearing of hats with glitter as the hill you die on?  

Not me personally, but everyone has their thing... 

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

2 hours ago, IndianaGirlsWrestling said:

Gary, your statement is flawed and has holes in it. If you were a fictional writer i would have an easier time believing this. Let’s not forget I have 18 minutes and 8 seconds of this entire conversation being recorded which Robert knew was being recorded that proves the hats left the building after Robert told me to take them out. So, I did in fact, choose the right path, and still was ejected. 

RELEASE THE RECORDING!!!!

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

So... can we start ejecting coaches that show up in sweatpants?

[Lawdiggity]

21 minutes ago, HeadLocksWinChampionships said:

So... can we start ejecting coaches that show up in sweatpants?

What’s wrong with sweatpants?  Or did you mean sweatpants if they’re covered in glitter? If so I’m down for that. 

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

25 minutes ago, Lawdiggity said:

What’s wrong with sweatpants?  Or did you mean sweatpants if they’re covered in glitter? If so I’m down for that. 

Definitely less professional than a hat with glitter, and a hat with glitter is not professional. 

[Silence Dogood]

9 hours ago, HeadLocksWinChampionships said:

So... can we start ejecting coaches that show up in sweatpants?

 

9 hours ago, Lawdiggity said:

What’s wrong with sweatpants?  Or did you mean sweatpants if they’re covered in glitter? If so I’m down for that. 

 

8 hours ago, HeadLocksWinChampionships said:

Definitely less professional than a hat with glitter, and a hat with glitter is not professional. 

 

 

Should probably go with a collared shirt for an event like this.

[Matt Time]

I respect both gentlemen for what you've done to grow girls wrestling. I would encourage y'all to work it out offline. Additional public attention to this topic doesn't help the bigger goal of presenting our girls and the sport in a serious light.

[IndianaGirlsWrestling]

AGREED!
 

Thank you for bringing some civility to this issue. 

[HeadLocksWinChampionships]

5 hours ago, IndianaGirlsWrestling said:

AGREED!
 

Thank you for bringing some civility to this issue. 

 

6 hours ago, Matt Time said:

I respect both gentlemen for what you've done to grow girls wrestling. I would encourage y'all to work it out offline. Additional public attention to this topic doesn't help the bigger goal of presenting our girls and the sport in a serious light.

 

Keep fighting the good fight! 

[casualwrestlingfan]

See this is the crap they worry about instead of the major issues. Yeah it can be a possible safety issue, but have the offender clean the mat and physically take possession of the contraband as the host admin from the offender. Every HS/MS event I've been present has security there or very near. This is an example why wrestle backs, team state,  girls sanctioned, and etc get tabled or never brought to the table. Our school administration "representatives" in the IHSAA make mole hills priorty over mountains. Less so for IHSWCA & IHSGW (except this instance of major mountain sized mole hill) but even they have a few. Indiana continues to just stay stuck in the past when it comes to athletics as a whole. This falls in the noisemakers rule that gets broken at every playoff football game. Pretty funny Mr. Faulkens  was in attendance for one of those playoff football games as cowbells from the host team were ringing loudly as the radio broadcasters acknowledged him. Shows they have bark with little bite unless it personally bothers them. The host school was shut out, so those cowbells backfired. Yet they announce that rule constantly so you know they love it on the books but hate to enforce it.

[SharkBit]

Note this is a satirical point of view only after reading all the previous comments....laugh, have fun or take at face value?  Not meant to offend anyone's point of view.

 

Or the conspiracy theory surfaces-

Girls wrestling has seen phenomenal growth in both numbers and talent.

The carrot is dangled that if you do everything the right way as you should that the IHSAA may sanction Girls Wrestling in 2024-25.

The numbers grow and the 2023-24 IHSGW season and regional competitions are exceptional.

The season is capped off with an attendace packed energy filled fieldhouse in Kokomo. 

Rumor is Robert Faulkens is in attendance to check it out for himself and further evaluate the worthiness and timeliness of sanctioning girls wrestling for the following year?

Then low and behold Sparklegate hits the board.

The attention of a successful season and post season is now in question because rules allegedly cannot be followed?

It was almost as if....do everything that has been asked of you and you may be rewarded?

Which may now turn into....whoa this isn't how we do things....maybe we need more time to consider and evaluate sanctioning girls wrestling?

You can do everything right and one little thing wrong.

Sometimes screaming about your own injustices results in more self damage than justice.

Hmmmm some things to consider?  

Let's see if this seemingly little issue affects the big picture now....or maybe that was the purpose all along?

If a reason was needed to not move forward....can we please not give it to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[casualwrestlingfan]

46 minutes ago, SharkBit said:

Note this is a satirical point of view only after reading all the previous comments....laugh, have fun or take at face value?  Not meant to offend anyone's point of view.

 

Or the conspiracy theory surfaces-

Girls wrestling has seen phenomenal growth in both numbers and talent.

The carrot is dangled that if you do everything the right way as you should that the IHSAA may sanction Girls Wrestling in 2024-25.

The numbers grow and the 2023-24 IHSGW season and regional competitions are exceptional.

The season is capped off with an attendace packed energy filled fieldhouse in Kokomo. 

Rumor is Robert Faulkens is in attendance to check it out for himself and further evaluate the worthiness and timeliness of sanctioning girls wrestling for the following year?

Then low and behold Sparklegate hits the board.

The attention of a successful season and post season is now in question because rules allegedly cannot be followed?

It was almost as if....do everything that has been asked of you and you may be rewarded?

Which may now turn into....whoa this isn't how we do things....maybe we need more time to consider and evaluate sanctioning girls wrestling?

You can do everything right and one little thing wrong.

Sometimes screaming about your own injustices results in more self damage than justice.

Hmmmm some things to consider?  

Let's see if this seemingly little issue affects the big picture now....or maybe that was the purpose all along?

If a reason was needed to not move forward....can we please not give it to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hate to break it to you, but they already made that decision prior to the event & controversy. Hell it was probably made over a year ago. The IHSAA will say one thing & do another. Same with many other states. Look at the OHSAA on their football and now possibly other sports. They want what's best for the pocket books. You just hope it also aligns with benefitting the student athletes. 

[awill0352]

3 hours ago, casualwrestlingfan said:

See this is the crap they worry about instead of the major issues. Yeah it can be a possible safety issue, but have the offender clean the mat and physically take possession of the contraband as the host admin from the offender. Every HS/MS event I've been present has security there or very near. This is an example why wrestle backs, team state,  girls sanctioned, and etc get tabled or never brought to the table. Our school administration "representatives" in the IHSAA make mole hills priorty over mountains. Less so for IHSWCA & IHSGW (except this instance of major mountain sized mole hill) but even they have a few. Indiana continues to just stay stuck in the past when it comes to athletics as a whole. This falls in the noisemakers rule that gets broken at every playoff football game. Pretty funny Mr. Faulkens  was in attendance for one of those playoff football games as cowbells from the host team were ringing loudly as the radio broadcasters acknowledged him. Shows they have bark with little bite unless it personally bothers them. The host school was shut out, so those cowbells backfired. Yet they announce that rule constantly so you know they love it on the books but hate to enforce it.

Whoever told you cowbells are not allowed at ihsaa post season football games is incorrect.    I posted the restrictions below.  Football official here by the way.  

[casualwrestlingfan]

1 minute ago, awill0352 said:

Whoever told you cowbells are not allowed at ihsaa post season football games is incorrect.    I posted the restrictions below.  Football official here by the way.  

Was to be no noise makers per the PA announcement. Anyway, the electronic noisemakers were present as well. Those are better than the cowbells anyway.

[awill0352]

Just now, casualwrestlingfan said:

Was to be no noise makers per the PA announcement. Anyway, the electronic noisemakers were present as well. Those are better than the cowbells anyway.

Ahh gotcha.   The PA announcer was wrong.  My favorite is the milk jugs filled with rocks.  Cowbells are cool and all, but not homemade. 

[casualwrestlingfan]

1 minute ago, awill0352 said:

Ahh gotcha.   The PA announcer was wrong.  My favorite is the milk jugs filled with rocks.  Cowbells are cool and all, but not homemade. 

No Cowbells are not cool. The air horns & fireworks are cool . I blame Starkville MS for that cowbell nonsense.

[MattM]

8 minutes ago, casualwrestlingfan said:

Was to be no noise makers per the PA announcement. Anyway, the electronic noisemakers were present as well. Those are better than the cowbells anyway.

The no noisemaker fan rule is usually covered for the IHSAA indoor sports like volleyball and basketball. So that school may have been delivering a blanket statement assuming all sports had the same policy.  Outdoor sports seem to be given just a little more leeway with how they can produce supportive noise.  

[casualwrestlingfan]

4 minutes ago, MattM said:

The no noisemaker fan rule is usually covered for the IHSAA indoor sports like volleyball and basketball. So that school may have been delivering a blanket statement assuming all sports had the same policy.  Outdoor sports seem to be given just a little more leeway with how they can produce supportive noise.  

More than likely the case but the rule might as well go to the wayside. You can't stop individuals from shooting off fireworks on their personal property next to the school though . Coincidence has it that they're timed perfectly with scores & end of games in an undisclosed location off school property. 

Anyway, this incident is the same line. Mentioned more than one did it but only one of two may not have obliged. Instead individuals should have hounded Faulkens about why it is past time to have sanctioned girls wrestling, why no wrestle backs past sectionals, why no IHSAA help or sanctioned classed team duals. Also why football isn't seeded and etc. Remind him that this isn't the US government & we expect results. 

Edited January 23 by casualwrestlingfan