BUFFALO, N.Y. — Parents, a school board member, and community leaders in the City of Buffalo are calling out the New York State Public High School Athletic Association for what they say are failures in leadership and equity following a bizarre ending to the Bennett High School football season in Syracuse.
The plea comes after a member of the Bennett coaching staff said he attempted to protest an unfair call by the officiating staff for having coaches on the field. They contend the opposing team, Christian Brothers Academy did the exact same thing but was not flagged.
Soon after, another flag was thrown on the sideline against the Buffalo Public School District's assistant superintendent for athletics, Michael House. Bennett's head coach, Steve McDuffie then approached a referee on the field about it.
Ultimately ejections were handed out and the local sheriff's office was called.
On Thursday, a coalition comprising the Urban Think Tank of Buffalo, Bennett High School parents, We The Parents, the District Parent Coordinating Council, and faith leaders made their voices heard.
"When something is not fair we can't just tell our kids to go on to the next play. And the next day when everybody saw that it wasn't fair nothing happened? So what we want to do is, we are not asking for this game to be replayed, we are not asking for this decision to be made differently, but what we are asking for is a review of what took place to make sure there was fairness," said Sam Radford, the President of the group We The Parents.
The coalition has three demands and is requesting the following:
- A swift, transparent review of the contested play, along with a decisive ruling from NYSPHSAA on the protest filed during the game
- A comprehensive review and investigation into the diversity practices in referee selection for state championship games
- A pledge from NYSPHSAA, NYSED, and the NYS Board of Regents to recognize, confront, and amend the issues highlighted by this incident, and to implement thorough policies that ensure fairness and equity for all student-athletes across New York State
"They know they couldn't beat us fairly. The penalty was being black while playing high school football in New York State and you shouldn't be penalized for that," said Daryl Lounges, whose son plays on the Bennett football team.
In a statement to 2 On Your Side NYSPHSAA said:
"The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has been made aware of a press conference hosted today by Buffalo community members. It is the understanding of NYSPHSAA that the focus of the press conference was to urge the NYSPHSAA, the New York State Education Department (NYSED), and the Board of Regents to address ongoing and historical disparities in high school sports officiating. NYSPHSAA was not invited to the press conference nor has any record from the event been provided to NYSPHSAA leadership.
"As of today, NYSPHSAA’s Executive Director, Dr. Robert Zayas, has responded to one inquiry from Buffalo Public Schools administration pertaining to the selection process for post-season officials. Dr. Zayas did not receive any follow-up questions from school district officials related to this topic.
"As a membership-led organization, Dr. Zayas continues to make himself available to respond to questions from member schools and welcomes any opportunity to meet with school district officials to address."