"**** yeah!" Michigan HSer runs 22-second pb to finish 2nd at state. Promptly gets DQd for profanity.

1st runner disqualified at MSAA XC Finals wrote:

Really, you swear to be cool? That is shallow if you need that boost. That is the reason for your post. A coach does not go over the rules right before you run, especially telling you to avoid swearing. In my case, an official was shoving kids through the chute and telling them to move there f@#$*×! a!! I reacted when he did that to me, "What the f#@! is wrong with you? " He never officiated again. The point on overturning the decision is his family wanted to change the final ruling. With being in the rule handbook, there will be no change. Accept it and move on.

You are beyond stupid and bordering on mental.

I never said I swear to be cool, I said he did and you probably did too you douche bag.

A coach does not go over the rules right before you run???? You are demented. No one said that princess. The coach tells his runners before the season of racing starts and reminds them here and there, knowing which kids---ones like you---are raised in a barn.

You were trying to be some cool hot shot tough guy and going to tell/brag to your teammates after the race that you said "What the f**K is wrong with you?" You could have said "stop". You could have said "knock it off". You could have said a lot of things, but you chose to be Mr. Cool!

Accept it and move on.

Sub-9 guy wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

I'm relaxed, always. The very loud swearing that kid did is not equivalent to being a mile over the speed limit (which would get thrown out because the equipment isn't THAT accurate). It was egregious. The officials had no choice. Following rules is not high brow.

You’re kidding, right?

I guess you’ve never been in this position to know how you would react as a 17-yr old, except that one time Scott Fry was DQd I guess, which was a travesty itself.

If this kid had been black, we would let it slide.

Grow up man. He was excited. Big deal. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing as an immature 17-year old at state.

But, apparently you can, because you are all class, as you constantly remind everyone on every thread.

1) What position I have been in matters not, though I have won my fair share of races and run PRs that I was super stoked about and never did what he did. I could be a person looking in who doesn't even run and judge here. None of the other runners in that race were DQ'd for swearing. The winner of the race wasn't DQ'd for swearing. I'm sure many of them were also excited.

2) Your race insertion is ridiculous. You need to take some time and investigate that deep, deep flaw you have.

3) The kid broke the rules. If you would have done the same thing as a 17-year-old, then you would have also broken the rules and would have been DQ'd. No growing up on my part is necessary.

norsenorse wrote:

I guess it’s my GenX showing, but how soft have we become? An teenage boy swears in excitement after having the performance of a lifetime, and he gets DQ’d! Maybe he should be expelled from school and cancelled for life.

The appropriate consequence would have been exactly nothing, or maybe his dad taking him aside and saying, “Knock that sh!t off. It bothers grandma and your 8 year old brother is watching.”

As a previous poster mentioned, these officials have never stood on the sidelines of a high school football game or a high school girls soccer game for that matter. Competition is emotional. Sports are a healthy outlet for kids, especially young men, to channel their testosterone-fueled inner savagery.

Total and utter nonsense. We’re a bunch of pansies.

Couldn’t agree more. Good job.

Btw, I got second at state and was pretty damn excited. Pretty sure I wasn’t a “great sport” about it either.

If he’s the one who said “lez go!!” in that cocky, fratty, broey, chuddy way that only American high school jocks can then, yes, he should be disqualified.

Assorted responses:

The slippery slope isn't a fallacy. It's an argument that is valid under some circumstances, but not under others:

Actual, practicing First Amendment lawyer here: This a VERY complicated constitutional issue. The Supreme Court held in 2001 that state high school athletic associations are state actors for constitutional purposes, but that was a close, 5-4 decision. So the First Amendment does apply. Moreover, because this is a content based restriction on speech, normally strict scrutiny would apply. Now, high school students within the scope of school organized activities have diminished free speech rights, and a prohibition on profanity not directed at anyone would probably pass muster under the Tinker v. Des Moines standard, but it's not as glaringly obvious as you make it out, and a clever lawyer would make it an as-applied challenge, limited to this punishment for this speech under these circumstances, rather than a facial challenge to the profanity ban.

This is question begging. Why do they need to enforce it? What will happen if they don't? Will Gozer enter our dimension and rain destruction on our heads?

FWIW, I probably would've DQ'ed him too, just because I don't buy that this was just his emotions getting the better of him. It seemed almost premeditated, and it was so loud and conspicuous. But I also think it would've been totally fine to pull him aside and say, "the rules say you get DQ'ed, and if anyone protests, we'll do it." The problem, as with so many rule violations in our sport, is that there is nothing short of the death penalty. In team sports you'd typically get a verbal warning first, then some far lesser penalty. In track/XC, one wrong move and they essentially delete your season.