“Crazy.” “Unfathomable.” “Embarrassing.” “Chilul Hashem.” These words were used to describe the night of November 17, 2018. What started out as just a regular season Varsity basketball game between TABC and HANC ended in a hostile confrontation between the two teams.
When the final buzzer sounded, TABC was victorious and both teams approached each other to shake hands, as is customary at the end of every game in the Yeshiva League.
But tension was running high for both teams. Trash-talking throughout the game raised a question of whether the two teams were even going to shake hands.
They didn’t. Instead, some TABC players were charged and pushed by a few HANC players. In the resulting chaos, many fans and parents swarmed the court.
The TABC players were then pushed into their locker room, unable to see what happened next. Players from HANC had to be held back from acting with hostility toward TABC parents and spectators.
How did all this happen?
Coming into the game, TABC knew this would be an important match. The Storm had just lost a game to Waterbury in a manner that Coach Ozwald “Oz” Cross had described as “embarrassing.”
The Varsity squad thus viewed this game against HANC as a must win. As a result, the team came out with a lot of emotion and intensity against a team that is known for its aggressive playing style.
The game went back and forth, with each team trading off baskets. But, by the second quarter, TABC had pulled away. From that point on, the Storm had a strong command of the lead.
By the fourth quarter, the outcome was no longer in doubt: TABC would be victorious. Some spectators like Yis Kaminetzky thought that this may have been a factor leading to the incident: “All of [HANC’s] frustration from their performance during the game came out after the game.”
HANC had reasons to be frustrated. Throughout the entire match, TABC played suffocating defense, causing the HANC squad to miss many more shots than they were accustomed to missing.
On the other end of the court, TABC had it going for them offensively. Some of the Storm’s players were also guilty of trash-talking, and both of these facts may have helped increase the HANC players’ frustration.
Once the final buzzer sounded, TABC had won. The teams met to shake hands, but the hand shakes didn’t occur. The confrontation happened instead.
Rav Yitz Rabovsky, Head of TABC Athletics, deplored the incident. When asked what lessons could be learned from this altercation, he responded, “I just hope in the future the players can separate the game and their feelings once the final buzzer sounds.”
For the next week, the confrontation was the number one topic among students in most schools. Everyone was wondering if there would be consequences to either team.
In the end, the HANC team decided to suspend itself and forfeit its next two games in response to the incident.
TABC moved on from that unfortunate night and went on a huge winning streak that brought them to first place in their division.
In contrast, HANC has had some trouble recovering from their two forfeited games. They are currently struggling in their division.
Hopefully, all parties involved in this incident have learned from it and can put it to rest. One can hope that all future games between TABC and HANC will be defined by good sportsmanship.