[Stardust]

Sometimes that just doesn't work. Like having your teammates back. A good example was a JV game when I was a sophomore. Our QB had been hit with cheapshots all game, some called, some not. I had friends on Pike Central's team, and told them through the game to get their boys to cut that crap out, and also complained to the refs. They were even late hitting him and stomping on his ankles while we were on defense, he played Safety but was in on almost every play. If he had been taking cheapshots, then it'd had been much different and I would have grabbed him and tell him to square himself away and stop that crap, but this kid was a great player and person, and just wasn't that kind of player, even after he had been stomped on and late hit all game.

After we scored on a TD pass in the last minute of the game to win, he intercepted a Central pass and went straight to the ground, great move by a great player. Instead of running with it and risking getting stripped, he went down. We took the last snap of the game and took a knee...two Central linebackers came around the left side and nailed him, so late that he was back on both feet before the first guy even hit him. So, I jumped on one of the guys and started choking him...wasn't a moment kind of thing. I watched him nail my QB for the last time, and I made a conscious decision to choke the shit out of him..pretty simple.

He was my QB, a great player and kid, and a vital part of our Varsity defense, not to mention that he was one of my best buds. I tried to tell those boys, nicely and not so nice, to quit that crap all game. I brought it up to the refs 4 different times, and my coaches. Nothing was done, and as the game went on and he made more big plays, the more cheap shots they put on him. I can understand the feeling, I've wanted to rip a player's head off because he was doing so well against us...but I didn't let that happen dirty, I tried to rip his head off the right way, by running his ass down in the backfield for a loss or sack. Enough was enough, and I wasn't going to let these guys get away with trying to hurt my QB and friend. Simple as that.

I know that not every situation is the same, not even close, and that sometimes kids get thrown out because of bad calls, or because they do what I did, or because they get caught being a dumbass, dirty player...it's all different, and I agree that they should be dealt with severely to discourage this stuff as much as possible. But, I don't agree with this new rule...it's too much. Like PaintsvilleTiger said, the rules for each sport need to differ so as to not make a kid sit out for over a quarter of the season because of one call/play. Sometimes, you have to have your boy's back. And I don't want to see a kid miss 2 or 3 games because of that.

Can those of you that are for this see where I'm coming from?

I get you! But retaliation comes with a penalty. If you retaliate because someone did something to your family member, you are still going to pay for the crime, and probably more so than the person who offended your family member. I'm not making light of it, but the reality of it is that if you are ejected for a sporting event then it's an ejection because you crossed the line of the rule! In real life, we can't take retaliation into our own hands in the course of the law without being punished based on that law. So, I guess you can't on the sporting field as well. It might make you feel good in the short run, something that I would do as well, but to expect that you are not held accountable for, and disciplined harshly for it comes with the territory!