You have some seriously screwed up thought processes. Do you even re-read the stuff you spout? You don’t sound like anybody who was ever an athlete. More like a gang banger.
I was an athlete and we were held to a very strict code of sportsmanship and conduct. And so were the guys. Nobody ever in a million years would have even thought of trying to rough up any adult much less a referee. We would have been gone and so would a coach. That stuff never ever happened.
Sports programs are designed to lift young people up to be the best they can be not encourage them to have no respect for authority and commit assault and battery on game officials. These two kids need a hard lesson and if the coach was involved he does too.
You need to get your head screwed on straight.
WOW, I played high school football and took some hard hits but nothing is screwed up as far as I know. But I'll have to think about that some more.
I do try to re-read the stuff I spout to see of it is readable, especially by the younger generation. Sometimes it includes some rather strong sarcasm or historical references that people don't understand. Sorry, if you cannot discern my thought processes or I do not make myself clear. I am a STEM guy and sometimes its hard to express myself.
You are entirely correct about sportsmanship and conduct and what is supposed to be beneficial by participating in sports. Unfortunately you see things your way and not as others have seen them. Therefore you assume the other side of the issue cannot exist because you did not witness or choose to believe it.
I assure you I am NOT a gang banger. I am a retired IT Consultant. I was a mediocre athlete in a Vince Lombardi generation where "win at any cost" was practiced by most of the higher rated high schools and coaches. We played to win and to never accept defeat. Sometimes we were coached over the line of sportsmanship and conduct, physically and mentally, to accomplish our goals. They called us "animals" back then. It was a badge of honor. Therefore I know something first-hand about "assault and battery" on the field of play. Some of that mentality still exists today, but to a lesser degree.
I am not trying to justify or condone what was done. I just wanted to offer another opinion that these "thugs" might have made a bad decision as many kids in high school do. If they were really thugs I doubt they would want to or be allowed to play in the football program. So my guess is they stupidly speared the referee out of frustration or upon the coaches orders. As severe as it looked, the intention was not criminal, but retribution. The ref got up and finished the game. Back when I played he would have gotten a free ride off the field to the infirmary.
Thank you for your brutal honesty. It's been over a year on FR since anyone questioned my sanity or thought processes this much. I guess I picked the wrong side of the issue tonight as many other FReepers have not so politely disagreed with me over my "retarded" and "dumb" postings. But yours is the best.