The actions of two parents who caused February 6th Suttons Bay-Buckley boys’ basketball game to be called with 1:15 left to play have been condemned by superintendents of both schools.

A DEFIANT woman who is the mother of a Buckley basketball player refuses to leave the court after an incident occurred in Suttons Bay’s game against Buckley Saturday night. The game was called off early when she continued to remain on the court, despite being asked to leave the gym.
Buckley superintendent Steve Prissel said the parents’ actions have “no place in high school athletics.” The parents have been banned by the district from attending away games, and will only be allowed to attend home games if they follow certain guidelines, he added.

“The game didn’t end the way everyone would have liked,” said Suttons Bay superintendent Mike Murray in an oral report given Monday evening to the Board of Education. “Within two minutes (of the incidents) the phone rang and it was the Buckley superintendent assuring me that this would be handled aggressively and the two people (parents) will be sanctioned. It’s not a reputation he wants to have for Buckley.”

It was an unsightly blemish on what was otherwise a great day for basketball fans. Counting junior varsity games, large crowds watched four exciting games starting in the afternoon in the Suttons Bay gym. A record turnout attended the Mexican fundraiser dinner held concurrently at the Village Inn by the Suttons Bay Sports Boosters organization.

Both superintendents emphasized that players, coaches and most fans properly handled what could have been an explosive situation following a hard foul by Buckley’s Ben Weber on Suttons Bay’s Dwaun Anderson. The Norsemen had just mounted a furious comeback to take a 64-51 lead when the foul occurred with 1:15 to play.

Both players came at each other aggressively after the play. Anderson pushed Weber, who fell on his back. Then, the referees stepped in and issued double technical fouls. It was Anderson’s fifth foul, so his playing time was automatically over.

Anderson and Weber shook hands at midcourt, and the incident appeared to be over — at least until the parent of a Buckley player came down from the stands, walked in front of the Suttons Bay bench, and began to confront Anderson and his uncle, junior varsity coach Ron Anderson. The Andersons had retreated to a corner of the gym while Ron Anderson sought to take advantage of a teachable moment for Dwaun, who is a sophomore.

The Buckley father was eventually escorted out of the gym, walking in front of the Buckley crowd on the way. About that time the mother of a Buckley player walked onto the middle of the gym floor to confront one of the game’s referees. She would not leave the gym when asked, and stood defiantly with her arms crossed.
It was about then that Buckley coach Rene LaFreniere III asked the referees to call the game before things got uglier.

“I don’t think we deserve a black eye on this one,” said Suttons Bay coach Todd Hursey. “I don’t think Dwaun handled this well, but ... I’m going to defend him to the point (that) here’s a sophomore who has been taken down from behind for the third time in two weeks.”

There have been rumors running through the peninsula that the incident was tinged with racial remarks. But Hursey said he heard no racial slurs, and Dwaun, who is black, told him he did not hear any, either. Superintendents from both schools said they had no evidence of racial undertones.

Hursey said comments made by referees on report sheets made after the game showed players, coaches and all but two Buckley fans stayed in control.

Said Suttons Bay Board of Education vice-chairman Tom Nixon: “The fans ... were remarkably restrained. They did a good job keeping what could have been a dramatic situation under control, handling it with calmness and decency.”

Order was restored in time for a girls’ basketball game that followed.
Prissel, who was not in attendance, said Buckley players recognize Anderson as a gifted athlete. “The kids have a lot of respect for Dwaun,” he said.

He also spoke highly of coach LaFreniere. “That was nice to hear when I called Todd (Hursey). I’m proud he handled it properly.”

And Prissel offered an apology to the Suttons Bay community.
“I remember calling Mike Murray, who thankfully was at the game ... I sincerely apologized to him,” he said. A letter was received by Suttons Bay Public Schools this week reiterating the apology, and outlining steps taken to control the rogue parents in the future.