CROWD CONTROL
When your plans don’t work, what do you do?
Gary Ray, Executive Director - WVSSAC
“CROWD CONTROL ISSUES”
Preparing for the problem will assist in preventing the problem
PREPARING FOR STATE EVENTS
• Site Selection A. Bid Process
1. Request to Host 2. Football Request to Host
B. Site Approval
PRE-TOURNAMENT INFORMATION FOR SITE DIRECTOR
• Tournament Director Checklist • Spectator Support Sheet
PRE-TOURNAMENT MEETING FOR EVENT
• Meeting held with site management A. Review plan for tournament
1. Meeting information sheet for basketball B. Pre-Tournament meeting includes review of
security plan for pre-during-post event situations
C. Pre-tournament meeting with contest officials
POST - TOURNAMENT MEETING
• Review tournament plan A. What worked? B. What problems occurred and how were they
handled? C. If we had problems, how can they be avoided
in future events?
QUESTIONS
WHEN YOUR PLANS DON’T WORK,
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Relationship of GHSA and member schools in setting guidelines for regular season contests.
For post-season competitions played at a school venue, regular season guidelines in place
For post-season competitions played at community or collegiate venues, host sites guidelines are primary/GHSA are secondary
2.22: Members shall operate all interscholastic contests under complete & direct control of school administration.
2.26: Members have the responsibility to educate students, coaches, and other persons on GHSA rules/procedures, and should monitor compliance with those guidelines.
2.71: Members are required to conduct all relationships with other schools in a spirit of good sportsmanship.
2.71c1: Take proper steps & precautions to insure crowd control, including having a Game Manager at all GHSA events.
2.71c2: Take steps to insure comfort & security of all players, coaches, and officials.
2.71c3: Have in place sufficient security personnel to handle any crowd control problems that might be reasonably expected.
2.71c4: Security escorts must be provided for game officials by the host school before & after contest, at halftime, and even to their vehicles.
2.71d: Each school must develop a plan to handle fight situations that may occur at an athletic contest. Attention must be given to keeping substitutes in the bench area & to keeping spectators away from the competition area.
2.71e: Players and coaches are expected to exhibit good sportsmanship before & after a contest – even if game officials do not have jurisdiction.
Enforcement of seating limits at venue Separation of spectators (as possible) Prior communication with visiting teams Security escorts for teams and for officials Security around competition area Security in parking areas Emergency plan for fight situations Emergency evacuation plans
Host school provides Principal or designate with decision-making
authority Works with officiating crew in regard to:
Crowd sportsmanship issues Serious injury issues Weather-related emergencies Escort to and from competitive area
Coordinates other security personnel “Custodian” of the lightning detector
20+ minutes after football game was over Both teams involved in a multi-player altercation
– mostly verbal BUT – helmets were thrown and some punches
may have been exchanged Several players injured One head coach seriously injured
Law Enforcement officers intervened with pepper spray
One exit gate from field of play to field house for use by players and coaches
One major walkway to the locker rooms at the field house Visiting team’s locker room door on side of building Home team’s locker room door on the end of
building Parking lot and major exit path for fans of both
schools located in the same general area as the field house
Neighboring county rivals - students know each other
Fired coach now at other school Visiting team’s manager lost locker room key Coaches from both teams stayed on field after
game Law enforcement spread thin with various
post-game duties Game Manager went to take care of gate
receipts
Both schools sent discrepant reports to me Officials had already left stadium – no reports Host community law enforcement claimed ongoing
investigation – no report Visiting school alleged police brutality & asked
Georgia Bureau of Investigation to intervene – and later, so did local sheriff
GBI requested GHSA to delay any actions until after their investigation had ended.
Visiting school refused to play in region basketball tournament lest they might face other school
Grand Jury heard evidence about the alleged assault on the coach
Grand Jury (in town of host school) did not indict anyone
Host school has filed a complaint against injured coach with Georgia Professional Standards Commission alleging coach was assaulting their player when hurt
Coach has retained attorney for possible civil case
The Executive Director handled all the investigation work for the GHSA Read multiple reports from both schools Reviewed media articles and tapes – nationwide Read 1400+ pages of interviews conducted by GBI
Boiled down to one key questions: Did the host
school take reasonable precautions to meet the expectations of the GHSA?
Divergent data made it impossible to determine individual guilt
But -- injuries to a professional educator could not be ignored
Standards demanded in GHSA by-laws for institutional control were not met: Previous events and community rumors should have
warranted heightened security Site set up should have made coaches &
administrators more vigilant
All athletic programs at host school placed on Supervisory Probation for two years
Host school must file a detailed “Security Plan” for home games for my approval by July 15, 2012 Monitoring flow of players to/from dressing areas Law enforcement and school security deployment plan Contingency plan for rivalry games/games with larger
attendance expected Host School fined for not meeting standards for
institutional control My decision was appealed by school – GHSA Appeal
Board sustained my penalties
While this incident not really a crowd control issue, the same principles do apply.
Administrators cannot develop plans that account for every eventuality that might occur.
BUT -- try to account for as many variables as possible when planning.
THEN -- have back up contingencies to “clean up” the unforeseen happenings.
Review & revise plans when you discover issues you have not considered previously.
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