Official: Schools chief not likely to ban night basketball games

The two girls involved in the fight face suspension for their behavior.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — A spokesman for the city school district said the superintendent has indicated she isn’t likely to penalize all high school students for the misbehavior of a few.

M. Mike McNair, speaking of the fight that disrupted the Chaney-East boys basketball game Friday, said Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, isn’t inclined to eliminate night basketball games as a result of the fight in the stands between two girls.

She has indicated, however, that she may speak to the board about banning students who misbehave in such fashion from future games.

McNair said a school investigation showed that two girls, one from Chaney and the other from East, got involved in a fight with just a few minutes left in the game.

East was ahead by a wide margin at the time and the East principal, after conferring with sports officials, opted to call the game at that point, McNair said.

It was the second meeting between the two teams. They had played a week earlier at Chaney without any problem, McNair said. East won that game as well. The teams aren’t scheduled to meet again this season.

The girls teams from the two schools have also already played twice this season without problems.

One school board member, Lock P. Beachum Sr., board vice president, had said Sunday that the board might consider eliminating night games as it did eight years ago to curtail fights among students.

McNair said the issue is still likely to come up for discussion by the board.

He said that two boys nearly got into a fight in the stands before the girls fought at Friday’s game, but that disagreement was broken up before it came to blows.

There were 1,000 people at the game but only four caused any concern, McNair said, adding that Webb praised adults and other students at the event for doing what they should do.

The identity of the two boys wasn’t determined as there was no fight and they face no disciplinary action, McNair said.

The two girls, one a freshman and the other a junior, face suspension for fighting on school property at a school event, he said. He didn’t know which girl was from which school.

gwin@vindy.com