Connell High School in Washington is receiving negative attention for a video showing the dirty play of its basketball team. The video is from a December 22nd game between Connell and Highland High School and it was posted on YouTube December 28th. Our friends at Guyism posted the video a day later and described one of the young men as “The dirtiest basketball player in America.” It’s hard to disagree.
The video shows six flagrant fouls committed by Connell seniors Cole Vanderbilt and Kennan VanHollebeke. Vanderbilt is 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds while VanHollebekeis is 6-4 and 235 pounds. Both were linemen on the school’s football team, and displayed an alarmingly aggressive football mindset throughout the team’s 38-37 win. Vanderbilt even threatened the safety of one of his opponents with a vicious clothesline.
The man who uploaded the video to YouTube is the uncle of one of the Highland players. He says his intent was to show the need for better officiating in the games.
“It wasn’t my intention to single (Vanderbilt) out,” Michael Christenson told the Tri-City Herald. “If you look closely at my video, his name is never mentioned. What I wanted to single out was the officiating. If they do their jobs, there are no hard fouls and no video.”
A 30-year veteran official from the Tri-Cities Sports Officials Association disagreed with the video’s message.
“There were no problems and no fights. It’s getting painted as flagrant fouls or intentional fouls, but it doesn’t have anything to do with that,” David Pierce said. “The guy took a camera and jaded it. He didn’t show the whole game. He showed six plays.”
Connell’s coach says the video paints Vanderbilt unfairly. The school’s athletic director even blames technology for the problem.
“Everybody has the right to their opinion. Not everybody thinks about all the consequences about what their actions will be,” Eagles’ Athletic Director Steve Frucci said. “It goes to show what can happen in today’s day and age. Whoever can afford that technology can do anything they want.”
The video may have singled out certain plays, but if the Connell players hadn’t committed such heinous fouls, people wouldn’t be talking about the video.
Thanks to Hot Clicks for sharing the link
