MIDDLETOWN — Middletown High School sophomore Brandon Thomas, formerly a member of the Mustangs” junior varsity boys” basketball team, has received a lifetime ban from the North Coast Section for shoving an official during a Jan. 28 game in Lower Lake.
Thomas, a reserve for the Mustangs, shoved official Tim Morin twice late in the fourth quarter of a 56-51 Middletown victory. He immediately received a double-technical foul and was ejected from the game. As a result of his actions, Thomas was dropped from the team and suspended from school the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 4.
The lifetime ban is in accordance with Section 211 of the NCS bylaws, which deals with physical assault by a student on a game or event official. The ban extends to all sports — fall, winter and spring.
Thomas could apply for reinstatement after 18 months from the date of the incident. In his case, that would be July 28, 2012, the summer before the start of his senior year. The reinstatement is not automatic, according to NCS Commissioner of Athletics Gil Lemmon.
“It is possible to be reinstated but it is not automatic,” Lemmon said. “He would have to show that he”s been good at school and in the community. He might also be required to take an anger management class of some sort.”
Lifetime bans are extremely rare, according to Lemmon.
“We”ve had a couple of violations, both dealing with Bay Area schools,” Lemmon said. “It doesn”t happen very often, maybe once a decade.”
If Thomas does apply for reinstatement in the summer of 2012, Lemmon, as commissioner of athletics for the section, would have the final say.
Neither of the head coaches participating in the Jan. 28 league game at Lower Lake said they were aware of any problem before the incident occurred between Thomas and Morin, a veteran official.
“There was a timeout and I turned my back to the court,” Middletown coach Anthony Bazzano said. “But you could hear the reaction (of the crowd) and evidently there was something going on behind me.”
Bazzano said once he realized that one of his players had “put his hands on him (Morin),” he took control of the situation by getting Thomas off the court and into the locker room where he remained until he was released into the custody of his father.
“We just won”t have it,” Bazzano said of Thomas” behavior. “I know things can get heated out there sometimes but you”ve got to be able to keep your head about you.”
Bazzano said he would have tried to diffuse the situation had he known there was a problem brewing.
“I didn”t see any of it coming, it just came out of nowhere and it happened so fast,” Bazzano said.
Thomas, who played his freshman year at Lower Lake before transferring to Middletown, once played for David Graham, who is in his first season as Lower Lake”s JV coach.
“I used to coach him in seventh and eighth grade,” Graham said. “He was a nice young man. I guess he wasn”t thinking.”
Graham said he only saw the tail end of the incident and not the physical contact.
“There was a timeout,” Graham said. “Everybody starting looking over and he (Thomas) got T-d up. One of my players told me he pushed the ref twice.”
Lower Lake athletic director Gary Logoteta, sitting courtside during the game, said he watched the incident unfold in front of him.
“He (Thomas) and Tim were walking toward the scoring table at half-court talking back and forth, nothing heated, just conversation. As they got to within about 10 feet of the table Brandon turned to Tim and said ?What?” or something like that and shoved him. He then shoved Tim a second time and Tim threw him out of the game and declared a double-technical foul.”
According to a Coastal Mountain Officials Association incident report filed following the game, Thomas “struck Tim Morin in the chest with both palms open” twice. He was then ejected.
“I”m very disappointed the whole thing happened to the point of embarrassment for our school,” Middletown High School athletic director Geri Giovannetti said. “I hope it doesn”t give our school a bad reputation.”
