On January 16th, Lake Shore Varsity Basketball Team was involved in a skirmish between Sterling Heights Varsity Basketball. The game resulted in a postponement of play and a one-game suspension for the team. The incident sparked questions about how suspensions work and the steps to return to play. 

The incident started between a player from Sterling Heights and Lake shore, that then turned into an all-out brawl between both teams. Even a fan from Sterling Height’s side left the bleachers and joined the brawl. 

Team captain, senior guard, Andrew Maison, said, “ It could’ve been a lot worse, “ in regards to the conflict.

Sophomore guard, Maksym Minor, said, “The incident got out of hand and it all could have been resolved in a calm manner if their players were more respectful.” 

Athletic director, Richard Bowers, stated, “When something like that happens, anybody who leaves the bench is automatically ejected… Basically, for all sports.”  

Bowers also said, “As far as the 5 guys that were in the game, they will look at the video and they will determine based on their actions whether they should be ejected.”

Regardless of the events at the game, Bowers was impressed with the actions of Lake Shore overall. 

He expressed, “Our coaches did a really good job getting everything under control as quickly as possible. Our personnel, supervisors, admin all did a fantastic job of getting out there… making sure fans, parents didn’t leave the bleachers.”

Bowers continued saying, “Our fans, our student section, all those people did a fantastic job of not going onto the floor. They followed directions and it was really uplifting honestly… that doesn’t always happen.” 

The following day, Principal, Dr. Janelle Bross, released a statement to all staff and students of Lake Shore. In the statement, she shared how proud she was of all the staff involved, and especially students in response to the incident.

She stated, “You were an absolute model for how we want our people to listen to directions from staff and law enforcement when there is an urgent situation being addressed of your actions, the incident didn’t escalate, our players were safe, and Lake Shore’s pride and positive reputation were upheld.”

Despite the fact that Lake Shore’s staff and students handled the situation as best as possible, many players from the team still faced consequences due to players leaving the bench which is an automatic ejection from the game and a one game suspension. 

Maison said, “ I don’t think the suspension was justified for everyone. For example, I didn’t take much part in the fight, just trying to split everyone up, but still resulted in a suspension.”

Along with the suspension, the players suspended were required to complete an online course before returning to play.

Minor said, “ The online course tells you all about how to have better sportsmanship through a series of videos, and it also explains to you what to do in certain situations.” 

Once the players completed the course, they received a certificate of completion they were required to either show or send the proof to athletic director Bowers. 

As the season comes to a close Shorians are now aware of the repercussions that occur when an on court situation like that happens.