Richlands are SWD tournament Champions

thundercloud · February 18, 2007

When someone pushs somebody like that isn't that assault and battery? I wonder, that deputy should be in one of those pictures if he was close enough to take all the details in.

bluefanatic · February 18, 2007

The only reason Altizer was ejected from the game was that the officer was an elected sherriff from Buchanan county trying to please the hometown crowd. What does he care about treating someone from Richlands-outside his voting area- unfairly? It was a gross abuse of power. There were plenty of witnesses who saw Altizer pushed first. Why would Altizer start an altercation with a fan (a much bigger guy, by the way)? There was a minute and a half left in a one point game...I'd say his mind was on that. The hostile atmosphere began when the Richlands team came out to warm-up before the game and were booed. I haven't seen that at any other away game. Grundy fans could take a lesson from their own players who showed much more class than many of the adults in their stands. I saw nothing but good sportsmanship from the Grundy players in this game. It's a shame the adults (especially the sherriff and this Ellis thug) could not have acted as well as they did.

RichlandsAlum · February 18, 2007

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When someone pushs somebody like that isn't that assault and battery? I wonder, that deputy should be in one of those pictures if he was close enough to take all the details in.

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There is a court precedent stating that it is indeed assault and battery. This coming from a previous case in which a Grundy "fan" took a swing at an official after a football game more than a few years ago.

mudmaker · February 18, 2007

i would have thought that assault could be the only charge. with no blood shed there should be no battery. you know the old back lot rules? no blood no foul!!! that being said altizers vocabulary may have been out of line ,but that in no way warrants the ellis action that was totally un- called for.

dcecilgolf · February 18, 2007

I thought assault was just verbal and the battery was physical?????

BigD4VT · February 18, 2007

The whole thing was just a bad series of events that began and ended with the gym being too small. You can't pack people in like sardines and not expect something to happen. In fact another photographer and I were talking earlier in the game about the likelihood that something was going to happen. People aren't comfortable when they're crammed together like that, and they get agitated. Especially in the heated atmosphere a game like this creates. I hardly took any pictures in second half because I couldn't get a shot without a fan in it. At one point I had people standing in front of me. It wasn't their fault. They didn't have anywhere else to go.

Grundy has a beautiful gym but if they have a larger facility they should use it when they expect an overflow crowd. Either that or stop selling tickets when capacity has been reached.

thundercloud · February 18, 2007

Don't really know but seems like assault would be the intent or attempt and battery the actually phyical contact.

Second post in this threat sounds like the poster is saying that Ellis went to coaches bench with intent?

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

What about the photos that were missed when the whole thing started? The pictures just show the second round of pushes. They always say that the second punch is always the one everyone sees. As being a bogus statement, I do see Raymand webb sitting right behind Altizer. He is head of the county drug force task, and a county employee under the sheriff.

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

assault is the threat of harming, battery is the actual act of illegally touching. no intent has to be proved. battery is defined as an unwanted touching. this could be a hug or a push, if the person did not want to be touched. there is another charge that could be used also. curse and abuse, which carries a fine annd a slap on the wrist.

bluekick · February 18, 2007

Ellis could be charged with assault and battery. Battery is using physical force against someone. Assault is an attempt to commit, or a threat to commit battery.

Fresh_Prince · February 18, 2007

altizer never pushed the guy but grundy people are always going to say that

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

I think that was what I said in the above statement. Mr. Altizer can be hit with curse and abuse of an officer also. Like I said it boils down to he said they said. he did they did. The court system see this bs every day.

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

There must have been some type of contact. It was written up by the officers on duty. Mr. Altizer should have watched what he said also to some one a little bigger. You are right Grundy people will say one thing and Richlands people will say another thing. Who is right?

bballfan · February 18, 2007

Like we all have said before. Mr. Ellis should have been an adult and let an offical(sheriff or school) handle the altercation and not himself. By taking things into his own hands he may have made a bad situation into a legal issue. Then if your saying Mr. Webb was there behind Altizer then he could have steped up and helped stop this, but did not. Several players from Richlands that were sitting at the other end of the bench had time to get between Mr. Ellis and Mr. Altizer. The photo's that were missed are probably in favor of Mr. Ellis, because they would show the actuall contact being displayed. So if our statement is bogus, then Mr. Webb chose to do nothing and which is worse? Do you honestly think that Mr.Altizer singled a Grundy fan out ofthe crowd to which his back was facing and had an elbow loaded for him when he came down the steps. Get real!! He was more focused on getting a district tournament championship. I sure there will be some more post trying to add some smoke and mirrors to this but what happened is simple and evident. I do not condone the choice of words Mr. Altizer used, but I could not hear them from where I was. Although, what the pictures show and the excuses given for this behavior.... still do not justify the action Mr. Ellis took. These are kids playing, relax enjoy the game. You are never going to get a perfect game called and set an example for the kids to follow. Lets all get back to reality!!!!

bluekick · February 18, 2007

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altizer never pushed the guy but grundy people are always going to say that

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You generalize everything.

BigD4VT · February 18, 2007

I should say that the pictures were shot in a span of less than two seconds. I shot 6 frames one after another at a rate of 5 frames per second. I have a 6 shot buffer which means after those 6 I had to wait 2-3 seconds for the camera to write before I could take another shot. By that time the deputies were already taking Ellis out of the gym. So for those who weren't there, or didn't see it, the sheriff's department acted very swiftly. My pictures shouldn't be used to say someone should have done something but didn't. They don't cover the entire incident.

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

there is not justification in any of this. I am sure Mr. Altizer did not intend or single out anyone, as well as Mr. Ellis did not intend to start all this when he got up to leave. I do know that there are people in Grundy and Richlands that you better not say f*** you to, or they is going to be trouble. We are lucky that all that was hurt in this were feelings. It was a bad stituation. Two wrongs do not make any of this right.

dcecilgolf · February 18, 2007

Couldn't the RHS coach be charged with something if he told Ellis "F### You"????

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

got to say they were good pictures. and yes mr. webb did make it to the floor and help bring order.

traveler4 · February 18, 2007

not only mr. ellis, but sheriff foster.

GMan · February 18, 2007

I have no dog in this fight and have heard nothing other than what has been posted on this board...but this is how I see it...

#1 - If there was a larger venue to accomodate the crowd, it should have been used.

#2 - Fans should NEVER be allowed to be in front of the bench area...there should have been some sort of "buffer zone" to allow fans to pass around the bench area without interference.

#3 - If the crowd was so large that #2 could not have been avoided. Some sort of "security"...ie. rent-a-cop, school official, law enforcement official...should have been put in place to "regulate" the traffic flow in the bench area.

#4 - A Coach should never say anything to any fan nor make contact with any fan, regardless of whether the fan is walking by him, in front of him, or behind him, or even if the fan has said something to provoke him.

#5 - NO FAN should ever make physical contact with any coach of any team, regardless of how congested an area may be or how upset the fan may be.

#6 - Both the Coach and the Fan were WAY OUT OF LINE with their actions and both should be held accountable for what they did.

I doubt this type of thing will ever occur again. Odds are, some sort of measures will be in place next time to take alleviate this type of situation.

rvtne216 · February 18, 2007