Caught Tanking
In this Feb. 21, 2015, photo, a referee talks to Riverdale high school coach Cory Barrett, left, and Smyrna high school coach Shawn Middleton during a high school basketball game in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Both teams were pulled from the postseason for trying to lose a game to avoid the top-ranked team and improve their chances of advancing to the state tournament. The teams were fined Monday, Feb. 23, and also placed on probation for a year by the Tennessee Secondary School athletic Association. (AP Photo/The Daily News Journal, Steve Hardison)
(Steve Hardison)
Two girls high school basketball teams in Tennessee have been removed from the playoffs for intentionally trying to lose.
According to the Associated Press, Murfreesboro Riverdale and Smyrna were also fined $1,500 and put on a year of probation by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. The TSSAA found that both schools had intentionally turned the ball over and missed free throws during a game Saturday that Smyrna won 55-28.
The winner of the game would have faced defending Class AAA champion Blackman (25-2) in the playoffs. The loser would have faced a less-powerful team in the playoffs.
The game's referee wrote in his report to the TSSAA that Riverview and Smyrna that he stopped play several times to order coaches to play to win. TSSAA executive director Bernard Childress wrote in letters to the schools' principals that the teams "made a mockery" of the game.
"This situation defeated the purpose of educational-based athletics," Childress wrote.