http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/05/18/game_canceled_as_schools_probe_fight?mode=PF

Game canceled as schools probe fight

Lacrosse game is canceled as schools try to ease tensions

By Paul Harber, Globe Staff | May 18, 2006

Tomorrow's Pembroke-Sharon high school lacrosse game has been canceled in an effort to ease
tensions between the two athletic programs.

The ill will began at a May 8 Pembroke-Sharon boys' lacrosse game in Sharon, when a Pembroke
player allegedly used an anti-Semitic slur and a Sharon player took exception, school officials said.
A fight ensued. A racial slur may also have been uttered during the game, officials said.

Then, at a May 11 a junior varsity baseball game between the two schools in Sharon, Pembroke
players allegedly used such phrases as ''mazel tov" and ''shalom" in derisive fashion, according
to school officials.

After the second incident, Sharon High School athletic director Bob Sondheim decided to cancel
tomorrow's game in Pembroke because, he said, he could not assure the safety of the
players and spectators.

''It's sad that we had to call off the game," said Sondheim. ''But when a game no longer is fun,
it isn't a game, and you shouldn't play it. Fighting, it is sad to say, is a part of the game.
It happens. But prejudicial remarks have no place, not just in sports, but in our society."
[color="Blue"](Welcome to America - violence is OK, words must be stopped)

Pembroke athletic director Bill Fallon said investigations are underway. ''It is a sad situation," he said.
''We are trying to determine exactly what happened before any punishment is meted out."

One Pembroke lacrosse player has been suspended from school for fighting, Fallon said. The
suspended player probably was not the one who uttered the slurs, according to Sondheim.

''I'm continuing to gather information about the events that occurred in Sharon," said
Pembroke High School principal Ruth Lynch, who is overseeing the investigation.
''We just received the written report from Bob Sondheim. They have been very helpful.
Please be assured that we will not tolerate this type of behavior or any behavior that
is disrespectful. We are working hard to create a school where diversity is appreciated
and valued."

Pembroke has an athletes code that levies harsh penalties on student-athletes who
fight or utter ethnic slurs while representing the school on the field. Any player involved
in a fight is suspended from school and the team. Players caught making ethnic or racial
slurs are thrown off the athletic team and cannot play for any Pembroke team for one
calendar year. [color="blue"](bizarro world!)

''We are proud of our code of conduct and worked with parents, teachers, and students
to establish guidelines of acceptable behavior," Lynch said. ''Students know what we expect.
We know and understand that youngsters make mistakes; however, they know that they
will be held accountable for unacceptable behavior."

The allegation of anti-Semitic comments from Pembroke lacrosse players was especially
puzzling, some said, because the team's coach, Ron Kaufman, is Jewish.

Sharon's local cable television station recorded the game, and Sondheim has viewed the
videotape several times trying to identify the instigator. ''I really can't tell exactly who
said what. The videotape is too shaky," he said. [color="blue"](maybe the NSA or CIA can help analyze it)

The fight, according to Sondheim, who was on the sidelines during the game, ''was
more pushing and shoving. You have to give the game officials and both coaches credit.
They broke it up immediately."

Both Sharon and Pembroke lacrosse programs are in their infancy. Neither has varsity status;
both schools are playing junior varsity schedules.

''It was a terrific, hard-fought game by both teams. It's sad to see something like that happen,"
said Sondheim.

He said he did not hear any slurs. ''From where I was standing, or where any of the spectators
were watching the game, you couldn't hear any of the slurs. But from what I've been told,
there were more than one."

''We have an African-American" student who was at the game, and there are reports that a
racial slur also was used, ''and it was the same voice that said it," Sondheim said.

Sharon and Pembroke do not play in the same athletic conference. Sharon is a member of the
Hockomock League, while Pembroke, a two-year-old high school, having split from the Silver
Lake Regional district, is a member of the Patriot League.

Both coaches say they hope to continue to schedule games between the two schools.

Fallon said he has the greatest respect for the Sharon team, and for Sondheim.
They have been friends for many years, since Fallon was the athletic director at Foxborough
High School, another Hockomock League school.

''Both of us intend to schedule games between our schools," said Sondheim.

''This incident is not a reflection of the school or the Pembroke community. It's just some
stupid words from some stupid kids."

But, he added, ''you can't it take back after you say it."

[color="Red"]Sondheim said he hopes the perpetrator is discovered ''not so that he's
simply punished. We want him reformed. We want him to understand
that ethnic slurs have no place in our society."