Tom Brady’s Alma Mater, Bay Area Schools Ban Booing

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A group of religious private high schools in the Bay Area has banned boos and “negative” chanting from the crowd at certain sporting events, The Standard has learned.

Serra, the alma mater of Tom Brady and Barry Bonds known for its boisterous student department, was one of the most prominent schools to attempt to stamp out this behavior, along with neighboring West Catholic Athletic League rivals St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral.

During the fourth quarter of Sacred Heart Cathedral’s January 25 victory over rival St. Ignatius in the Bruce Mahoney girls’ basketball game, a St. Ignatius shot missed the rim and the student section of Fightin’ Irish chanted, “Airball! air ball!”

Those chants were followed by whistles and gestures from Sacred Heart Cathedral administration, who urged fans to stop a chant almost as old as basketball itself.

It is part of schools’ efforts to adhere strictly to bylaws and regulations regarding chants and fan behavior.

Section 12B of the Central Coast Section Basketball Bylaws lists certain behaviors as unacceptable to fans, including “swearing at the school or your opponent’s mascot,” “complaining about calls from officials (verbal or gestural)” and “swearing at opposing players.” .

“The WCAL [West Catholic Athletic League] has really made fan behavior a priority this year,” said St Ignatius sporting director John Mulkerrins. “Our league has hosted several Sportsmanship Summits to educate our students on how best to support their communities and represent themselves well.”

Not all of the 152 schools in the section, which stretches from San Francisco to King City, enforce the rule as consistently. At Monday night’s Central Coast Section Open Division basketball game at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, which is not a member of the West Catholic Athletic League, fans booed after a call to host Gators in the fourth quarter, and play went on without incident.

At last Tuesday night’s annual Jungle Game with St. Ignatius in Serra, where the host Padres pride themselves on achieving the most hostile home field advantage, Wardens regularly waved their arms to keep the students from booing, even during initiation for the visiting team or in response to a phone call. St. Ignatius students were similarly exhorted to chant “Take his pipe!” if they didn’t agree to a phone call.

“Criticize officials in every way”

The West Catholic Athletic League policy lists unacceptable behavior, including “disrespectful taunting, derogatory shouting, chanting, song, or gesture,” including cheers such as “Na, na, hey, hey, goodbye” or “airball, airball,” ” Booing or contesting an official’s decision” and “Criticizing officials in any way”.

“In the CCS [Central Coast Section]we have stressed to our schools and students that we must be positive in our words when cheering on our fellow athletes and teams and not use negative words and actions,” said Section Commissioner David Grissom.

Fan behavior at youth sports events has come under scrutiny both within the Bay Area and nationally in recent years. In 2018, students in Burlingame were scolded after chanting “You can’t see us” at Mills, a predominantly Asian school. A year later, the Jungle Game ended in chaos, with brawls on the floor, in the hallways, and in front of the gym after Serra fans stormed the pitch to celebrate a 21-point comeback.

The main reason given for the nationwide lack of referees at youth sports events, in addition to the low pay, is verbal and sometimes even physical abuse by fans and players. The Bay Area is particularly hard hit by this shortage, as high school football games are often played on Thursdays instead of Fridays to make up for the lack of officials. At last year’s state basketball tournament, at a game between Miramonte and Clovis North, fans of both teams behaved so nefariously that it earned a column in the San Jose Mercury News.

Last month, a speaker announcer at a high school basketball game in Wisconsin went viral after telling fans to “shut up” after repeated complaints about calls. He added that fans who are bothered by referees should “get down on the floor, wear a striped shirt and do it themselves”.

At the conclusion of the 2021 Bruce Mahoney Basketball Game between St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart at the Kezar Pavilion, several Sacred Hearts fans sprinted across the floor to admonish the umpires after the Fightin’ Irish lost in overtime.

Finale (OT): St. Ignatius 69, Sacred Heart Cathedral 65

The Bruce-Mahoney Trophy remains the same @SIscores after John Squire takes over the track and the Wildcats win an overtime thriller.

Chaotic post-game scenes including a very animated SHC parent. pic.twitter.com/VzsK8Dejgt

— Ethan Kassel (@KasselMedia) January 22, 2022

“Obviously we have a shortage of umpires, and chants like ‘take his whistle’ can be seen as emphasizing an umpire,” Mulkerrins said.

Sport offers an opportunity to bring communities together and young people to gain valuable experience. Behavior and sportsmanship are understandably the top priority. There’s no place for obscene chants or middle fingers at high school sporting events. But does banning boos or “airball” chants help character development or just create a sterilized atmosphere?

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