When players run amok

By Stephanie Bertholdo  bertholdo@theacorn.com

An Agoura youth basketball team for eighth- through 12th-grade girls was disbanded in December following the suspension of one girl for playing too rough. Other teams threatened to forfeit their games out of fear of being injured.

Agoura High School athlete and local basketball player Jennifer Hobbs reportedly was suspended from the league following a flagrant foul during a game in mid-December.

A coach in the Agoura Youth Basketball Association characterized Hobbs' foul as a purposeful attempt to hurt another player.

Hobbs played for The Heat. "These girls were the ones who were really rough," said the AYBA coach, who asked to remain anonymous.

Paul Hobbs, the girl's father and one of the coaches of The Heat, said his team played a total of three games and that there were no forfeitures.

Hobbs said the foul called on his daughter "was very routine and escalated into accusations and situations which were no longer fun or recreational for anyone involved."

Susie Troxler, president of Agoura Youth Basketball Association, said in a statement to The Acorn that the league took "corrective action to positively address the situation."

Prior to Hobbs's suspension, AYBA division director Jim Bukowski wrote to the league's coaches about a game on Dec. 5 that was particularly violent and had upset many parents.

"While the game was thrilling and competitive, it also seemed excessively violent," Bukowski said. "Some spectators in the bleachers were rude. The number of team fouls was very high. Some girls were bruised beyond what is reasonable."

About a week later, Jennifer Hobbs was thrown out for rough play.

Her father believes things were blown out of proportion.

"The purpose of the AYBA organization should be to further the basketball abilities of girls and boys and not to single out and escalate one incident into an immense power play," Hobbs told The Acorn.

He said that after his daughter was suspended she was asked to attend another Heat game as a spectator.

"She was then harassed repeatedly by the head referee that was involved in a neighboring game," Hobbs said. "During the previous game she was verbally abused by the opposing coach with no repercussions to the coach, although verbal abuse of a player is directly against AYBA rules."

The entire Heat team eventually disbanded.

Bukowski warned coaches about taking the game too seriously.

"AYBA games should be fun and not about winning at all costs," he said.

"Some younger eighth-grade players especially might be susceptible to injuries by too-aggressive older girls," Bukowski said

He asked the coaches to speak to their players and parents about the meaning of sportsmanship.

The AYBA code of conduct states that while all parents and fans should root for their teams, the league "will not tolerate negative remarks or gestures to the opposing team or to the officials.

"No official, player, spectator or coach shall lay a hand upon, push, shove, strike, threaten, verbally abuse, or otherwise endanger the safety of any other official, player, spectator, or coach," the code says.

If an infraction occurs, games could be forfeited and violators permanently banned from future AYBA participation.

When The Heat team was disbanded, some of the players were assigned to other teams, sources said.