Matt Porter of the PALM BEACH POST reports Dwyer (Palm Beach, FL) high school tight end and grandson of Jack Nicklaus, Nick O’Leary, has been suspended for two games by the Florida High School Athletic Association for an obscene gesture during a game last Monday.
O’Leary, who is of the country’s top high school football prospects, made an obscene gesture in the direction of the field during Dwyer’s nationally-televised, controversial 26-22 loss to Cleveland-Glenville in the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
The FHSAA rulebook states:
7.2.1.1 Penalty for Students. Students who are found to have committed unsportsmanlike conduct will be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletic competition for a penalty period up to one calendar year.
In a letter to Dwyer Athletic Director Tom Pagley announcing the suspension, Dr. Peggy Jones of the FSHAA also wrote, “I am sure he regrets his action and this is unfortunate for Dwyer High School as this was on national TV, but there needs to be a consequence for his action.”
Dwyer is appealing the decision, with Pagley confirming that the school is attempting to get the suspension reduced to one game. Earlier, Dwyer head coach Jack Daniels had threatened to forfeit the Panthers’ next two games, but Pagley has since ruled out that possibility.
Meanwhile, a source close to Herbstreit told me today that the ABC/ESPN college football analyst called the FHSAA this morning to lobby on O’Leary’s behalf and that he felt “awful” about the suspension.
Before the suspension was announced, Herbstreit defended O’Leary’s emotional sideline reaction on Miami radio station WQAM-AM:
“I was with a buddy of mine. He played high school football with me, and I said ‘Imagine if we flew down to Florida to play one of their better teams and we drove the last drive and scored the winning touchdown and a Florida referee looked us in the eye and said, ‘Nope.’
“And we scored another winning touchdown and a Florida referee said, ‘Nope.’ And we scored a third winning touchdown and a Florida referee said ‘Nope.’
“I’d feel like [Nick] O’Leary, too. I mean, I’d be upset, too.
“All I can say is, I apologize.
“It looked like they got in once, if not the first time, definitely the second time, and the officials don’t give them a touchdown three different times and Dwyer ends up losing and my heart just sank. Clearly, watching on TV, that’s a touchdown. To the fans of Dwyer and to their players, I am as sick about it as you are.”
The FHSAA’s decision to suspend O’Leary for two games does come off as tone deaf.
Keeping your composure in the face of bad officiating is an important part of being an effective football player. The value of sportsmanship, especially in high school, can also not be understated.
But in factoring in O’Leary’s age and the extraordinary circumstances of the game - and its staging - any sanction that included a suspension was wholly inappropriate in this particular case.
12:10 pm on September 9th, 2010
He broke the rules…Luck only two games…If he were of COLOR he would have been called out as a THUG or even worse…
12:13 pm on September 9th, 2010
Nice don’t put a name but make a racist statement. Shut up and man up
12:53 pm on September 9th, 2010
Has anyone on the FHSAA ever played football?
Kudos for Herby coming to the kids defense. Referees should be suspended for the year.
2:13 pm on September 9th, 2010
You see the BS video put up on the Glenville team meeting after the game?
Ginn even says JESUS was behind Glenville!!!
What a crock!
www dot twitvid dot com slash AKXLT
I think those kids have been punished, and have suffered, enough. This is just adding insult to injury.
2:14 pm on September 9th, 2010
Anonymous, this doesn’t have a thing to do with race. You didn’t see the game (I assume) and saw how the refs screwed O’Leary’s team royally.
The officiating at the end of the game so atrocious and pathetic, I would flip the bird and get suspended. Problem is, the game was in Ohio, not in Florida. The FHSAA head should be writing a letter to her counterpart in Ohio and demand a suspension of the officiating crew for a shoddy job.
2:49 pm on September 9th, 2010
So, from what I’ve read. It’s OK to flip the crowd off if your team got bad calls. Is that what I’m reading? What does my SEX have to do with anything. The kid was WRONG in his actions. So, now he’s been punished. I stated that if the kid was of color he would have been call a THUG or even worse on this site. I’ll ask a question short question. WAS THE KID WRONG FOR FLIPPING CROWD OFF?
2:50 pm on September 9th, 2010
were those 3 plays called the “Reggie Bush Push”?
3:15 pm on September 9th, 2010
“Kid of color.”
Good Lord. Just pathetic. It never ends.
3:43 pm on September 9th, 2010
Nobody is saying anything about what the kid did? My question is was he WRONG? Answer -YES ..How do you defense his action? My statement is if was if he was of COLOR…this site would be blowing up with racist remarks..Be real and face it. True hurts right.
4:00 pm on September 9th, 2010
I think this is good because he is learning early on that obscene behavior won’t be tolerated. Got what he deserved.
4:01 pm on September 9th, 2010
Yeah, anonymous is definitely right. If it were a flashy black kid with fronts from Miami doing this, people would be calling him a thug and so on, saying crap like “HURR DURR BAD CALLS IS PART OF THE GAME GOTTA DEAL WITH IT HYUK HYUK.” But it’s a white kid so of course he’s been unfairly punished.
I don’t agree with the suspension BTW, something in the heat of the moment, for a terrible call - punishment was too harsh.
4:08 pm on September 9th, 2010
I’m all for sportsmanship, and I’m not saying what he did was right: quite the opposite.
But, relative to the situation, I think suspending the kid is WAY overboard. This was an EXTREME situation, not just a blown call in the 3rd qtr…
Those kids were INTENTIONALLY railroaded for like 5 straight freaking MINUTES!
Then the refs ran so fast, you’d think they stole a coach’s watch! And then the Glenville players starting taunting the Dwyer kids, apparently celebrating a victory they were GIVEN!
If it were MY KID, I wouldn’t have said a word…again, seeing the situation relative…
Those officials deserved MUCH worse than just the finger…
And if it were my kid, you can bet your socks I’d be in court, with video, getting an injunction.
5:33 pm on September 9th, 2010
RICK & TIGER..thx..
The FHSAA rulebook states:
7.2.1.1 Penalty for Students. Students who are found to have committed unsportsmanlike conduct will be ineligible to participate in interscholastic athletic competition for a penalty period up to one calendar year.
It doesn’t say anything about bad calls making the above rule void. He was wrong and now he’s paying the price. High School Sports in most states have something in there motto about SPORTSMANSHIP and how it should be practiced at all times.
5:43 pm on September 9th, 2010
Yep - and both OHSAA and FHSAA *ALSO* have in their Official’s Manuals, discussions on fair play, ethics, and integrity…
5:59 pm on September 9th, 2010
TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE EITHER ONE RIGHT. Maybe the official’s are being punished by their association. If anything that’s where the video should be sent for review.
7:21 pm on September 9th, 2010
Bottom line, if this kids Grandfather had been Smith, instead Nicklaus he never would have been suspended for 2 games. The cameras were all over Jack, and the minute that kid flipped off on camera he was done. Good for Florida HS, lets teach this kid a lesson before we have another Adam James.
8:10 pm on September 9th, 2010
What kills me is that this kid did something wrong and most people are justifying it. He was wrong i don’t care what color he is ,wrong is wrong . If your child can flip you a finger when you are some else upset them,then this kid is right. What i want him to do is try this in college.
9:16 am on September 10th, 2010
Jack Daniels is a douchebag. Nice thing to teach your kids coach, If things dont go your way, throw a temper tantrum then take your ball and go home.
10:48 am on September 10th, 2010
James, grab a clue. the KIDS decided to not play without him. JD was just the speaker of the decision…
Jay-Rock - please..if it wasn’t who he was, it would’ve been blown off…yes it was wrong, but considering the magnitude of the nationally televised raping, I commend him for not wanting to choke those cheating refs!
Besides - any of you seen what the OTHER team was doing?
Google for the home videos…THEN you’ll see how flipping a bird was not only understandable, but staying in control.
Oh, and Anonymous?
Ohio Capital Conference has already said they aren’t going to do ANYTHING to the officials… Dave Cerutti, conf commish said that Tuesday.
Makes the entire state look bad, and with Ginn keeping quiet about it, makes it look worse. If I was a parent at that school, I’d be REALLY ticked off right about now…
3:41 pm on September 12th, 2010
Is the Head Coach really named “Jack Daniels”