Officials on site responsible for basketball scuffle

Everyone from basketball players to their grandmothers is still talking about the basketball bollix that erupted Feb. 22 inside the Milford Central Academy gym during a Henlopen Northern Division playoff game between Cape Henlopen and Smyrna, arguably the two best teams in the state.

Cape was never in the game. They had already secured the state tournament's No. 1 seed, but in a scenario no one could have predicted, the Vikings trailed Smyrna 40-14 at halftime.

The fans rimming the court were mostly cool except a cadre of people who sat right behind the Cape bench, which was inexplicably distant from the scorers' table and separated by walk-up steps.

The seating arrangement fell somewhere between antagonizing and intimidating.

Adults in charge, from game managers to administrators to police officers, standing across the baseline on the other side of the gym, allowed the pot to simmer, then boil.

To no one's surprise, the lid popped.

The three referees on the court were in a tough position as emotions intensified.

Taunting and provoking behavior was glaring and obvious, and intimidation tactics were directed at Cape's No. 5. At one point, he put his hands up in the air in a gesture that seemed to ask, "Will someone please get these people out of my face?"

With 4:02 left to play, a few antagonists sitting behind the Cape players placed their feet on the bench as players returned following a timeout.

A punch was thrown, and chaos took the court.

Fans and players meshed and mingled, more peacemakers than pugilists.

Cape's No. 5 evaded his handlers, sprinted away and launched a kick at the head of an antagonist who had already been taken to the floor by police.

Legal charges and school disciplinary action correctly followed.

But the adults in charge share the blame. They need to apologize for failing to stop inappropriate behavior before the wheels came off the wagon.

Cape adults don't need to penalize players further.