Soccer match results in fine

A racially charged incident at a high school soccer game last fall has resulted in a $750 fine against Sisters High School. The fine was imposed by the executive board of the Oregon State Activities Association, which concluded that Sisters soccer coach Mark Keel "withdrew the team prior to the completion of the competition" in violation of OSAA rules.

There was no question that Keel and his team left the field while a few minutes remained on the clock in a game at Molalla High School last September 16. But when the fine was first announced, Sisters officials filed an appeal on the basis of mitigating circumstances -- that the team left because one or more Molalla supporters repeatedly shouted racial slurs at a black player on the Sisters squad.

Keel said he heard shouts such as "Lynch the nigger" and "Boy, I'd make you my slave."

Having experienced similar problems at a Molalla game the year before, the coach said, "I felt like it was a dangerous situation and our players felt threatened, so we packed up and left. Perhaps I should have handled it differently, but I made multiple pleas with their coach to do something about it and he basically said it wasn't his problem."

During the appeal, a lot of paperwork was exchanged and Keel and Sisters High Athletic Director Mary Flande appeared in person at a December OSAA board meeting.

The final decision rejecting the appeal came in a brief letter to Flande on February 4.

The news was passed along to the Sisters School Board by Superintendent Steve Swisher at the board's April 7 meeting.

At the time of the incident, Swisher said, "After reviewing the situation, I 100 percent support what the coach did. As a young coach 25 years ago, I only wish I had the courage to do what Mark Keel did."

Swisher told the school board this month that regardless of local feelings about the fine, it had to be paid or Sisters would be cut out of interscholastic athletic competition.

Athletic Director Flande said last week that she was "disappointed" by the rejection of the school's appeal.

"I thought there would be a little more leniency. But there was due process and it was the same process that would have taken place with any other school or violation. They didn't just dismiss our arguments."

Flande explained: "Basically, the findings were that we did leave the field before the completion of the contest, which is a violation of the rules.

"The fine was incurred because the (soccer game) officials in their report said they had the (offending) people leave and came back to us and said, 'We got those people off the field so let's try to continue,' and that was our choice at that point.

"So we did leave the field and indeed that was a violation. They (the OSAA board) understand the extenuating circumstances and there could have been a greater fine."

Since the incident, Flande said, discussions have been held at coaches' meetings about how to deal with this type of situation if it occurs again.