Judge denies Carver E&S’ attempt to overturn ban from Public League playoffs
The Engineers were disqualified from the Public League playoffs after a skirmish in the quarterfinals. The team’s plea for an emergency injunction to stop Tuesday night’s semifinal game was denied.
Carver Engineering & Science’s buzzer-beating attempt to overturn a ban from the Public League boys’ basketball playoffs was swatted away on Tuesday as a common pleas court judge denied the team’s plea for an emergency injunction.
The Engineers seemed to be on track to play Tuesday night in the Public League semifinals until last Thursday’s quarterfinal game was halted after opposing fans ran onto the court. E&S led Constitution by 12 points with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining when the referee called off the game.
A skirmish started when a Constitution player shoved an E&S player. The situation spiked when fans — the referee said they were from Constitution’s bleachers — stormed the court and moved toward E&S players. The reserves from E&S then left the bench and walked onto the court. There were no punches thrown by players from either team.
» READ MORE: E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.
The Public League ruled that E&S, despite being 71 seconds from advancing, would forfeit the game since its entire bench entered the court, which league president Jimmy Lynch said is a violation of the league’s unsportsmanlike conduct policy. The league’s rules say that a team must forfeit once their “entire bench” enters the field of play.
Constitution was awarded a 2-0 victory and a berth in the semifinals.
E&S argued that its players only came onto the court after opposing fans did first and were there to make sure their teammates were safe. An appeal to the league fell short on Sunday night so they went Tuesday afternoon to City Hall to take its case in front of judge Christopher Hall, hours before Constitution played Imhotep Charter at La Salle.
The E&S players wore their uniforms to court and were joined by coaches and alumni. They asked for an injunction to stop Tuesday night’s semifinal and allow them to play Imhotep Charter later this week. A lawyer presented their case.
“Finding a lawyer to argue this in 24 hours was extremely difficult,” said Miya Brown, a mother of an E&S player. “It was not an easy task. We didn’t even start off with all the proper information. We didn’t have the ref’s statement. They did. We didn’t have the full report. They did. We started off at a disadvantage. But the lawyer tried. The judge pretty much explained to the boys that while this is a harsh reality for us, that when you file an emergency injunction, it has to be that this decision causes irreparable harm and damage.”
E&S will continue its season later this month in the PIAA District 12 tournament but its bid for the school’s first Public League title ended in City Hall Room 275.
“It’s just a disservice,” Brown said. “Not just for this game but for the safety of the athletes. What are you teaching? What is the Philadelphia Public League representing when it comes to the safety of the student athletes? Our student athletes are still disappointed but we’ll continue to encourage them and continue to support them. We’re going to get them ready for states.”