The league operates under a

written constitution approved by the member schools. This document can

be changed by a two-thirds vote of the members present at one of the three

annual League meetings announced in advance, providing the proposed change

was presented at the previous meeting.

At most meetings each school

has at least one coach or administrator present, sometimes several coaches

or administrators from a school may be present and enter into discussions,

but decisions are made by one vote per school.

The MMSAL has seen several

changes in membership over the decade of its existence until its present

configuration that includes the six Henry County middle schools and the

five Fayette County middle schools divided into two regions, East (Henry

County) and West (Fayette County). Because of the difference in the numbers

of teams, each region has the authority to determine tie breakers in football

and basketball.

The present conflict occurred

during the 2001 football season when one team with a better overall record

was denied entry to the playoffs. This is the rationale behind the tie-breaking

system used by the West Region (Fayette County) as voted into place by

the five member schools.

It was decided to count only

the last four games of a six-game season to determine the region winner

and runner-up. Four of the Fayette schools play one game against a Henry

County team and they play one Fayette school twice. The remaining Fayette

school plays two Henry County teams. The schedule is completed in the

spring meeting and is based on random selection (the number you draw out

of the pot determines your schedule).

Now, one of the Henry teams

has lost only two regular season games in the past 10 years. Statistically,

if your school draws this team you are already saddled with a loss. (Did

the ACC kick FSU out of the league because it wins too many football games?)

Another Henry team is usually

very weak four out of any five years. If your school draws this team,

statistically you can most likely count on a win.

With this history of the relative

strengths of other schools, the West Region voted to count only the last

four games as mentioned above.

This year there was a three-way

tie for first place with each school having three wins and one loss over

the last four games. The West Region called a meeting of the three schools

to determine a tie-breaker. Each team had lost to one of the other three:

Fayette beat Flat Rock, Flat Rock beat Rising Starr, and Rising Starr

beat Fayette.

The first tie-breaker is head-to-head

competition. We still have a tie. The second tie-breaker is a coin toss.

Flat Rock tossed the coin, knowing that they might be out. As luck would

have it, Flat Rock lost the toss and their chance at a playoff spot to

a team with a worse overall record.

The fact that they tossed the

coin would seem to indicate they knew the procedure. Only after the unlucky

toss did the uproar begin.

There is a protest mechanism

in the League constitution. It does not include parent input. The League

commissioner (selected by the member schools), Mr. Byars, was correct

in conducting a closed session among the member schools to decide the

protest. The rule had been voted into place before the season began. The

region voted correctly to uphold the rule and deny the protest.

A similar incident occurred

in the 1996-97 basketball season. Booth lost to Flat Rock by two points

then beat them by 20 points later in the season. Booth beat Henry by 19

points, then later lost to Henry by six. We have a three-way tie for first

place seeding in the tournament. Booth loses both coin tosses and winds

up in third place because MMSAL has a rule that eliminates the differences

in scores as a tie-breaker.

Sound unfair? The rule is in

place to keep basketball coaches from running up the score every chance

they get. Booth accepted the unlucky coin toss that put them playing the

strong teams early in the tournament instead of in the finals.

No doubt the parents have a

vested interest in their middle school student and his activities. If

they want a measure of control over athletics then they should keep their

kids in the recreation leagues where they have a say in governance. If

they choose public school athletics, this is the time when they must abide

activities in which their students participate.

It will be a very grave error

to pull Fayette out of MMSAL over this situation. Playing in-house will

sharply curb the level of competition presently enjoyed within the league.

How boring will it get with the possibility of playing a team three times

in a football season and four times in a basketball season?

Leave the Metro Middle School

League alone. It has the best overall interest of middle school athletes

in its decisions. Its conflicts are settled democratically. Its commissioner

performs his/her duties with no compensation. It is obviously a thankless

job. This writer believes most of the schools in both counties appreciate

the efforts of the present commissioner, Mr. Byars.

Jere Key

Retired coach, Booth Middle

School

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