Ann Arbor wrestling official had physical confrontation with high school wrestler
Ann Arbor resident and veteran Michigan High School Athletic Association referee Erich “Rick” Schifter is dealing with angry reactions following a physical confrontation between him and a wrestler during the Phillip Jaimes Memorial Tournament at Tecumseh on Saturday, Jan. 23.
Schifter stepped between Tecumseh’s Tim Elkins and Woodhaven’s Mitch Bartes after the two were involved in a skirmish off the mat during their 152-pound match. According to multiple accounts, the wrestlers had rolled out of bounds and, after Schifter had blown his whistle to stop the action, Bartes grabbed Elkins’ leg. Elkins retaliated by pushing Bartes.
Schifter stepped between the wrestlers to separate them and, as a video posted by the Tecumseh Herald shows, eventually put his hand on Elkins’ throat while pushing him away from Bartes. “No! You don’t misbehave on my mat! Don’t misbehave on my mat,” Schifter is heard yelling.
Tecumseh assistant coach Larry Patton is seen in the video escorting Elkins to the scorer's table. Though neither wrestler was disqualified or awarded penalty points, Patton elected to withdraw Elkins and forfeit the bout to Woodhaven.
"It was choking me," said Elkins, a senior. "That's why I asked him to take his hand off of my throat."
MHSAA assistant director Mark Uyl has reviewed and addressed the situation, but would not comment on any disciplinary actions the organization would take on Schifter, who in 2008 was honored as a 30-year official.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with Tecumseh this week and lots of conversations with Rick Schifter and have taken action that Tecumseh High School and the official have agreed upon,” Uyl said. “It is our long-standing policy that we don’t comment publicly to what that action is.”
Elkins knows what he expects to happen from the situation.
"I think he should be suspended. I don't know for how long, people make mistakes, but he's a 30-year referee; I think he should know how to handle situations like that," said Elkins, who said he had become "heated," but didn't think the situation between he and Bartes was out of control or escalating.
Schifter was scheduled to officiate a team district tournament at Tecumseh on Feb. 10, but has been replaced according to Tecumseh athletic director Griff Mills. It was not communicated to Mills whether or not Schifter would be eligible for other postseason competitions.
“I have no control over who the state assigns to the regionals or state finals. They’re going to put who they think are the best officials there,” Mills said. “The one thing we have control over is the district official and we’ve made an adjustment there which I think is appropriate.”
Though Mills was at the tournament, he did not see the confrontation between Schifter and Elkins. He was gathering most-valuable-wrestler ballots from the tournament’s participating coaches.
“I didn’t see what precipitated his actions. The only part I saw was him directing the wrestler to the scorer's table,” said Mills. “I became aware through the video and discussions that took place after.
“What he did was inappropriate. He knows what he did was inappropriate and expressed immediate remorse,” Mills added. “It’s an unfortunate situation that occurred. I still have a lot of respect for the official; I still think he’s a good official. People make mistakes and he obviously made a mistake and there are consequences for those types of actions.”
When asked whether or not Mills would consider hiring Schifter in the future, he said “time will tell.”
"He's been a good official for a long time, I have the utmost respect for Mr. Schifter. He unfortunately made a mistake and now is unfortunately being grilled," said Tecumseh head coach Casey Randolph, who was not at the tournament. "My kid or any other kid should never get grabbed by the throat. There wasn't any fists involved, and if there were it might be a different story. There was no hitting, no kicking. Just his interpretation of he thought might happen."
Randolph added that he supports whatever decision the MHSAA makes regarding the issue. Â
Saline High School athletic director Rob White had planned on contracting Schifter’s services for the Saline Super Duals on Saturday, but decided Thursday not to do so in light of last week’s events. White, who is chairperson for the Southeastern Conference, did not act under MHSAA or SEC mandate.
“I spoke with the official yesterday and we both agreed he wouldn’t work the event,” White said. “He wasn’t fired. It wasn’t that he pulled out. I’ve not heard from the state on what the ruling is. He and I both agreed that it’s in our best interest and his best interest not to be there tomorrow.”
In response to a request for comment, Schifter left a message stating, “I’m afraid that officially I’m not available for comment. That is an official position of the MHSAA.”
Woodhaven coach Rudy Weirich also declined to comment under instruction from Woodhaven athletic director Zac Stevenson.
Stevenson did not respond to requests seeking comment or additional tape from the match in question. Tecumseh's team videographers did not record the full incident. They are instructed to stop recording when the wrestlers are out of bounds in order to preserve tape.
Pete Cunningham covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by e-mail at petercunningham@annarbor.com, or by phone at 734-623-2561. Follow him on Twitter @petcunningham.
Comments
cunningham
Mon, Feb 1, 2010 : 7:29 p.m.
Great piece of journalism, Huron Bob sounds like an illiterate, and the journalist sounded like he was just reporting facts. Keep up the good reporting.
CaptainD
Sun, Jan 31, 2010 : 1:36 p.m.
I agree with the comments of msrock1954. I, too, have known Rick for many years, with my four sons all involved in HS wrestling. He is one of the best, most dedicated officials I've ever seen. He made a mistake, in the "heat of the moment." To potentially lose him for what he contributes to the sport, for this one, isolated occurence, will do more harm to HS wrestling than good.
tlb1201
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 1:33 p.m.
Well said, Peacegrad. Especially your points 1-5. I also tend to agree with Mike D and Lehigh. It is wrestling, folks! Hand-to-hand physical competition that can get a little heated. Kids' tempers get out of control. Strong, physically fit kids that may be a handful for a 50-60 year old guy to control if they get out of hand, especially if they are bigger. Without seeing the full context with our own eyes, we cannot tell how the situation got to that point. It appears that the kid would not back down from a confrontation with the other wrestler and resisted the ref's moving him to the other side of the mat away from the point of conflict. The statement that "the video was posted by the Tecumseh Herald" is pretty weak. Annarbor.com chose to put the link in its own article. Was it to create sensationalism? Journalists with inquiring minds who want to present both sides of a situation would try to get the whole clip and the full story for their own articles, not borrow from someone else's work while quickly throwing something together. Didn't that sort of thing used to be considered plagarism back in the days when we had real newspapers and journalism instead of online "bait" for overreactive bloggers?
Lehigh
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 11:21 a.m.
AnnArbor.com, congratulations on winning today's "Craig and Adam James Spoiled Parent and Spoiled Child Award", and feeding the machine of kids facing no repurcussions for their actions. Looks to me like the ref went overboard, and you can clearly see him pressing in with his forefinger on Elkins' throat. Not cool. He should be disciplined. But I'm concerned that AnnArbor.com is choosing to publicize this in such a one-sided way. Just because it's what the Tecumseh Herald posted doesn't mean it's something AnnArbor.com should post.
Mike D.
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 11:04 a.m.
Oh boo frickin' hoo for this kid, he got shoved by the ref during a wresting match because he was out of line. Even in slow-mo, it didn't look like a "choke," it looked like a shove to the upper torso. Not knowing what happened before this video began, I find it hard to get too worked up about the ref's actions.
Jello Biafra
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 10:04 a.m.
have someone proof read the article before posting. basic journalism.
bornblu
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 9:50 a.m.
Having coached a different sport for a number of years, and witnessing numerous confrontations, there is absolutely no reason for any coach, ref, ump, or other, to place his hands on a contestant for what they preceive to be "disrespect" of their mat (or other venue). I do realize that if some form of physical altrecation occurs between players/contestants that coaches, refs, umps, etc. have the responsibility to bring control to the situation. This "may" entail hands on in a controlled manner. All that being said, from the video, this ref made a serious mistake and should be significantly reprimanded (IMHO the ref was using his hand on the wrestlers throat to move him back from further confrontation, not to choke him). Again, though, this action while clearly outside the bounds of acceptability, should not define who he is (30 year ref) if appropriately addressed by himself and the MHSAA.
tracyann
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 9:10 a.m.
Being a ref for 30 years, this guy should know that he's supposed to diffuse the situation, not take it up another level. Granted, we don't see what happened before but he's got his hand on the kid's throat and pushing him back. The kid is not putting up a fight and you can hear people in the background saying "Oh my God!" My son wrestles and there is absolutely no reason a ref should ever put his hands on a kid that way. He needs to stop reffing if he can't handle it.
msrock1954
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 8:24 a.m.
I've known and worked with Rick Schifter for many years and while I don't condone his actions he is one of the better referees I've known. Anyone who thinks officiating HS wrestling is a cake walk should try it sometime. Dealing with irate contestants, coaches, PARENTS, etc. is a common occurance and being able to control oneself in every situation is a challenge. Rick has been doing this for 30 yrs. and has worked numerous State Tournaments. While I can't disagree that he lost it on this particular occasion, it's unfortunate that it is splashed all over thee internet and news site's. I'm sure if Rick had it to do over again he would handle it differently. I wish the video showed thee ENTIRE confrontation. In this day and age it's amazing to me that anybody would want to officiate anything!!!!
GRANDPABOB
Sat, Jan 30, 2010 : 7:03 a.m.
Evidently some people don't understand what they read. The article says they do not record off the mat to save tape. I think the ref over did it. He should have asked some spectators on the sidelines if they seen what happened to start it. I have seen enough sports to know that the last guy to strike back is usually the one who gets caught.
TXteacher
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 11:56 p.m.
Adults- let the kids coach, train and referee themselves. Discipline is a four-letter word these days. By the comments on this site, you can see why these excuse-making adults are responsible for the behavior we see in our youth today.
Brandon Angelini
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 11:19 p.m.
I'm sorry, but it'd be classier if the Ann Arbor. Com employees did not comment on their own articles. Fix what we point out in your article (which is using the loose sense of the word), but don't write back. It's unprofessional, and blurs the lines of where a journalist should stand, and where the community aspect of a blog is. You don't see this happening on actual news sites for a reason- It's unprofessional... I really hope someone else brings up a new newspaper in Ann Arbor because this sad excuse for a news site/news paper is getting old, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. I'm just tired of it.
Michael Price
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 11:13 p.m.
The issue is that the ref committed a crime and was a poor example to the young men. Too many adults involved in sports (parents, coaches and officials) forget that the main intent of youth sports is character developement. If I was the kids parent I would press charges.
Pete Bigelow
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 9:03 p.m.
huronbob, as the story notes, the video was posted by the Tecumseh Herald.
bs
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 8:45 p.m.
I agree with the comment that the editing on this video is sensationalist journalism. This kind of crap reporting is one of the reasons that I seldom even read Ann Arbor dot Com.
scooter dog
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 7:49 p.m.
Physical or for that fact ANY type of contact where one of the parties is under 18 is a big time NO,NO.You do not put your hands on kids. I think Mr Schifter needs to attend anger management classes.
John of Saline
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 7:34 p.m.
Yeah, that editing is overdramatic and leaves out what the kid did.
Jake C
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 5:29 p.m.
Funny how the video left out what happened before the ref/wrestler confrontation...
Atticus F.
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 5:26 p.m.
If I would have done anything to disrespect a referee, my old wrestling coach would have made this ref look like Martha Stuart.
r treat
Fri, Jan 29, 2010 : 5:08 p.m.
I know this much, if that ref grabbed my son by the throat he would have more to worry about then a suspension. This guy lost it!