[Hoot Gibson]

Absolutely correct. And I'm sure the coaches in these High Schools that the 24 incidents took place were disciplined. So, how do you eliminate this from ever happening again in a High School sport? Trust me, coaches have to diffuse tempers in many games per year. I'm not advocating the elimination. I've participated or coached in probably a few thousand games in my life and I can't remember a time where the two teams have not participated in a postgame hand shake. But, in this litigation happy society, and the fact that it does happen in our very state, as well as across the country. How do you eliminate it and protect schools and taxpayers from having to pay for litigation of a single incident?

In areas where juries often see themselves as slot machines full of free money to dispense, there is no easy answer. In my opinion, eliminating contact between teams before and after games would just increase the potential stress and animosity among coaches, players, and fans. Until a majority of Americans regain their ability to render reasonable and fair verdicts and understand that there is no such thing as free money, the ambulance chasing variety of attorney will continue to thrive in our society.

When I lived in Indy, the football players and coaches from Warren Central and Ben Davis, which are huge rivals that have played each other at least once annually for many years, got together for a large dinner on the Thursday night before their regular season game. I thought it was a great tradition. I don't know if the two teams still meet for dinner each year, but I thought it was a great way to promote sportsmanship before a big game.

If I was a high school principal, I would insist that my coach have the team line up to shake hands after games unless there was good reason to believe that the opposing coach had no control of his own team. I don't remember playing any games where there were no post game handshakes. When you have just played a great game in a losing effort, it is great to hear some encouraging words from the opposing coaching staff and/or players. It is part of the game and the first step in putting it behind you.