[Sports dad]

Legislators rip KHSAA handshake rule on social media

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Joseph Gerth


Kentucky House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover on Tuesday ripped a new rule by the KHSAA that discourages schools form allowing students to shake hands following sporting events, saying the association’s commissioner and board members should be sacked.
“I am so upset. Julian Tackett, the commissioner, and any other KHSAA board member who supported this policy should be IMMEDIATELY AND FORTHWITH FIRED!” Hoover, a Jamestown Republican and a former high school football player, wrote on Facebook.
In his post, Hoover wrote the decision was a “clear sign of stupidity.”
The decision was made after several fights and altercations in recent years as athletes shook hands at the end of games. The policy change appears to be a recommendation as much as a directive.
The only penalty for schools that disobey the order would come in the form of fines, only if the post-game handshake were to result in an altercation.
State Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, jumped in, responding to Hoover’s Facebook post, calling for a new law overturning the Kentucky High School Athletic Association ruling.
“I think we should file a bill, to override. My son coaches high school and middle school soccer we have so many good kids and coaches, it is an insult to the majority!” she wrote.
Later, in response to another commenter on Facebook who called for more oversight, Hoover responded, “(I)f I don’t do anything else come General Assembly 2014 session, you can bet your last $$$ that the General Assembly will have some say about ‘oversight and management and function’ of KHSAA…..count on it.”
When Hoover took to Twitter to vent his frustration there, Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer wrote, “These folks at KHSAA aren’t known for great decisions for student-athletes. This one is the worst.”
This isn’t the first time legislators have threatened to rein in the KHSAA. There was talk of legislative action when the association considered private public and private school championships and when it considered new eligibility rules aimed at private schools.

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