KY TV sportscaster sues local HS

I know Fred. I know him pretty well.

As good and as giving as it gets in the business.

The way I am reading this, the injuries didn’t come from action on the field but on what was happening behind him and to his back (the assumption that Fred was focused on the field if he was shooting the game).

I shot NFL and major college games for years and was able to avoid getting hurt because I was quick to hit the “eject” button and bail out of a play on the field coming to me.

However, I was never worried about anything happening BEHIND me and it sounds like that happened here.

 

With the new COVID rules, teams are allowed to spread out all the way down to the 10-yard line. Trinity is a 6A high school, and it's not uncommon for schools of that size to have close to 100 players, coaches and support staff on the sideline, before a single hanger-on wanders over.

That said, stuff happens and if you're a veteran in this business you ought to know you need to protect yourself. That includes knowing your surroundings. If it's a cramped sideline, you need to be aware of it and plan accordingly. Be on extra high alert. Shoot behind the end zone if you can. Shoot parallel or to the side of the play. Go to the other sideline if it's less crowded there. There are all sorts of ways to do the job and not put yourself in harm's way. A capable defense attorney can probably shoot a hundred common sense holes in the case, but it might come down to what a jury believes.

The sad thing is, I can already see what the end result of this is going to be — an NFHS requirement (or at least a school district or Kentucky athletic association requirement) that every reporter be credentialed to cover a high school game. They'll probably have to sign some sort of waiver as well. Maybe even bar reporters from the sideline in a classic case of overreaction.
In the end, no matter the outcome of this particular case, it's going to make all of our jobs harder.

 

I’ve shot HS football for 26 years, even as a news anchor when I would still co-host the Friday night football show after anchoring newscasts all day.

In the last four years, I’ve never seen HS football as irrelevant as it seems to be of late. Perhaps it’s different in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, where I imagine it’s still very popular. But it just has less buzz and more students seem to be staying away and spending their Friday nights finding their “social” elsewhere.

 

I’m surprised that liability waivers aren’t yet SOP everywhere.

 

I too wonder if insurance is an issue or a catalyst here.

Years ago we had a photo get taken out a break a leg at a track venue that led to all kinds of insurance problems between their medical compnay and the venue

 

Throw a flag on whatever team's sideline they happen to be on and watch the fun as some irate coaches and administrators voice their displeasure with the fellow.
Other than getting hit, I think my biggest sideline fear is having some overzealous official think I'm with that particular team, seeing me two steps onto the white, and he calls a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that makes me persona non grata with that head coach.

 

I've seen it happen once. Couple of years ago, the visiting team's band director or somebody like that was on the sideline and got a flag. It was on the other side of the field, so I have no idea what he said or did to get it, but it was definitely a "What the hell just happened over there?" moment.

I got threatened with it once, many years ago. Right at the start of the fourth quarter a fuse or a transformer blew and the lights went out. After about a 10-minute delay, they line everybody up and run one play but immediately blow it dead. Seems one of the officials worked for Entergy and was over by the light pole trying to help get the lights back on. There was another brief delay while they waited for him to come down off the hill where the light pole was. This was the latest in a string of goofy things that happened in this game, so I just laughed out loud at the absurdity of it.
I don't know what he thought I was laughing at, or if he thought I was someone else or working with the team, but the linesmen heard me, pointed at me, and said, "If I hear one more word out of you, you're out of here!"
I just piped down. Like I said, the last thing I needed was the head coach furious at me for getting his team a 15-yard penalty in the fourth quarter of a close game against a bitter rival. Job to do, not the story but the storytellers, etc.

 

Exactly why I shut up in that situation. My best guess is he thought I was a parent or statistician with the team. But in the end it's like arguing with a cop over why you're being arrested for some minor infraction. You can plead your case to him, but once the cuffs are on you're still going to spend the night in jail.