The punch heard 'round the world

Apparently some Yale intramural players have been taking those cheesy sports t-shirts far too seriously. You know, the ones with slogans like, No blood, no foul, or You can't score from six feet under, or—for the truly over-educated—kickimus gluteus maximus.

At least that's what Carlos Pinela, director of intramurals, feels about the recent incident involving two members of the Morse and Pierson men's soccer teams. In describing the blow Joe Gennaro, PC '04, dealt Emre Ozcan, MC '03, on Thurs., Oct. 4, Pinela pointed out that "a punch thrown [in men's soccer] is not out of the ordinary. The gravity of this punch was out of the ordinary."

Jonathan Vandenburgh, MC '04, who was on the field during the game for the Morse team, and who also coordinates the referees for men's soccer, agreed. "It was the only time I've seen anyone actually get punched," he said.

The tone of intramural competitions naturally spans as wide a range as the competitions themselves. Yale's IM department organizes a total of 30 different intramural sports over the course of the academic year. Men's soccer games are among the more intense contests in IMs at Yale. Tim Smith, SY '05, a goalie on the Saybrook men's squad, said,"I was surprised by how intense the games actually were, although the players were not outrageously physical or out of control."

In his own experience, Vandenburgh remarked that a certain amount of shoving and shouting takes place at nearly every game. He did not believe that the game on Oct. 4 between Morse and Pierson "was more heated than any other game" he had refereed or played in. Although certain rivalries do arise among the colleges, Vandenburgh did not feel that rivalry was an issue at that game. Instead, he thought it was simply a case of someone losing control. Josh Kaul, PC '03, an IM secretary, said, "I think that this was an isolated incident." He also believed that most intramural participants displayed good sportsmanship.

There has long existed a fine line between competitive and unsportsmanlike play. "IMs have always been competitive and will remain competitive," Pinela said. He asserted that IM games provide Yalies with a constructive outlet for their excess energy. Despite the publicity the recent altercation received, IM personnel did not believe there was reason for a drastic overhaul of Yale's IM program. In response to the confrontation, the IM board suspended Gennaro from intramural competitions but took no other action. According to Kaul, "there were no substantial changes made in the IM format because of this single incident."

However, the episode has brought attention to certain issues surrounding the refereeing system for intramurals. All IM referees are Yale undergrads, hired by the intramural office to keep score and ensure fair play. "Most of our referees are athletes who played in high school," Pinela said. "They understand the sport, and they are here to help out."

IM referees receive minimal training, but Vandenburgh believes they are adequately prepared for everything. "There's a clipboard at every game with a packet of all the rules, and an extensive procedure is outlined within the rules about how to handle fights," he said.

In general, however, the athletes, not the referees, bear the brunt of the responsibility for keeping the game clean. Smith noted that if an obvious foul takes place which the referee misses, the players themselves will call the foul. "The refs do the best job that they can," he said. "We don't expect them to be professionals." Besides, there are few alternatives to the current arrangement of hiring Yale undergrads. As Pinela pointed out, "There is no budget to bring in official referees. We have to live with what is financially feasible."

Even hiring only experienced athletes as referees, however, does not help the situation if there aren't enough of them. While Pinela acknowledged that "[IMs] have had problems getting enough referees," he also affirmed that "nearly 95 percent of our games do have referees." Vandenburgh said that five people, including himself, regularly referee men's soccer games. Usually two games take place at the same time, so that there can be two referees present at each game, even if one person is unavailable.

Despite the recent altercation, Pinela does not foresee—nor does he desire—any major changes in the spirit of IM competitions. "We want to limit aggressive behavior, but intensity is an integral part of athletics," he said.

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