Acoach with over two decades of head coaching experience in the state of Alabama, including three trips to the state championship game and one state title at Spanish Fork HS (AL) in 2015, has been suspended after what appears to be an illegal scouting incident.
After the illegal scouting scandal led by Connor Stalions was uncovered at Michigan last year, it’s impossible to see that phrase without drawing connections, and while there may be some similarities, this appears to be a different type of incident.
Enterprise HS (AL) head coach Ben Blackmon and a young assistant coach were caught on video recently recording the opponents sideline in a contest between Opelika HS and Dothan HS, according to WKRG 5 News.
The video led to swift action from the Alabama High School Athletic Association, as they handed down a suspension that will keep Blackmon off the sidelines tomorrow night in their key 7A Region 2 matchup with Opelika HS.
Alabama rules state that “a school may not video tape, nor film, any contest in which it is not involved unless it has received permission from both participating schools.”
Blackmon released a statement of his own.
“We received a letter stating that I am suspended for Friday’s game. I accept the ruling and will not appeal.”
He goes on to share that he did not direct our young coach to record the video that led to the suspension, but he also didn’t stop him from doing so.
“I’ve scouting games thousands of times. There’s never been video taken. This is the first time and the last time,” his statement went on to say.
Many folks will read this and wonder if a one-game suspension is enough? While we’ve already acknowledged this is not the same as the Michigan situation from last year, Jim Harbaugh was suspended for three games and an NCAA investigation is still underway.
I do think it’s worth a tip of the cap to the AHSAA for acting swiftly on this, and for being completely transparent. Many states opt to keep disciplinary action completely under wraps, and can take forever (though not nearly as long as the NCAA) before coming to a conclusion on how to hold coaches accountable.