Germantown public address announcer tells critical fans during the Cedarburg-Brookfield Central boys high school basketball game to 'shut up'
A video clip from the weekend of a high-school boys basketball game at Germantown High School has more than one million views from at least one Twitter account after the school's public address announcer called out angry fans on the final play of the game.
Brookfield Central was facing Cedarburg at the school as part of the Warhawk Invitational, featuring a slate of eight boys basketball games, and the ultimate outcome was a 77-76 upset win for the Bulldogs over state-ranked Central. But with Central looking for a winning basket on the final possession, a hard foul just as time expired elicited murmurs from the crowd, and apparently not for the first time.
😂😂👀 The announcer had enough of the parents foolishness! The Refs didn’t even call anything yet! pic.twitter.com/xIQr6xIPaR
— Joe Chapman (@joechap32) January 28, 2023
"I would like to take this opportunity to remind all fans, and I should have done this a lot earlier, shut up," came the announcement over the gym's speakers as referees huddled. "The WIAA is always looking for officials and since you do such a good job from the stands, get on the floor, wear a striped shirt and do it yourselves."
The officials did call a foul, awarding Brookfield Central two free throws and two more technical free throws after a Cedarburg assistant ran onto the floor in the aftermath of the play. The Lancers, however, missed all four attempts and had to settle for the 77-76 loss.
Watching on a since-deleted YouTube stream of the game, former Marquette University basketball player and current basketball coach Joe Chapman posted a capture of the events, and it quickly went viral.
In 2019, the WIAA released an editorial across the state urging overzealous parents to "cool it," citing poor fan behavior as one reason the organization has struggled attracting and retaining game officials, a problem that persists.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: PA announcer tells Cedarburg-Brookfield Central fans to shut up
