Sickles’ Brian Turner has been suspended from coaching football for two weeks following his ejection from a junior varsity game last week.
Turner was not on the sideline for Friday’s 30-20 varsity loss to Durant, having been ejected the previous night from the JV game.
Based on Policy 30 in the Florida High School Athletic Association rulebook, Turner is ineligible for a minimum of two weeks, from Sept. 4-18. He also must complete a six-hour “fundamentals of coaching” course, which carries a fee of $50, before he is reinstated. Sickles was also fined $200.
Turner will miss this week’s home game against Newsome. Calls to Turner seeking comment were not returned.
According to the incident report filed by the West Coast Officials Association to the Florida High School Athletic Association, Turner — who was not coaching the JV team but was there watching — went at least “6 yards from the sideline onto the field of play” to protest a holding call in the second quarter. Asked to return to the sideline by the refs, Turner “said that the referee did not know what he was doing” and needed to learn the rules.
Turner was asked multiple times to leave the field of play, and JV coaches and assistants also tried to get him off the field.
When he continued to argue the call, a flag was thrown for a sideline warning, and Turner responded by telling the referee that “he was the head coach and he would make sure we never officiated again and continued to argue…,” drawing another flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.
After more “of the same behavior” resulted in another unsportsmanlike flag, Turner was officially ejected from the game. He refused to leave, however, until the Sickles principal made him.
“The coach was given every opportunity to leave calmly so that play could resume,’’ the report concluded. “He seemed intent on ridiculing the officiating crew.”