Fans' actions spark ban

The damage is done, and changes are coming in the wake of vulgar chants spewed from a student section supporting Armstrong's hockey club during its game against Mars on Thursday in Kittanning.

The student section berated Mars' female goalie with vulgar chants, many of which were sexual in nature. The chants were clearly captured during the livestream of the game, which has since been posted on online forums.

The incident has forced the teams, the league and the districts to reflect on how to prevent such things from reoccurring.

The Armstrong club's president, Jim Rearic, said he attended the game, and afterward talked to the coach to organize a team meeting.

Rearic said he wasn't angry at the players, adding they didn't do anything wrong; although he noted one instance in which the chants began following a goal at the same time the scoring player was celebrating the goal.

“It was the student section,” he said.

At Friday's meeting with the players, he told them they still have the power to reach out to their classmates.

“'I need your help. The community needs your help,'” he said he told the team. “'You're friends with these kids.'”

Rearic said the players were receptive, and he believed many would follow through in talking with their friends and peers about the inappropriate behavior. He said he also encouraged the players to speak with the leaders of the chants, if they knew them, and encourage them to come forward.

Rearic said he mostly wanted the players to advance a positive idea of sportsmanship to their classmates.

“Come and cheer for us, but that's it. Just cheer for us,” Rearic said. “Be a good sport, and be respectful of the game.”

Armstrong High School principal Mike Cominos said the behavior exhibited contradicts efforts by himself and fellow principal Kirk Morgan to generate more positive sportsmanship from their fans.

“Unfortunately, it's too little too late,” he said.

Rearic said the district will continue to look at ways to improve sportsmanship among its fans, whether by disciplining those responsible for the incident or through future schoolwide initiatives or programs.

“That's already in discussion,” Cominos said. “That's our next step.”

According to officials from both districts, apologies were issued and received immediately, despite neither being affiliated with the team.

“The Armstrong Area School District administration proactively reached out to us last Friday to make us aware of the situation, and we discussed the situation again yesterday,” Mars Superintendent Mark Gross said. “They have offered a formal apology on behalf of their board, district and community while also ensuring a thorough investigation.”

Districts reach out

Cominos said they are investigating to find those responsible.

“We're taking this very personally,” Cominos said. “We're embarrassed by this whole thing.”

Cominos said in addition to apologizing to the district, he has also reached out through the district to offer the player an apology.

“What happened to that young goaltender from Mars was wrong,” he said.

A person involved with the Mars hockey club said the goaltender was understandably upset by the chants and comments made at the game. The person also said the girl is working through the matter and is looking forward to moving on.

The videos, collected through a livestream of the game, show an angle focused on the action rather than the fans.

Cominos said that is one reason they are struggling to identify those responsible. He said some students also have admitted to being there, but claimed they were not involved in the chants.

“We find that behavior absolutely horrendous,” Cominos said. “This is not the norm for our students.

“This behavior should have never been allowed to happen,” Cominos said. “Hockey is still not a school-sponsored event, but they're still our kids, though.”

Armstrong and Mars play in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, which is a co-ed league. The league is unaffiliated with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The league is also not affiliated with the school districts, despite using the districts' names and logos as their own.

League reacts

PIHL Commissioner John Mucha said the organization is aware of the incident.

“The behavior was so disappointing across the board,” Mucha said. “This is disgusting behavior by the fans.”

Mucha said the organization has since reached out to the girl's family and had a positive conversation with them. He said it also launched its own investigation, which has a secondary objective of identifying areas of improvement, including areas of security, officiating and rink policies.

“We're looking to do anything we can do to have a safe environment for the kids to play hockey in,” he said.

PIHL made the decision to ban Armstrong students from attending Monday night's game against Butler. Thus far, that is the only game Armstrong student fans are banned from. Further bans are being considered. That decision will be contingent on a decision made at a PIHL Executive Committee meeting, which will be held either Wednesday or Thursday, based on member availability.

According to Cominos, he said he understood and would support the decision to continue the ban against Armstrong students from attending games.

Rearic said he, too, approves banning the student section from games until the students involved step forward and take accountability.

“All of us, the organization, the complex and the school, we're all on the same page. This just can't be tolerated,” Rearic said. “We're in a place where we won't have a student section until some kids come forward and make a public apology.”

Security questions

Rearic said he also was embarrassed by the student section's actions; however, he opposes the notion that nothing was done.

He and other parents considered going over to the students, but were advised against it. He said he and other parents encouraged security to monitor the situation, but it didn't stop the students, who stopped their chants when security was around and started again when they left the section.

“Security was in the wrong place. They should have remained down near that student section the whole time,” Rearic said. “People think we did nothing, and that's not true.”

Both district and league officials also said part of the conversations about how to improve moving forward included discussions about security at the venue, the Belmont Complex, which is owned by Armstrong County.