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Free Hausman!
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Written by Russell Gurman
6th man member Sam Hausman was thrown out of the game with the infamous flag Last Thursday night. Although M-A defeated the Half Moon Bay Cougars by the score of 43-29 in Ayers Gym in the first round of the PAL playoffs, the victory was marred by the loss of a fellow fan.
In a state of euphoria due to the bears 18 point lead, junior and 6th man fanatic Sam Hausman jumped onto the court during half time with the infamous flag made by former M-A student Nick Sako, and waved it at the numerous Half Moon Bay fans. Immediately, Menlo-Atherton’s Administrative Vice-Principal Simone Kennel and Instructional Vice-Principal Steve Lippi hustled over from their posts around the gym and told Hausman to stop immediately. Sam did so and was then informed that he was only allowed to wave the flag on the side occupied by the student section. As the team came running in from the locker room, Sam “took the flag and waited by the entrance to follow them out onto the court, as I have all year and as [Nick] Sako did last year without incident.” Again Ms. Kennel and Mr. Lippi approached him and firmly told him that he had to leave the gym immediately. Mr. Lippi also told Sam to meet him the following morning to talk about disciplinary actions. To the disappointment of the M-A faithful, Hausman grabbed his sweatshirt and left with the flag.
For the remainder of the game, the students clad in maroon and gold cheered their hearts out in honor of their departed classmate. However, Mr. Lippi stood next to the students, stopping the uprising of any derogatory chants towards the Cougars’ players or fans. Though the mood was upbeat with the victory, many were upset and disturbed by Sam’s seemingly unfair ejection. 6th man captain Barrett Johnson claimed that he thought “the [administration] was looking for a reason to get somebody in trouble and that what Sam did was an innocent joke. ” Students such as junior Alexander Bercow showed support for Hausman; Bercow created a t-shirt (above) saying “Free Sam Hausman” and wore it to the Bears next game on Friday.
Friday morning, Sam and Mr. Lippi met to discuss the event the night before. Afterwards, Mr. Lippi told the M-A Bear News that he was not able to disclose details of the meeting because it was a disciplinary gathering. He said that the administration was looking for sportsmanship from both 6th man members and others in the stands. Mr. Lippi explained that he and Ms. Kennel believed that Sam waving the flag at the opposing fans was unsportsmanlike. Sam voiced his frustration in the M-A administration, the largest being the inconsistency of the admin. As the meeting came to a close, Sam mentioned that he would see Mr. Lippi at the game that night at El Camino High School. Ms. Kennel entered and stated that Hausman was banned for the remainder of the PAL playoffs and that the flag was banned indefinitely from M-A events. Sam was surprised with this information, since Mr. Lippi had not mentioned anything about any sort of ban during the meeting. When he questioned Ms. Kennel about the flag, she responded that the flag was a safety hazard. If the stands had been full when Hausman waved the flag at the fans, somebody could have been injured, even though there has never been any sort of injury to anyone in two years of usage. Thus, Sam left the office, banned from the remaining PAL playoff games.
That night at El Camino High School, the 6th men showed up in lackluster numbers: only 6 students and the Varsity Girls Basketball team, who had just lost to Terra Nova. However, they cheered not only for M-A, but for Sam, frequently yelling “Free Sam” during dull moments in the game. Though the Bears were handed a 55-35 loss to Mills, some 6th man members were glad that Sam would soon return for the CCS playoffs.
Yes, Sam Hausman will be at tonight’s game in Ayers Gym versus Alvarez, but, to the dismay of the students, he will be without the traditional M-A flag.
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Photo credit Leah Worthington
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February 24th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Great article russell!
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March 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
You da man, Russ!
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March 12th, 2010 at 11:28 am
The treatment of Sam was completely uncalled for. When you look at the actions of the opposing team, being HMB, Sam was not out of line nor infringing on the safety of his teammates. However, the player that threw the ball at the referee or for that matter, the player that threw up the “double bird” at the 6th man club should have been ejected from the gym to then meet Sam at the Yacht club meeting. Sam-free your self like others such as Lenin and Mandela!!!!
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