NJ legislator hopes to right an ‘injustice’ against Manasquan

🏀Assemblyman Sean Kean said an "injustice" was done to Manasquan

🏀Proposed legislation will allow game clock review in playoff games

🏀Reviews would be allowed during playoff games only

A Monmouth County Assemblyman will propose legislation to allow video game-clock review in high school basketball playoff games.

The legislation from Assemblyman Sean Kean, R-Monmouth, which was being drafted Wednesday, is the result of refs disallowing a buzzer-beater by the Manasquan boys basketball team in a semi-final game against Camden.

Despite the NJSIAA admitting it was a bad call, the organization said its rules do not allow use of video for reviews of calls by referees.

Camden went on to defeat Newark Arts High School and win the Division 2 championship.

"Quite frankly, it's not something that we should let go. We should make sure that it doesn't happen to other teams. And that's why I want to go forward with my bill to give coaches the ability to protest the game clock during only championship tournament games," Kean told New Jersey 101.5.

He said that an injustice was done by the NJSIAA to the Manaquan Warriors.

ALSO READ: Season over for Manasquan boys as emergency injunction rejected

"Crickets" from the NJSIAA

After apologizing to the Manasquan team, the NJSIAA did not publicly address the matter after it was reviewed by acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer and a Superior Court judge. Dehmer and the judge upheld the NJSIAA's rules.

"There's still crickets coming from that organization. Are they going to address it internally? They didn't make any kind of commitment publicly about that. They did say 'we made a mistake,' but they didn't say about going forward, how they may take steps to prevent things like that from happening again. So there's a lot of mistrust with regard to that organization."

Kean said that despite the NJSIAA's rule against using video in review of decisions it has been used in the past.

"How can you with any type of credibility, say to the media, or say to the coach of Manasquan or any other coach, how can you say that we never review the videotape, when we know that there was cases where they did just that," Kean said.

Attorney Gerald Clark, who filed the appeals for the Manasquan Board of Education, told New Jersey 101.5 that the NJSIAA's position is wrong.

"They use it frequently to exact discipline and punishment to players and coaches, and their own rules specifically provide for it in this very state tournament situation," Clark said.

ALSO READ: Manasquan/Camden controversy unpacked: What few in
NJ are willing to say

NJSIAA has used video before

The NJSIAA introduced replay review for football in 2018 but ended the program in 2021 after two controversial championship reversals in 2021, according to NJ.com.

Kean acknowledged that athletic matchups are not life or death but says winning a state championship is a big deal.

"They worked hard. They put in a lot of time to be state champs. They were denied that because somebody reversed a bucket that was already called a basket. It wasn't like the ref just made a bad call right off the top. He called it the way he saw it," Kean said.

The memory is tainted for Camden too as they got through on what Kean calls an "asterisk call."

NJSIAA spokesman Michael Cherenson told New Jersey 101.5 in an email the organization "will be considering all options as we move forward."

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom