The Florida High School Athletic Association has suspended Miramar coach A.J. Scott for three months following his ejection from the Miramar-St. Thomas Aquinas game on Sept. 20, according to a FHSAA incident report.
The suspension, which runs through Dec. 23, means Scott will miss the rest of the regular season as well as any Miramar postseason games.
“I feel that this suspension is unjustifiable,” Scott said. “I feel like I carried myself the way I was supposed to.”
The FHSAA also fined the school $250, according to the FHSAA report.
Darrick Carroll will coach the Patriots during Scott’s suspension, according to Miramar athletic director Mario Rodriguez and Broward County Public Schools spokeswoman Cathleen Brennan.
The suspension stems from an incident that occurred during Miramar’s 36-0 loss to St. Thomas Aquinas on Friday.
Late in the game, Scott said he wanted to talk to the head referee about how he saw St. Thomas players committing unsportsmanlike conduct toward Miramar players.
Scott, who has been the Miramar coach since 2017, said he called a timeout and walked to the middle of the field to talk to the head referee, which is shown in video provided by Scott to the Sun Sentinel. In the video, after he walks to the middle of the field, two referees throw flags and he is ejected.
“I feel like I did not come with a threat,” Scott said. “All I did was speak loudly, ‘I want to talk to the white hat.’ And he chose to throw me out of the game because of that.
“I called a timeout. I did everything I was supposed to do. And I dispute this, and it’s not right.”
According to official Bob McKinney, who filed a report with the FHSAA, said Scott “attempted to physically confront the Referee (Bob McKinney) and Umpire (Jim Wilson) in the middle of the field. The Miramar (head coach) had to be physically restrained by his players and assistant coaches. Due to his aggressive, combative actions there was the potential for physical harm to the officiating crew. The Miramar (head coach) then broke free of his players and assistant coaches and had to be physically restrained two more time by his players and assistant coaches before he was escorted off the field.”
The official’s report continues, saying, “This situation had the potential for a physical confrontation if not for the actions of the Miramar players and assistant coaches.”
The FHSAA administered a Level 3 suspension against Scott, initially suspending him for a full year. After an appeal from the school, the suspension was reduced to three months.
Scott denied the official’s account of the incident, saying he went out to talk to the head referee and was not combative. He said the extent he was physically restrained was when an assistant coach grabbed his wrist and told him to go back to the sideline.
“As the head man, I’m [the players’] spokesman,” Scott said. “I’m allowed to talk to the white hat; I’m [the players’] attorney. And that’s all I was doing — being my kids’ attorney.”
Scott said he didn’t understand what he did to warrant a three-month suspension.
“I never used vulgar language, I never attacked the referee, I never raised a finger or pointed at a referee,” Scott said. “I am still lost on the reason why I’m getting three months’ suspension.”
