Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-18
ONLY AFTER PIRATES
AMONG THE AMATEURS
Amateur Athletic Union Doing
Its Best to Keep All the
Sports Clean.

Its Best to Keep All the
Sports Clean.
Some people have the impression that
the Amateur Athletic Union wishes to
| control athletics in colleges. what the
Amateur Athletic Union desires to do Is
to control athletics within its own body.
and the main object of this control is to
see that athletic sport shall be fair ana
| fairly conducted. 1t desires to keep out
| the professional from competition with
the amateur. 1t wishes to eliminate those
| who compete under assumed names. 1t
| wishes to eliminate those who have been
| suspended for violation of the rules OF
clean sport and so on. In doing this It
| has two major methods: one for the
identification of the individual this is
| registration) and the other for the identi-
fication of the games (this is sanctioD.
| In basket bail the Amateur Athletic
Union says that any person competing
without registration and with.u ut sanction
will not be eligible to compete In any
sport governed by the Amateur Athletic
Union. This is not an attempt to con-
| troll the athletics of any other bodies. 1t
| it's own body as clean as possible by say
| ing to young men that If they wish TO
compete In games under the \. A. l..
sanction they must live up to the regular
| ly established rules Of clean sport. If a
college, preparatory school. an indus
| trial association, a church or a lodge de-
| sires to have athletic sports in which
| cash pr yes are offered and in which pro-
| fessionals are allowed to compete with
| amateurs, the Amateur Athletic Union
has not a word to say, but the individuals
competing in such games cannot there
after compete in games held under the
sanction of the A. A. L.
Failure to understand these things
brings these other bodies particularly
educational institutions, frequently into
| Athletic Union. Each year at the begin
ming of the basket ball season the A. A.
| T., through its different branch associa-
tons, comes into unnecessary conflict
with educational institutions in relation
| to their playing basket ball with teams
| from on-educational institutions, and
year after year ill feeling is caused when
| the A. y. L. announces that the players
| on such and . such a team have auto
| matically disqualified themselves. The
rules of the union are perfectly clear;
| those that take part in open sport must
| be registered and all open games must
be sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic
Union some one of its allied bodies
that has the power to grant sanctions fof
| open games, such as the Y. NJ. c. a.
With the announcement of this college
team or that school team that has been
disqualified, much hard feeling usually
crops out. and as result the players
that desire to compete in track and field
sports are forced to apply to the Anna
| teur Athletic Union for reinstatement.
Now. why have this trouble year after
year? Is it not much better for those in
charge of intercollegiate and interscho
lastic sport to investigate the rules before
they start? AS a matter Of fact. Prince
ton University has announced basket
ball game with a team in Greater NV
York that is not an Amateur Athletic
Union or Young Mems Christian Asso-
citation team. Therefore the Princeton
team will disqualify itself and it's mom-
bers If it plays this game. case nearer
home IS that of the Georgetown Uni
versity team. which knowingly played
against team on which a profe ssional
was member. Its members are now
Union, and will be until January 3. This
forces 1t TO rearrange its scht dule, as.
should 1T play any games during this
period. it would probably draw an addi-
tiohal suspension for Itself and the teams
against which 1t played would be pun
ished. When. team repre- senting an
educational institution plays non-educa-
tional institution team it causes trouble.
unless the situation is clearly defined.
and for the benefit Of teams from educa-
tional institutions the law is explained.
The Amateur Athletic Union of the United
States allows teams from educational insti-
tutions to play teams from other educational
| institutions without sanction or r,gistra-
ton; they consider that educational institu-
tons can compete in sport among them
selves without comforting with the union,
and 1t Is to be hoped for the good of the
sport that the basket ball teams will con-
fine their activities to playing among
themselves. Should they desire to play
MI ia INC hnyD
the team they play must register, and
the game must be sanctioned by the
Amateur Athletic Union if the team rep
| resents an athletic club. military organi-
| A. IT Young Mems Christian Associa-
| ton team.
High schools when playing among
| themselves are exempt from registration;
Public Schools Athletic League sanction
is all that is necessary; high school teams
can play other educational institutions
without sanction. except from the P. 8.
A. L., but should they play Y. NJ. c. A.
team, Church Athletic League team or
military organization they must secure
sanction from and register with the A.
A. U.
| The national basket ball committee of
the A. A. l.. is now carefully scrutinizing
| the schedules OF all clubs that hold men,
| bership In associations of the A. A. T.,
and If 1t is found that clubs that are
HISIIDcTS OI any dSSOCldLlOI, Sucl as
Church A. L.. Settlement A. l.. and ath-
letic clubs are playing in their gymnasi-
ums unsanctioned and unregistered bas-
ket ball the A. a. L. will remove from
membership those clubs that arr breaking
| the rules.
| The law in relation to maintaining an
unregistered team is very clear: it Is rule
! 3, general rules, and Is as follows:
ANY club, a member Of any associa-
ton of the Amateur Athletic Union of
the United States, which sanctions the
competition of any member or team. un-
der its club name or It's club emblem in
unregistered sport or professional contest,
or which persists In playing dlsquau ed
athletes, or which permits rrofe> SIGNALS
to compete under its auspices in any COM
petition In sport over which the ANA
teur Athletic Union assumes jurisdiction,
where such competition Is announced as
| a competition between amateurs. shall
| be liable to forfeit its membership in
such association"
This basket ball question has come up
| time and again in local circles and 1t
| would be we'll for managers Of teams to
| look more carefully In the matter befo
| taking any doubtful action with their
| teams. The A. A. U. has warned clubs
and athletes so many times with regard
| to these laws that 1t is understood that
| in the future no mercy will be shown
| offenders.