Arlington girls basketball removed from TSSAA playoffs after Dyer County coach punched

Arlington girls basketball has been removed from the playoffs and placed on restrictive probation after police said a juvenile admitted to punching Dyer County coach Derek McCord after the Tigers' 61-41 Region 7-AAA semifinal win Tuesday, according to a letter from the TSSAA.

"A young man identified as an Arlington High School fan assaulted Derrick

McCord, Dyer County Head Girls’ Coach, striking him from the side," the letter states. "Coach McCord was knocked down and punched several times while he was on the

ground. It was reported that there were probably five other individuals with this

young man."

The Commercial Appeal is not identifying the suspect because he is a juvenile. The person is the son of an Arlington High School employee and was driven away from the scene by a member of the Arlington girls basketball team. 

WHAT HAPPENED:Juvenile admits punching Dyer County basketball coach Derek McCord after game at Arlington, police say

ALSO AT ARLINGTON:Shelby County plans to vaccinate nearly 11,000 teachers within next two weeks, officials say

The Arlington girls basketball program is also banned from the playoffs next year and will be fined $2,000. The program will not be able to host individual camps or participate in team camps during its probation period, which lasts until the end of next season.

Arlington will no longer schedule Dyer County in girls or boys basketball, with playoffs being the only potential exception.

"While some of the actions proposed by the Arlington High School administration are

appropriate, collectively those actions are insufficient in view of the seriousness of the March 2 occurrence," the TSSAA letter said. "The March 2 occurrence reflected a failure of adequate security in the proper places and an absence of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is an essential component of high school sports."

The Arlington administration will also meet to discuss security and how to prevent incidents like this from happening again. 

McCord said in the police report that he had injuries to his right ear and refused medical transport. He was later taken to the hospital and pressed charges, the TSSAA letter said. The juvenile has been charged with simple assault. 

According to the police report, the juvenile said he punched McCord because he was talking bad about his mother. He also said one of the Dyer County coaches punched him. 

According to the TSSAA letter, some of the Arlington players were in the vehicle the juvenile left in and one of the players was driving it. 

Arlington was scheduled to play Hardin County in a region championship game on Thursday. Because Arlington is ineligible, Hardin County has been named Region 7-AAA the champion and will host Houston in the sectionals.   

Arlington has since banned the juvenile from school property for the remainder of the year.

Arlington was one of four teams remaining in the Class AAA state tournament last year when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. This makes it the second year in a row that Arlington's playoff run was cut short for non-basketball-related reasons. 

"We’re disheartened the actions of a few have led to such great consequences for the entire team, but as a team sport, you rise and you fall together. It’s a lesson that actions have consequences, and sometimes that can also impact the innocent," Arlington communications coordinator Tyler Hill wrote in a statement. "The decisions made after Tuesday’s game do not represent the values AHS motivates its players to live by, and AHS administrators will work even harder in the future to make sure our coaches and athletes understand the importance of personal and team responsibility and leadership.