Two Girls Basketball Teams Tried Tanking Same Game, Things Got Weird

Smyrna and Riverdale matched up in a Tennessee girls basketball playoff game on Saturday. Things got very, very ugly.

Both teams believed losing would result in a better draw in the regional tournament so they did their best to suck. And suck they did.

Check out some of the lackluster action:

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Yikes. 

Believe it or not, some of the more objectionable plays weren’t captured on film.

The referee noted that Riverdale “missed 12-16 free throws intentionally.” And that Smyrna “wouldn’t get the ball across the half-court line to get a 10-second count or to make us call an over and back violation intentionally.”

The referee said “one time a Riverdale girl looked at one of the officials and gave the official a 3-second signal wanting him to call three seconds on her. Smyrna stood in the lane as well to have us call three seconds on them.”

The referee wrote that he finally called the coaches together for a meeting after “a Smyrna player was about to attempt a shot at the wrong basket (but there was a 10-second violation call before they attempted the shot) on purpose.

“That was when I called both coaches together and told them we are not going to make a travesty or mockery of the game. WE ARE NOT GOING TO START TRYING TO SHOOT AND SCORE FOR THE OTHER TEAM.”

!!!!

If you wanted to start from scratch and come up with the worst possible play in hoops, a 10-second violation while attempting an own goal would be a great choice. Kudos to the kids for not doing a damn thing to mask the terrible sportsmanship.

Never do anything halfassed. 

 Smyrna eventually blinked first and re-inserted its starting lineup while leading 30-25. Once they started trying, they cruised to a 55-29 victory.

But the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association was pissed off enough to suspend both schools for the chicanery. 

Girls basketball is to be taken seriously, god dammit. Can’t have people out there making a traveshamamockery out of it. 

[H/T: Daily News Journal via Deadspin]