Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly is the latest to throw several well-placed haymakers at the WIAA for their atrocious handling of the recent Archbishop Murphy case. To the best that I can tell the column is not available online, but here are a couple key nuggets, including this bit of news I don't believe the local media has covered regarding the student whose physical expired in mid-season:

Plus, the kid's home life was going through a blender. His mom had moved to Yakima, his dad was gone, and he was living with friends. Stuff tends to slip through cracks that big.

So, in addition to the fact the team's all-world coach died of cancer four days after the physical expired (maybe the coach had other things on his mind besides paperwork for all his student-athletes), in addition to the fact the multi-sport student-athlete in question had already had a physical in the past, this unfortunate kid's home situation was not exactly stable and ideal.

However, the WIAA wasn't going to let such profound mitigating circumstances, or seemingly even common sense, get in the way of the letter of the law. Reilly continues:

"Well, I'm not sure you know the whole story," said Al Falkner, WIAA executive board president. "The school admitted that in August they notified [the player] that he would be ineligible on Sept. 8 and he should update the physical. Apparently, in all the things that happen sometimes, that was forgotten."

In all things that happen sometimes? [emphasis in the original] You mean, like the kid having his home pulled out from under him and his coach dying the in the middle of the season?

Clearly, someone hasn't thought to give the folks on the WIAA leadership team some media training. Unless they're fond of enraging people to the point of bloodlust they should give it a try.

The real issue affecting the WIAA's ruling appears to be that the applicable regulations are totally inflexible. Competitions played with ineligible players have to be forfeited, period. No other options are available. None. Zippo. Zilch.

That was the takeaway of Seattle Times follow-up coverage of the issue, as well as a radio interview I heard with the Executive Director of the WIAA on local sports radio. That lead staffer, who didn't have a role in the actual board-level decision in this case, made the same point on air and seemed to place a great deal of import on these physicals being performed.

The hosts of the show conducting the interview, along with this writer, were incredulous at that last point. The typical "sports physical" is little different from a standard check-up with your doctor. It will last less than 15 minutes absent a prior condition needing examination or another issue the patient brings up. Check your vitals, explore your orifices (hopefully not too many), and test your reflexes; then off you go.

A tragedy-stricken team's entire season is wiped out because one of these less-than-rigorous exams expired? Unbelievable.

I suggest each member of the WIAA board actually explore what goes on in these physicals because they aren't the great panacea of student-athlete health and safety these people seem to think. More importantly, it is clear the WIAA rules governing this issue are illogically rigid. The situation makes college football's BCS system look like a paragon of common sense by comparison.

As it stands, the WIAA at minimum should be utterly embarrassed of itself, and should move forthwith to find a reasonable means by which to amend the regulations in question. That's the least of the restitution they ought to make for the appalling treatment of Archbishop Murphy.

UPDATE: typos fixed. Commenter BigDawg, long-time Earling fan, sent an annual membership to the Earling fan club.

UPDATE II: here's a link to the column, put up by another blogger who has less concern about "fair use" than I. The column begins after the first paragraph at the blog entry, with "The smallest-brained..."