The Manasquan (N.J.) Board of Education is taking the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to court over a bad call that decided a high school basketball playoff game.

Manasquan High School played Camden High School Tuesday in the Group 2 boys basketball semifinal. In the final second, with Camden up 46-45, Manasquan player Griffin Linstra shot what appeared to be the game-winner, putting Manasquan up 47-46. One of the game’s three referees called the basket “good,” meaning Linstra took his shot before time expired, and Manasquan celebrated. 

The game was over—until it was not.

The referees huddled with a representative from NJSIAA at half court. Since NJSIAA rules don’t allow instant replay, there was no video to consider, and the four officials had to decide based on their memory. One referee said they saw the ball still in Linstra’s hands when the buzzer sounded. After a short discussion, the group waved the basket off, declaring Camden won 46-45.

The decision has triggered outrage on social media, including from high-profile figures in basketball. ESPN analyst and Basketball Hall of Fame member Dick Vitale wrote on X, “Can’t believe the officials made that call thus denying worthy kids a chance for a special memory of playing for a HS State Championship … Feel so bad for those kids.”

Manasquan protested the outcome of the game to NJSIAA, stressing the initial call was correct. As part of its protest, Manasquan presented photographic and video evidence showing Linstra in fact had gotten the shot off before the buzzer. 

But NJSIAA denied the protest, invoking association rules that prohibit the use of video or audio recordings to challenge the decision of a game official and forbid protests based on game officials’ judgment.

NJSIAA later issued a public statement acknowledging Linstra’s shot should have counted, and thus Manasquan should have won. But NJSIAA explained it lacks the authority under its own rules to change the outcome of the game. Those rules say that once game officials exit the “visual confines of the playing sport,” the game is over, and the score is official. NJSIAA apologized to Manasquan but reiterated the result “cannot now be changed.” Even if unfair in this situation, the rules are the rules, and Manasquan and other NJSIAA members accept them.

In a complaint Manasquan intends to file in a state superior court, Manasquan attorney Gerald Clark called the outcome an “absolute travesty” and argued the referees overruling of the initial call and NJSIAA’s “refusal to consider evidence that is directly pertinent to Manasquan’s appeal” constitutes arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable conduct. Manasquan also insists the NJSIAA representative who discussed the final shot with the referees after the game had “improperly inserted himself” and “impacted the outcome of the game.” 

The school board cites several rules NJSIAA allegedly violated, some of which are from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which governs state athletic associations. Based on Manasquan’s interpretation, NFHS rules do not contemplate “new decisions,” including overturning a call, after a game has ended. Manasquan also contends the referees had already left the playing area, thus signaling the game was over, before returning to change the call. In addition, Manasquan cites NJSIAA’s constitution and bylaws to underscore NJSIAA’s obligation to “promote fair play” and show “good sportsmanship.”

The Group 2 boys championship game between Camden and Newark’s Arts High School is scheduled for Saturday, and Manasquan demands the game be “put on hold” via a temporary restraining order pending a court review. Manasquan wants a show cause hearing where Clark and other attorneys could present the school’s case. Manasquan warns it will suffer “irreparable harm and injustice” if the game goes on without their team.

“This travesty has caused immense heartbreak to the players, coaches, fans and indeed the entire Manasquan school community,” Clark wrote. He added Manasquan players will suffer particular harm since missing the championship game could damage their “recruiting and scholarship prospects.”

Cases involving bad calls in games have typically come up short. State athletic associations enjoy considerable discretion under the law to interpret and apply their own rules, especially since member schools agree to them. Unless associations are arbitrary or capricious in using rules, courts will find their decision-making lawful. 

Judges are also often uncomfortable inserting themselves into game disputes and reversing referees’ calls—even wrong ones. Doing so once could open the floodgates to additional lawsuits over bad calls, and courts are already overburdened with cases involving more serious matters. 

Further, the type of harm caused by a bad call is arguably not the kind of harm the law ought to remedy. It’s unfortunate that a deserving team lost, but life goes on. Players allegedly suffering damage to “recruiting and scholarship prospects” could also be seen as speculative. One might further question the message high school students take when they see adults suing over the result of a game.

In 2014, Oklahoma District Court Judge Bernard Jones faced a similar situation in Independent School District No. 1-89 v. Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association. Like Manasquan, Douglass High School’s football team was robbed of a chance to advance in their playoffs when it lost to Locust Grove on account of referee error. 

With 64 seconds left to play, a Douglass wide receiver scored on a touchdown to put his team up 25-20. But on the play, a Douglass coach impeded the movement of a referee, resulting in a flag. Under OSSAA rules, the penalty should have resulted in a five-yard penalty assessed on the extra point or the ensuing kickoff. But the referee mistakenly negated the touchdown as the penalty and Locust Grove won, 20-19. Like NJSIAA, OSSAA explained under rules that member schools agree to follow, the association could not change the outcome of a game that had concluded.

There was no dispute the referee erred. Douglass sued, hoping for a replay of the last part of the game. But Jones identified a fundamental problem in the lawsuit. “The law,” he wrote, “requires the existence of a harm that is tied to an underlying right or protected property interest.” There was none, he reasoned, since OSSAA had a right to interpret its own rules as it did.

Jones also questioned the underlying decision to bring a lawsuit, stressing it “borders on the unreasonable” to believe he is “more equipped or better qualified” than referees to decide the outcome of a high school football game. He bluntly warned courts “ought not meddle” in games, especially when schools agree to follow the rules the state association has applied.

It’s possible Manasquan will fare better in court, but it faces the same basic hurdles in challenging a state athletic association’s application of rules and asking a judge to intervene in a bad call case. 

Instead of asking a judge to fix the error, perhaps those involved could do so on their own. While Camden wants to play in the state championship, imagine the message it would send if it refused to play since Manasquan should be in its shoes? It would send a far more powerful message than anything a judge could say or do in this situation.

Scott Soshnick contributed to this story.