Montana Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger talks with guard Mack Konig (2) during a February game in Bozeman. Holsinger and his mom were ejected from a middle school game Wednesday in a situation Brian called "the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
Montana Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger talks with guard Mack Konig (2) during a February game in Bozeman. Holsinger and his mom were ejected from a middle school game Wednesday in a situation Brian called "the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
MISSOULA — When you're one of the most visible coaches in the state of Montana, it's hard to go anywhere without being recognized.
Montana women's basketball coach Brian Holsinger drew more attention than he wanted — and definitely more than he expected — in what was likely the shortest stay he's ever had at a basketball game Wednesday.
Brian was watching his junior high daughter play for Valley Christian at C.S. Porter Middle School along with his mother, who drove 600 miles to watch the game. That was the scene leading up to an incident the Holsingers probably won't soon forget.
At one point in the first half, Holsinger's mom, showing her exuberance, shouted "That was a jump ball!" According to Brian, the official turned and immediately shouted at her, ejecting her from the gym.
"I stood up from behind my mom and was like, 'All she said was that was a jump ball!'" Brian told 406mtsports.com.
"He said, 'You're out of here too!' And that was it. We had to leave. She drove a long way to see her granddaughter play and I told him, 'Kick me out. Let her stay!'"
Scott Taylor, a former MOA official who was in the gym, saw the incident differently.
"When it first started happening, and it was more than two minutes in, I saw the referee engage with someone and I didn't know at the time it was the Lady Griz coach and I didn't know it was his mom, but what I did know that happened is the ref was just trying to get them to sit down and calm down," Taylor said. "The ref gave them multiple opportunities within a two- or three-minute span to stop talking.
"You could hear them yelling at the official the whole game. They wouldn't stop talking and that's when he said you're out."
Holsinger called the incident "the weirdest thing I've ever seen."
"I literally didn't say anything other than telling him what my mom said," the coach said. "It is what it is. It's seventh grade. We had gone to watch for three games in a row. My mom said 'jump ball' multiple times over those three games but this time, I don't know."
A call to C.S. Porter athletic director/assistant principal Kammy Meyers for comment on Thursday was not returned. She was in the gym at the time of the incident, according to Taylor.
Bill Speltz is Missoulian Sports Editor and has served as Sunday columnist the past 16 years. Do you have a story idea? Email Bill at bill.speltz@missoulian.com.
