This Deerfield Day, as fans from both schools got rowdy to support their teams, many students were forced to confront the ugly side of the rivalry between Choate Rosemary Hall and Deerfield Academy. Problems arose in boys’ thirds soccer, boys’ varsity soccer, and varsity football.
Boys’ thirds soccer had to stop its game early because Head Coach Craig Johnson felt that the aggressive behavior of several Deerfield players was endangering the safety of the Choate team. Player Henry Susser ’20 said, “Deerfield players were all hyped up, trying to get into our heads, but were playing a clean game, for the most part, in the first half. They were throwing elbows here and there, getting a couple of kicks in here and there. One or two small punches.” He explained that although their play was a bit dirty in the first half, the aggression wasn’t completely one-sided. Susser continued, “To be fair, some of us, myself included, retaliated. Not by the same degree, but we weren’t going to get shoved around.” The game soon began to go downhill.
Player Tommy Murillo ’19 said, “During the second half of the game, illegal physical contact by the other team became increasingly noticeable, yet the referee refused to acknowledge it. Our coach called for the game to be over after the third or fourth incident in which one of our players was blatantly attacked.”
Despite being ahead, Choate players were in agreement with Coach Johnson’s decision to end the game and take the loss.
Last Saturday’s sportsmanship issues also took the form of verbal taunts. Tyler Redlitz ’19 commented on sportsmanship issues that occurred during the boys’ varsity soccer game. He said that fans from Deerfield “were very aggressive with picking out particular players.” Choate students, however, made similar remarks about Deerfield’s players, taunting them and calling out names. Redlitz said, “Sometimes you can figure out a name from players talking on the field or from a coach yelling from the sideline. The only other way for fans to know the names of players is by searching up the roster and then individual Facebook accounts.” “Personally, I think Deerfield Day is more enjoyable for us because of Choate’s dominance. Whereas for Deerfield students, the day is more serious, so some students look for any way to gain an advantage — either by challenging the refs on the field or by targeting and demoralizing athletes from the sidelines,” said Redlitz.
The most significant battleground for rude cheering this year was Maher football field. Kaleah Haddock ’19 mentioned that, from the Deerfield crowd, she heard some students cheering “Choate girls are easy.” Likewise, some Choate students shouted sexually-charged taunts at Deerfield, as well as cheers such as “daddy’s money,” which angered Deerfield students last year during the events.
Fortunately, the majority of chants coming from both student bodies were innocent, such as Choate’s “scoreboard” and Deerfield’s response, “College Board.” While the Deerfield Day spirit made for a positive atmosphere overall, there was room for improvement on sportsmanship to help the annual tradition become more inclusive and festive.
