High school football seems to be a phenomenon all of its own. I can honestly say that there has probably never been any other time when I saw parents get more involved than at the games I attended as student (and no, it was not that long ago).

But behind all that hoopla and autumn madness exists the "big guy". I'm talking about the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). They run the high school football programs in this state, and many readers may not be entirely aware of the blow they recently bestowed on Broad Ripple Village and its high school.

Apparently, the fact that a murder happened "within 800 yards of the Broad Ripple field" was one of the reasons that BRHS's football field was not suitable for a 3A semi-state championship between Bishop Chatard and Heritage Hills High School.

This, along with the fact that the field did not provide adequate seating and was not in proper condition, was the reasons that Bobby Cox, IHSAA Assistant Commissioner, stated that the time and location of the game were changed.

What he failed to mention (and Michael Ford, Bishop Chatard Athletics Director reminded him of) was the fact that the facility was good enough for regional and sectional games.

Arguments were made via email in defense of BRHS's field, but the IHSAA remained firm on their decision not to hold the game at Broad Ripple and was held at Pike instead.

Bishop Chatard won, by the way, with a score of 28 to 17.

I feel that I don't know enough about football to discuss why the field conditions were not what the IHSAA wanted, but it seems to me that beyond those few super lucky high schools with budgets larger than the state's (just think of a large suburb north of Indianapolis), most high schools can't keep up their fields as though they host the NFL's hot shots. Ford even made the argument in his statement that all teams should be used to playing on any type of field.

However, the argument over the field's condition was not what upset me enough to write about this issue. It was the fact that Cox cited Broad Ripple as an unsafe area due to a murder that recently took place.

I read the headlines in other newspapers. I am aware that many people feel there is a problem with public safety in the area and the city as a whole. However, to cite a recent murder in a city the size of Indianapolis, let alone to narrow it down to the proximity in yardage to the school's field in which the incident happened seemed too much for me.

People in positions of power are constantly talking about how much we need to reform education in public schools, specifically ones that may be considered "inner city" schools. How can any reform take place if things keep getting taken away from them?

Maybe I am taking this too seriously, or possibly just making a mountain out of a molehill. But how are schools like Broad Ripple ever supposed to get a break? How are they supposed to get funding to make repairs on their field (which is NOT in bad shape at all) if they have no source of funding because those sources are taken from them or if politicians are continually trying to push through legislation that will send state funding to charter schools?

Broad Ripple High School is our local public school and it needs more support from the community it is part of. I'm not saying that we should take a murder lightly, but I am saying that something the school had no control over should not affect their ability to host a football game-or any other academic or athletic event.