Players won't be suspended for leaving bench

No Garfield or Redmond player who left the bench Friday, after a Redmond fan ran out of the stands and punched a Garfield player in the face, will face a suspension for leaving the bench. But both high schools could be handing down their own sanctions to players for their behavior during the incident.

In a league meeting Monday, the KingCo Conference overturned the ejections of Garfield and Redmond players who left the bench Friday, when Redmond senior Sean Shewey punched Garfield guard DeAndre Taylor in the face during a break in play. The ejections would have carried a mandatory one-game suspension.

But with witness accounts circulating of players fighting after Shewey's punch, — both Garfield and Redmond are investigating the incident.

"Any additional sanctions that come out of this are going to come from the two schools involved, pending league approval," KingCo president Jeff Lowell said.

Those sanctions will likely be decided Tuesday before each team plays their second-to-last game of the regular season. Garfield hosts Eastlake in the Bulldogs' final home game, and Redmond plays at Skyline.

Neither athletic director from Garfield or Redmond could speak on the record Monday evening. The Lake Washington School District is also investigating the incident, according to a statement.

A high-school rule forbids players from leaving the bench during a fight, but after seeking advice from the National Federation of State High School Associations, the conference decided that a fan attacking a player did not constitute a fight.

The conference was able to view a video clip of the incident, which has since been passed on to the Redmond police. The police have arrested Shewey, 18, on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct.

The league also finalized Redmond's decision to have Garfield named the winner. The score when the game was called with about five minutes left — Garfield 50, Redmond 33 — will be the final score.

Tom Wyrwich: 206-515-5653 or twyrwich@seattletimes.com