A controversial social media post was made following the crazy two-day girls’ basketball game between Saugus and Canyon.
Freshman sensation Isabella Escribano hit the floor after being screened in Friday’s overtime game at Canyon. Escribano convulsed and it appeared to observers that she was having a seizure.
Following Saugus’ win the next morning, due to the remainder of the game being postponed, a member of the Saugus girls’ basketball team posted a photo of the team posing as they imitated Golden State Warriors’ star Stephen Curry’s “night-night” celebration. Curry typically does the celebration after hitting a big shot that ices a game, then pretends to sleep on his hands while running back on defense.
Escribano is OK and back at home following a stay at the hospital that started on Friday night, but the social media post was not received well by many after Escribano’s frightening injury.
“The situation itself was not OK with stuff that was posted on Instagram,” Canyon coach Jessica Haayer said in a phone interview. “When a player goes down and seizes, we don’t know if she’ll ever play basketball again. Those (posts) don’t seem right in my mind. Post that you won, who cares, but let’s not post night-night.”
The post has since been taken down. According to Mark Crawford, the director of human resources and athletics for the William S. Hart Union High School District, the incident was ruled insensitive but not harmful.
“The Saugus coaches are working with the girls to make amends to Canyon,” Crawford told The Signal in a phone interview. “The post didn’t have anything to do with the injury but it’s still a teachable moment. The Saugus coach feels really bad and they’re working hard on making amends.”
The district has worked with both schools’ administrations, programs and athletic departments to resolve the issue.
The “night-night” team photo was taken back in November at the Centurions’ media day photo shoot. Crawford told The Signal the post was intended to celebrate the team’s first win over Canyon since 2021, but with no malicious intent, there was no need for punishment.
“We first investigate it, find out the story behind it, working with the administration,” Crawford said. “If we found some kind of malice, then we’d have some sort of investigation, but based on the work we’ve done, we believe this is the proper way to go forward.”
Saugus hosts West Ranch on Friday at 5 p.m. while Canyon will be off until Tuesday when the team is slated to host Golden Valley.
There is still no timetable for Escribano’s return but the freshman is reported to be aiming to rejoin the team as soon as possible.
