It's pretty awesome to see a principal reverse his decision when the public calls for it. Now I hope those boys "bring it!" lol

They'd better win. If not, either Blake can be good sports and shake hands or they can do an 'in your face' victory dance of their own. I also hope that the PH boys are focused on soccer and not the distractions of the last few days. - T.D. PH class of '80

Maybe this time they should do the Duggie? Is that less offensive?

This is great news!!! In this case the punishment did not fit the crime. While the movements may have been suggestive an admonition would have been, and will ultimately prove to be sufficient.

Oh wow. Looks like a lot of us need to give the man MAJOR credit for reversing his decision.

it is NOT easy to back out of a decision like this. as much as it is the right call, I've got new found respect for Mr. Roberts.

I didn't write or call his office to protest, but I'll be calling his office this afternoon if this is true.

Now THAT's the best news I've read all day. Kudos to the principal and other officials for realizing the error of their ways!

I'm with Tim, when this becomes official I will be emailing him as well!! Kudos to him for doing the right thing, what a great lesson for our kids!!

I'm sure the kids, if they win, won't be doing any choreographed dancing either.
That's the other important lesson here.

What GREAT news if the PHHS boys are allowed to play. You know the other teams involved would have felt weird/ not legit about playing a game with so much controversy surrounding it. Hopefully, there will be no dancing, so they can't be accused of lewd behavior again. I watched the boys do the Bernie dance on the 11 o'clock news last night on wbal and it was odd, but funny. I talked with a friends daughter and her team has being doing the Bernie dance since last year..its just a fad dance for the teenagers and some professional players.

It's definitely true, I just received the automated call from Mr. Roberts. I am sure it will be on the noon news.

I think this photo is a hoot and the kids look like they are having a good time. How can someone be disqualified for celebrating with dance? I would like to see a video of the performance. I bet it was funny! Thank God for kids that keep things interesting.

toga...toga....toga....Toga...TOga...TOGa...TOGA...TOGA....TOGA...
(Sorry, flashback to my 80's college days :-)

Kudos to Mr Roberts. As a parent of two PHS grads, I was ashamed of his first decision and his lack of vision to see this as a teachable moment. Over the top---maybe--but the celebration certainly was not inappropriate. In such a large school, this brings the kids together and encourages school spirit. Mr Roberts---THIS is the way to stand behind your students. Dulaney parents----grow up.

Did the principal reverse "HIS" decision or was he "FORCED"

I got a pre-recorded phone call from Mr. Roberts saying he is taking back the punishment and the boy are getting to play!!!! YEAH for them!!!
GOOD LUCK TONIGHT!!!

Does anyone know the time of the boys soccer game tomorrow? My HS child doesn't even go to this school, but we might go cheer for the PHHS boys and show that we support them completely...

Never mind.. i see the time in the article Ooops 2pm

UPDATE (12:16 p.m.)—Perry Hall High School Principal George Roberts announced Friday during a news conference that the decision to end the boys varsity soccer season early had been reversed. The Class 4A North region semifinal game between Perry Hall and Blake High School will be played at 2 p.m. Saturday at Blake in Montgomery County. Check Patch for video and updates.

I am glad that the soccer team will be allowed to play a game that they had earned the right to play. I also want to say how impressed I am with these young men and their coach. With the media all over this story, and obvious public sentiment on their side, it would have been VERY easy for them to 'mouth off' and make a lot of noise. They didn't do this. They remained respectful throughout and represented their school and community admirably. Well done men, both on and off the field! Now go win your game!

I want to know what the coaches and players of Blake HS were thinking about all of this? Would they really be proud of getting a spot in the finals without earning it?

congrats to your boys from the left coast, lot of soccer parents watching this story out here, and id say just about all of them thought the original decision was a joke. go get em boys

Wow, this seems like a fairly one-sided discussion, and I'm not quite sure why. Understand that I'm from out of state and don't have a horse in this race before you get all up in arms about the opinion I'm about to express. While I don't necessarily think the principal should have allowed one moment of inappropriate behavior to ruin a season of hard work, unless there are consequences for their actions, this teaches the kids that public protest is valued above consequences, and that anyone can get away with anything they want to if they create enough trauma for the responsible authority figure. What an awful life lesson. What will be the consequences? Or are we so eager to be high-school soccer champions, or so desensitized to what's inappropriate because of the liberal media that we don't use our own common sense to stand up for some minimal set of values? How very disappointing I find this - not that the kids are allowed to play the game they clearly earned the right to compete in, but that a bunch of protesting parents can strip away the authority of someone clearly trying his best (despite his logic) to teach something worthwhile - that our actions have consequences. Sincerely, if this happened to my kid, I'd be pissed, but I'd be telling him/her that they made a choice and that choice resulted in negative consequences, and that he/she should learn from it. Doing otherwise, in my humble opinion, is irresponsible. For what it's worth, that's my 2 cents.

It's a tuff job being a Principal. Nice job Mr. Roberts. Thank you for listening and hearing our concerns in a respectful manner. GO Gators!!! Class of 96'

thanks to the media for covering this incident and the communities across america who have supported our boys. and thanks to mr. roberts for reversing his decision. he's a good man. the disciplinary action for the boys has yet to be finalized, but at the very least, the boys will be taking a class in sportsmanship. the parents have recommend that the also boys produce a sportsmanship presentation which will be presented to all student-athletes at perry hall high school, so in learning this lesson on what is perceived as poor sportsmanship, they are able to share this knowledge with the other student-athletes. the parents and boys have also decided that they would like to show their thanks to the perry hall community who supported the cause, and volunteer their time and services. if you'd like to have the boys assist your organization with a project or volunteer time, please respond to me here. thank you.

Principal George Roberts is quite good as a principal and I have great respect for him reconsonsidering and allowing the soccer team to compeate. It takes courage to review a decision and admit that the punishment did not fit the «alleged» crime. This is a wonderful lesson for all Perry Hall High School students.

I know that Senator Klausmeier and Councilman Marks both called Principal Roberts. Sometimes the most important things are accomplished privately.

Apparently, the boys have been doing this all season, and have not been told to stop. It was a bad move to try and punish them for something they have been doing all along. I guess the PHHS Principal has never heard of "nip it in the bud". Maybe he has learned a lesson from all of this, but he should take a class in adolescent behavior management. If you allow a behavior, and never indicate that you do not like the behavior, or that you find that the behavior is inappropriate, then you can't just decide that you are going to punish that behavior when someone else complains. It is then your fault for allowing that behavior to continue. I think Mr. Roberts needs to accept FULL responsibility for allowing the behavior, and then he should face whatever punishment is appropriate.

It made my day to hear that this call was reversed! Kudo's to the principal for making the decision. I would have loved to attend on Saturday and show my support, unfortunately I will be cheering on another soccer team! Good luck Perry Hall Varsity, we're rooting for you. Win or lose You had a great season!

All these comments and the "re-enacted" video leave out the other side of the story, i.e., that after the game the entire Perry Hall boys team came over to the Dulaney sideline, did their dance while pointing at their genitals, and taunted the Dulaney bench and Dulaney parents. This was witnessed by numerous people and was accepted by the Perry Hall principal to be the case. I am not saying that the boys should be suspended, but they are indeed getting off scott free for their taunting and bad sportsmanship (full disclosure: I am a former Dulaney parent).

Don't make the assumption Mr. Roberts made that decision to end the season solely on his own. BCPS is a large system with many levels of control. He has superiors who have input as well. It is possible he was instructed to end the season against his will. He is in a very difficult position.

VIDEO: Soccer Players, Students Dance the 'Bernie' Outside School -- Was it appropriate for students to do the Bernie after the decision to cancel the season early was reversed? http://patch.com/A-n1ZK

A lot of valid points all around. Thanks to the many mature responses to my original post, as I learned a few things I didn't know - such as the suggestion that the students have been doing this in many previous games without someone raising an issue. If that's the case, the responsibility for this particular instance is on the coach. I don't particularly think the bernie dance is inappropriate from what I've seen online, but let's be honest, you could make square-dancing adult-rated if that was your intention. Supplemented by the alleged gestures, if that's what was done, certainly would be inappropriate. Directing them at the opposing team's audience would be as well. If someone has a link to the full video, please post it. The one above and what I could find elsewhere online were just a second or two of the victory dance or didn't include it - obviously nothing offensive there, but I certainly wasn't there to witness the drama unfold minute by minute.

Scott Van Pelt covered this story on ESPN Radio today. He and his co-host were disgusted. Good luck on Saturday, boys!!

Back in the day, my Football coach had a more direct way of handling player antics. On one occasion our defense sacked the opposing QB. I was a rival game. Back then they were all rival games, anyway I digress. The players on the field high fived each other. Our Coach was livid, called time out and got us all in a huddle. He considered it poor sportsmanship to show off like that. Sack the QB, whistle stops the play and you hurry back to the huddle. The following Monday after practice he had us running wind sprints until our lungs hurt. Lesson learned. After that whenever we sacked the QB we sometimes helped him back up. Young players today could learn a lesson from that. So could the Pro's for that matter. yhs.

Anyone who agrees that teams can't be happy and express it is nuts and are the people who are ruining our entire planet!!!!!
What players and parents should do is wake up early and stay up late and play sports with your kids and help them experience their dreams and have fun!!!! Put all the thumb sucking and tears away and try to enjoy life for a change and if you lose get your butts up, get motivated and next time you might win? Then you can dance!!! If you keep losing do what normal people do, find something else your good at!!!

Perhaps Perry Hall needs to take a lomg hard look at itself.
The behavior was uncalled for and exhibited poor sportsmanship. I am a Balto co parent and the school my children attend dislike very much coming to your school because of the behavior of the boys soccer team. You are a poor role model for the rest of the students at the High School. Shame on the principal for backing down. What lesson did this teach the players?

who made the song moving like bernie? where can i get it?

Great respect for Principal Roberts, who when presented with more information, had the courage to change a bad decision. Very proud of the respectful way the PH team handled themselves this week...good bunch of kids. So glad they get to play today. What a memorable end to their high school soccer careers!

The Bernie started when the song Moving Like Bernie by A S I became a phenomenon on YouTube with over 7 million views world wide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKhyM1aBrI

I hoped there would be a reversal when I read the following headline in a Forbes magazine online article «Stupid principal makes stupid decision for stupid parents about stupid dance». I agree with the training to reinforce the good sportsmanship conduct standards. In fact, maybe this training delivered electronically should be a prerequsite for all student athletes prior to tryouts for all sports.

Thanks Meg for finding the above article from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/2011/11/04/stupid-principal-cancels-soccer-season-because-stupid-parents-upset-over-teams-stupid-dance/ I bet the PHHS principal had no idea how his rash decision would be perceived in the internet age. The title of the article sums it "Stupid principal makes stupid decision for stupid parents about stupid dance".

UPDATE (Nov. 5, 1:30 p.m.)—Check out our live chat of the Perry Hall boys soccer post-Bernie dance playoff game against Blake. Patch's Nick Dimarco will provide live updates, photos and video from the sidelines. Readers can join the conversation on Twitter or directly in the article. Game starts at 2 p.m. - http://patch.com/A-n2QY

Perry Hall Boys Soccer wins 2-1 vs. Blake !! Go Gators !

UPDATE (Nov. 5, 5 p.m.)—The Perry Hall Gators beat James Hubert Blake High School 2-0 on Saturday. Perry Hall will now advance to the Class 4A North region final against Westminster on Tuesday. Find live game coverage and commentary in the article, Live: Perry Hall Beats Blake in Post-Bernie Playoff Game -- http://patch.com/A-n2QY

Just happen to be on 43 when the bus came off of 95, pulled up behind the bus, not knowing if they won or not, when one of the boys finally looked back I put my thumbs up and then down. All the boys put their thumbs up and started yelling. I started beeping my horn and some other drivers joined in. Way to go boys!!!! Very happy for you guys!!! Good luck on the next game!!!

Congratulations to the principal.To those of you who weren't there but are putting down the kids for pointing to genitals Stop it .One of the parents who was there and filed a complaint saw the actual dance and meaning and realized they weren't pointing to anything and put it in the paper. It's a dead man dancing ,it is not making fun of your opponet it showing you still have something left and you ain't giving up.Now why don't we all drop it and go about our lives.

UPDATE (Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m.)—Check out our live chat of the soccer Perry Hall boys soccer post-Bernie dance playoff game against Westminster. Patch's Nick Dimarco will provide live updates, photos and video from the sidelines. Readers can join the conversation on Twitter or directly in the article - http://patch.com/A-n6WM

UPDATE (Nov. 12)—We're going to be live chatting (http://patch.com/A-nDCN) the Gators next run in the state semifinals. The boys are entering their third post-Bernie match against Walter Johnson High School tonight at 7:30 p.m. Help spread the word about our live coverage on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/PerryHallPatch) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/PerryHallPatch). Patch's Nick DiMarco will provide live updates, photos and video from the sidelines. Get involved in the conversation using Twitter hashtags or by commenting directly in the live chat on the article. See you there (http://patch.com/A-nDCN).

Perry High School Principal Decision
The Perry Hall High School Boys’ soccer team won their quarterfinal state match against Dulaney High School and celebrated by doing “The Bernie” dance following the game. Different opinions will arise about whether this showed poor judgment by the Perry Hall players or whether it was considered taunting. What is clear, though, is that the cancellation of the rest of the season by Perry Hall principal George Roberts on November 3, 2011 was an overreaction and an excessive penalty that was unwarranted.
High school administrators need to have a clear set of priorities in governing the sports programs of their schools. Emphasis should be placed on protecting the integrity of the school/sport, fairness between schools/teams and the safety and well being of the players. While the character of the Perry Hill soccer team was tainted when they performed “The Bernie”, this behavior didn’t significantly jeopardize the integrity of the school. Questionable judgment on the part of teenage boys, maybe, but I wonder how much Principal Roberts’ penalty reflected his reaction to the reported protests by the opposing parent group.
I am glad that Principal Roberts reversed his decision a day later and allowed Perry Hall to participate in the semi-final state soccer match. However, I believe that this incident displayed an excessive use of power by Principal Roberts.

I recommend that cancellations of high school sporting events and seasons require approval by the school district in order to promote discussion and idea sharing.