(This story was updated to add new information.)

Has sportsmanship in high school sports taken a back seat to trendiness? In this generation, trends have rapidly taken over our everyday lives, and while entertaining, the ability to go viral in a social media world sometimes has a larger consequence than it does a reward.

That was the case for two Lafayette Parish high school football teams.

Last week, a viral TikTok trend jumped off our screens and into real life at North Vermilion football’s homecoming game vs Comeaux on Oct. 11. It’s alleged that the BTA trend started a postgame altercation between the two teams leading to a flurry of consequences.

The saying “BTA” used to be a saying after a team would dominate the other so badly it felt like a whopping. But now, players are actually doing the whopping. The trend occurs when a player from the winning team uses a belt or towel and whips the opposing team as they do their postgame handshakes to signify they’ve “whopped” their opponents.

The postgame altercation between North Vermilion and Comeaux — which allegedly started because of the TikTok trend — and others that have occurred because of it, has prompted LHSAA to reaffirm its commitment to sportsmanship.

“The LHSAA remains steadfast in its fair and consistent approach when addressing cases of misconduct,” LHSAA said in a news release from Oct. 16. “… Recent communication has addressed specific trends, such as social media activity that may contribute to postgame altercations, equipping coaches with the knowledge to anticipate and mitigate these situations.”

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The result of the postgame altercation led to both teams forfeiting their Week 7 matchups. The Spartans canceled a big game against powerhouse St. Thomas More — a program that fills up stadiums even on the road. North Vermilion’s forfeited game against Teurlings Catholic canceled the Rebels' 2024 homecoming game.

On top of that, some of the athletes involved in the altercation from Comeaux received a two-day, out-of-school suspension.

With all the consequences for both teams, and their opponents, one can only wonder if recreating this trend was even worth it? Forfeiting games, missing school and the schools losing out on revenue made from football games — all this outweighs the potential laughs from throwing salt on the wound of a team that’s already lost.

No one’s ever liked whoopings, metaphorically and literally. To do a trend like that during team handshakes, which is the exact time to show sportsmanship, takes away from the thought of acknowledging and respecting your opponent.

This won’t be the last time the BTA trend finds itself duplicated in real life, but it will likely be the last time you see it in the 337. High school football teams across the area put in months to prepare for the football season. And when you let trendiness and heightened emotions take over, it could ruin or put to bed any postgame aspirations for certain teams.

Actions matter and reactions matter, too. In a contact sport like football, it doesn’t matter which one came first. Both the actor and reactor will get punished.

“I wish that things would be uniform across the board,” Comeaux football head coach Marquis Newsome said. “It seems like the society has an idea of who they feel is wrong and they're already wrong, even without looking at the film. We were wrong to the level that we responded. But if someone disrespects you, you have to let them know you’re being disrespected.”

The Spartans and Patriots are looking to salvage the rest of the 2024 season and put Week 6’s debacle behind them. Coaches across the state will be watching their postgame handshake lines like hawks going forward. Any inkling of the BTA trend will get extinguished because the double taps and views are nowhere near worth the chance of being out on the field, and for some schools, with a chance to win a title.

“Our ultimate goal is to continue our season and have our seniors be able to finish their season out the right way,” North Vermilion football head coach Roy Mod said. “We used to tell our kids all the time they were guaranteed 10 games only, and that was kind of our drive to get into the playoffs, but we didn't get all 10 of them. So you know obviously our kids are disappointed.”

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: How TikTok trend shook Comeaux, North Vermilion