Girls team shows remorse after 100-0 win (Liberals in sports alert)

SF Gate ^ | Friday, January 23, 2009

[Perdogg]

A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 game has a case of blowout remorse.

Now officials from the winning school say they are trying to do the right thing by seeking a forfeit and apologizing for the margin of victory.

In a statement Thursday on the Covenant School's Web site, the head of school said, "It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened."

[PowderMonkey]

"These were small christian schools where good sportsmanship and character are important. They are not the training grounds for the NBA."

Careful there, Tex. You're displaying a most unchristian bias through the implication that sportsmanship and character are not important in public schools. That they're just a training ground for the NBA. I'm certainly no fan of this country's public education system as it stands today, but personal experience with coaches in the public school system tells me they'd take issue with your opening statement. You still have not answered my questions. At what point are the scores determined to be "Christian" or not? Who decides? "Hope springs eternal": if I were the coach on the losing side, I'd be upset in the extreme if my opposite suddenly stepped onto the court, stopped play, and declared "victory" merely for the sake of sparing me from humiliation.

[Scotswife]

good post.

I was a coach as was my husband.

This coach was being a jerk.

[DaGman]

"Another consequence of the liberal assault on achievement and excellence."

What???? Teaching kids that if you win because you intentionally beat up on an opponent that was vastly inferior you have achieved excellence??? The coach should be fired and banned from coaching kids again for life. He taught these kids only that they can think they have achieved excellence when they run up the score on a greatly inferior team. This team achieved absolutely nothing. The coach taught these kids a very bad lesson on how to compete not to even mention teaching these kids about things like honor and integrity. The coach has no honor, he has no integrity and until the apology, neither did the entire team. But the article doesn't say if the winning team players had any remorse so I can only assume the kids have learned some incredibly unacceptable behavior.

The only team that learned something was the losing team who learned a good lesson about competition and adversity. If my daughter would have been a player on the winning team, I would have walked out on the court, stopped the game and taken my daughter out of the game and taken her home. I teach my kids honor, integrity and respect. The coach has none of these.

[Darkwolf377]

Not every team runs up the score in these types of games. Its pointless to argue with you guys who think its always about winning in every situation.

Maybe you should can the self-righteousness for a few seconds and read what I wrote.

You obviously know zilch about kids with ADHD or the other issues these kids have. Kids in EVERY school have these issues. I work in a school with such kids, and they play competitive sports and win tournaments, etc. (Any of this getting through this time? I mentioned this in the post you got in such a tizzy over.) These kids are NOT brain damaged (!) or "retarded"--they are regular kids with issues they have to deal with, and if they are on a team that is given charity play, THEY WILL KNOW IT. This is destructive.

I never said "it's always about winning in every situation," so your problem isn't with me, so don't just randomly post an insult when you haven't understood what you're commenting on. Next time, read what I actually posted, and don't try so hard to live up to your screen name.

[PennsylvaniaMom]

The issue is not about broad societal issues on the nature of competition, but on a winning coach not showing basketball common sense and sportsmanship.

Colonel you have summed the whole thread up right there. I think the folks that don't have kids that play (or didn't play themselves) don't 'get it.'

The reason why this is news is no doubt due to the teens 'Face Book' culture. The Covenant players/parents (and I am guessing especially the primo point guard) all know this looks bad; and none of these girls wants to carry this w/them (when the college recruiters come looking). So it is a PC solution media driven solution to a mess made by a idiot coach. Isn't the internet grand?

[PennsylvaniaMom]

Great post coach...and thanks for your efforts on the part of the kids you lead. (No HS coach ever gets enough thanks for the grief they put up with).

[JoJo Gunn]

And maybe the losers should be blamed for not having sense enough to forfeit?

[DainBramage]

Take a breath man...you can carry on a conversation here without calling names and still sound intelligent.

Im sure you have tons of experience with adhd kids. But they dont all play sports at the level you say they do.

And the full court press and the three point shots were over the top.... and thats my point.

Did you actually read the article or just assume you know the situation because you worked at a school that had learning disabled kids?

"I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the three-point shots," said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. "At some point, they should have backed off."

Thats from a mom who has a kid on the team and Im betting she knows them better that you.
My 5 athletic kids have gone to a school just like this Dallas church school. They play a small school here in Fort Worth that has nothing but learning disabled kids and disadvantaged kids who've been in trouble because of behavioral problems.

Our school brings these kids over early in the morning and lets them come to school with our team. They feed them show them around and play all day, then have the games at night.

The parents and kids at our school divide up and actually cheer for the other team some because the school is so small the crowd is overwhelmingly ours. We even give them cheerleaders and a crowd! The other school reports the kids cant wait to play us and consistantly report a great time

We never try to humiliate them even though we play kids that arent first team varsity. In fact we some times bring up the JV and play them without them knowing.

Anyway, I know more about it than you think and maybe more than you. Ive been involved with exactly these type games for 15 years and I know there are some things worth more than a win .

I do think in this case thought they shouldnt have forfeited, just apologized or admitted they made a bad decision.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Did you even bother to read the article?

[texmexis best]

This is just bad sportsmanship, especially considering the opposing team was mostly spec-ed kids.

Jeez, what has happened to sports? All sports are just kid’s games.

The coach should be removed.

[PowderMonkey]

Is that all you've got? You'll have to do better than that. Well...regretfully these discussions are obviously beginning to needlessly devolve into personal attack. I'm the sensitive type, and don't care for that much. I came here to play. Too many of you came here to win. First it's the predictably repetitive and insulting “they don't get it” riposte. Then it's a resort to the requirement that discussion be limitted to “experts” only. Now yours. Up till this point, I've truly enjoyed the discussion. I conclude by saying most of you have entirely missed the point. The fault lies not with the coach that won. It lies with the coach that lost. It was his responsibility to stop the slaughter. For as long as his team remained in the game to “play”, the other team remained to “win.” ;) Ciao, Baby.

[PowderMonkey]

Don’t try to change my mind!

[PowderMonkey]

Im taking my toys and going home.

[PowderMonkey]

Last word on the subject...Swear ta’ Gawd.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Holy cow - so now the losing coach should have done what, taken his girls and walked off the court? How would that have taught them anything? They are obviously not a good team, but they continued to play, and don't forget, they didn't ask the winners to forfeit. That came from their own guilt or maybe christian feelings of remorse.

You can make comments about learning disabled kids but can't take a few replies back? Good luck in life pal.

[PowderMonkey]

DANG! I’ve got soo much stuff to do...OK...OK I’m back, but play nice. “What we have here is failure to communicate.” I missed something here. Truthfully. What comments did I make about disabled kids?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

This was your comment at post #36:

Jump rope and Hopscotch are “games.” Baskettball is a competitive contact sport, where scores count. Don’t like being drubbed 100 - zip? Learn to overcome, or stay off the courts. “THIS IS SPARTA!” ;)

I replied: "Did you read the article?"

You jumped as if I had attacked your grandmother.

I simply asked if you had read the article and were aware this was a school for learning diabled kids, not pre-olympic trainees.

[Darkwolf377]

Take a breath man...

This from someone who then goes on and on and on and on....

you can carry on a conversation here without calling names and still sound intelligent.

Take your own advice.

You posted your insulting "You only think winning matters" crap, and now drone on with self-justification.

You can pretend you know more than me, but you then go on and ASSUME you know it all. Case in point:

"I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the three-point shots," said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. "At some point, they should have backed off." Thats from a mom who has a kid on the team and Im betting she knows them better that you.

Back up--look at what you quoted. NOTHING there contradicts what I said. It could have been spoken by any mom in any high school unhappy about any school situation. She is talking about a situation that occurs in schools all the time--heck, it happened last season with the Patriots.

You know nothing more about this case than what is in the article. Nothing in the article goes beyond what I've said. You just don't like being called on your lie about me supposedly saying it's "only about winning" when my actual concern was in the self-esteem of these kids, who based on the FACTS in the actual article, are not of low intelligence.

You have no idea what the case is beyond the article, you merely grafted YOUR experience to THEIRS. Like so many people, you patronize these kids and figure all kids with such issues are just like the ones you've encountered.--"those kind" are all the same, huh? You should be embarassed. I based my comments on the FACTS in the article, which would certainly have mentioned physical handicaps or other disorders. You just assumed they're "those kind" of kids.

So please, cram your self-righteousness, get off your high horse, and stop trying to turn your patronizing attitude on me. You don't like that I think kids with these problems shouldn't be treated as "special" but like they are normal kids with issues (which is something every kid has to deal with)? Too bad. Go preen and seek applause for your phony insight somewhere else, and stop filling my mailbox with your self-applause. I've got better things to do, like, anything.

[PowderMonkey]

I understand now. You missed the ;) wink indicating I was not being entirely serious. Carry on.

[DainBramage]

You sound sort of feminine... kind of tender and easy to offend. Im embarrassed.... but for you.

You relalise this is on the internet forever dont you? LOL