The Covenant School basketball issue won't go away. It's been over aweek since the private school in North Dallas fired their coach for his comments following their girl's basketball team defeat of Dallas Academy 100 - 0. The Sports Day Forum in yesterday's Dallas Morning News carried six letters from readers concerning the issue. All the writers condemned the school for their actions.
One writer noted: "Bottom line is, Dallas Academy has a terrible basketball team to not be able to score one point. Dallas Academy needs to get over it and get to work."
Another commented: "Something is wrong when the team that wins honestly is pressured and criticized until both the team and school apologize and profess to have won without honor."
Let me remind you, that even though this was a district game, the similarity between the teams ends there. Covenant Academy is an academically challenging school. It is located in North Dallas. Dallas Academy is a school for students with learning differences.
There is more involved here than just winning basketball games and striving for athletic excellence. It's how we respect and treat those we not only compete against but those who we do business with and the people we meet on the street.
During my years as a high school coach at Dallas Lutheran we played a school for students who had learning differences. Watching the kids warm up on the court they looked like any other team but they often struggled when the pace of game picked up. Some of the players had a problem with eye - hand coordination leading to problems when catching passes. We talked about this as a team before the game. I prepared my players for the situation. We anticipated winning and playing out best. We also respected the players for the other team because of who they were and what they had accomplished.
I write this on a day when my middle school basketball team will play a game against a team we soundly defeated earlier this season. I knew going in we had an advantage but didn't anticipate blowing out the other team 50 - 16. We represent a small Lutheran School. Our teams is a mix of 7th and 8th graders. Our opponent was the B Team from a large Christian Academy. They were primarily 7th graders. After the game their coach and I talked about the rematch. I encouraged him to bring some of the bench players from their A Team. I really expect today's rematch to be a more competitive game. I have made sure my players understand the context in which we won our first game. The goal is to respect our opponent and keep our success in perspective.
I suspect the reason so many people struggle with Covenant Academy's decision to fire their coach is they don't operate from the same value system. As a Christian I want to use my God-given gifts to the max. I encourage those around me, like my basketball players, to do the same. I think that is what Jesus wants me to do. I also know that our Lord loved and respected those he met. I still believe what happened at Dallas Academy took place because of a conflict in values, The School's vs. The Coaches'.
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