Fair Game

100-0

Is it fair? Is it right?

Covenant High School beat Dallas Academy one hundred to nothing. The Christian Covenant issued an apology, asked for the league to accept their forfeiture of the game, and then fired their Girls Basketball coach when he stood up for his team and stood his ground.

He had every right, he said, to run up the score to record breaking territory. They "played with heart", he said of his starters. They never gave up, never let down. Can he be blamed for the poor performance of the D.A.'s team and coach?

No. But while I was initially convinced that the reaction of Covenant High School was political correctness gone bad in the worst way, I've since gathered a little more information, and realized that, while I'm not ready to agree that he should have been fired, Covenant's Coach was wrong.

I'm a competitive guy. I believe in scoring early and scoring big. As a coach, parent and player, a healthy lead helps me relax. How healthy? Enough that, whatever the game may be, the momentum of the competition won't steal the game away from me. In football that's a minimum two-touchdown lead; in Little League Baseball with the 6 runs per inning mercy rule, I like to be up by seven or eight runs before I ease off on the heat.

There's something fundamentally unsettling about holding back. For many it smacks of point shaving and game throwing (dare I make the analogy between the Black Sox and current political headlines here?). Isn't it disrespectful to your opponent to adopt an attitude of "you're so bad, you need us to help you score"?

Well, yeah, it is. When you come to play, bring your A-game. A half-effort attitude is just as much poor sportsmanship as trash-talking and running up the score. I think it's interesting that no one is talking about firing the Dallas Academy coach who couldn't lead his girls to score one single bucket even after Covenant's starters retired to the bench. How is that possible? Has he totally failed in teaching the fundamentals of the game? Can there be any other explanation?

And yet what must it have been like to be the parent of one of the non-starters? I've been there. You hope your team gets ahead early so your child will finally see some quality game time. Up 55-0 at the half, and yet the bench was still full of cold players; when were they going to get to play?

From a coaching perspective, Covenant missed a great opportunity. How much stronger would there team be if they had a coach that would grasp opportunities to give his less experienced players more game time? Is not the improvement of the team more important than the record?

There's more to sports than humiliating your opponent; the elements of mutual respect and good sportsmanship are waining in too many arenas. Perhaps that's one of the reasons participation in Organized Youth Athletics is on the decline. Yes, there are winners and there are losers, but as this game has brought to our attention, that distinction is not based on score alone.

Should a business hold back when it starts to decimate the competition?

Well that's a complex question.

When a "big box" retailer moves into a growing community, the mom and pop stores may take a hit. If they're unable to offer something the national changes can't (superior customer service being the best choice), they're going to suffer, and maybe they should. But it's not good for either establishment to obliterate the other, one by taking advantage of price breaks and the other wielding the power of taxes and the local government. The coexistence, the competition, makes both of them better at what they do.

Or rather, it should make them both better if they can but grasp the spirit of competition. Monopolies aren't good for anyone, not even the one left standing. If my business has no competitors, what incentive will I have to be the best?

I'm not suggesting that you pull your best people when you start to win and win big, I am suggesting that you play fair. Become the best you can be by improving yourself, not by destroying everyone else.

You'll sleep better.

To quote a favorite sports movie: "Score, don't spite."