Comments on: Column: Thoughts on Pioneer-Huron Melee

By: Ruth Kraut

Ruth Kraut — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 22:55:42 +0000

They say that hindsight is perfect, but that is only true if you care to look back. The key thing for me is evaluating what happened, could it have been prevented, if it happened again should it be handled differently? I hope that now the incident has been “handled,” that the district will look back and try and answer some of these questions.

Here are a few things I’ve been wondering about:

1. Did this happen because it was football? Could we imagine this happening in baseball or track or swimming or field hockey? (I admit, I’m having a hard time imagining that, but maybe I’m wrong.)

2. Were there warning signs involving either the coaches or the players in the weeks leading up to this match that, if they had been responded to (or responded to differently) would have changed what happened?

3. At what point should the next game have been forfeited–if 10% of the players were involved? 20%? 50%?

4. Did it make any difference in the district’s response that the coaches are technically not hired by the district but by an outside firm?

5. Would it have made a difference if the district had only a single athletic director? Better, or worse?

You may have your own questions. . .

By: Dan Meisler

Dan Meisler — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 17:26:29 +0000

It is physically impossible to score 4 touchdowns in a minute. Therefore, it is not patronizing or demeaning to back off in that situation.
“Giving your all until the final whistle” = “rubbing it in” if you happen to be the team losing by 29 points with one minute left. Exactly what virtue is a winning player “learning”?
The fact that “strange things happen” and comebacks can be accomplished does not justify the attempt to run up the score. In fact, running the football would better protect against turnovers than passing, don’t you think?
And if the only practice that second-stringers get is at the end of romps vs. weaker teams, the coach needs to reassess his program.
Sportsmanship is defined in Webster’s dictionary as respect for one’s opponents and graciousness in victory or defeat. How would you define it?

By: David Canter

David Canter — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:40:31 +0000

I agree with just about every point John Bacon has written but one. And it’s an important difference because it’s the point that seems to have triggered the entire episode.
Bacon refers to running up the score as a mistake describing it as “a clear display of poor sportsmanship”. Not so, for several reasons. One, backing off from an opponent is patronizing and demeaning maybe even arrogant. Treating an opponent as a threat until the very end of a game is a mark of respect. Second, the players should learn to give their all until the final whistle, both the winning and losing sides, not expecting some early reprieve. Third, strange things happen in sports, not often, but often enough to humble a side that backed off too early. A quick internet search reveals some magnificent comebacks.
I would add one other point, towards the end of a winning match the coach often allows a team’s second string players their one and only chance to demonstrate their ability and perhaps win a starting position. Would you ask these players to back off and take a knee as an act of sportsmanship? Why would you take away their only chance? Maybe the defending coach should have given his second line defensive players an opportunity to play if he had conceded any chance of victory.

By: Christine Stead

Christine Stead — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 20:41:09 +0000

John,
Thank you for a thoughtful contribution to this discussion in the media.