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The Responsibility Project®. Exploring what it means to do the right thing

Friday Feb 10

The Perfect Score

126 Comments

February 12, 2009 by Kathy McManus

When a Texas basketball collided with this American aphorism— It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game —there was an explosion of conflicting opinions about the true meaning of victory and doing the right thing.

The score heard ‘round the world--100 to 0—came to light in January, with the infamous mismatch of two girls’ high school basketball teams in Dallas. The Covenant School—Christian and private—pummeled Dallas Academy, small and private and catering to students with dyslexia, “concentration” problems, and “learning differences.”

The Academy girls haven’t won a game for more than four years, but Covenant’s unrelenting steal-and-layup punishment offered its own lessons.

“My girls never quit,” the Academy’s proud coach told a local newspaper reporter. “They played as hard as they could to the end.”

His words were a layup to readers’ hearts. Soon another aphorism— Everyone loves a winner —was being turned upside down.

In a rapid cascade of events, Covenant’s headmaster posted an unprecedented apology on the school’s website, calling his team’s winning performance “shameful” and “a victory without honor” which “does not reflect a Christ-like” approach to competition. Announcing it was forfeiting the game, Covenant praised losing Dallas Academy for their “strength, composure and fortitude in a game in which they clearly emerged the winner.”

Covenant’s coach disagreed with the headmaster’s mea culpa. “We played the game as it was meant to be played,” "he wrote to a newspaper, and refused to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity.” Hours later he was fired.

“Our national ethics lesson,” one reporter dubbed the incident which left many divided over who did or didn’t do the right thing. Dallas Academy knew the rules going in, some said, and if it couldn't stand the heat, it shouldn't have played the game. Others lamented the loss of sportsmanship. Some felt that the school’s apology and the coach’s firing were unnecessary, while others said winning doesn’t matter and the schools shouldn’t have kept score.

Tell us what you think: Who bears what responsibility in this case—the Covenant coach, the Covenant team, the Dallas Academy team? Who won, who lost? Is it really true that winning doesn’t matter?

_For information about creating positive sports experiences for kids, log on to ResponsibleSports.com. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual, the site offers parents and coaches tips, tools, and advice designed to help maximize their kids’ youth sports experience. Parents can also take part in online discussions, asking questions and sharing experiences about how best to help kids apply the life lessons of sports--on and off the field. Because, as The Home Run reminds us, there’s more to the game than winning.

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126 Comments

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  • February 12, 2009 by Stephen R

    This is the first I've ever heard that the losing team was from a school for learning disabled kids. I'm suddenly reminded of an episode of the above mention TV show where the little kids end up playing hockey against a professional team, and the pro team played all-out and (of course) beat the heck out of the kids team. No, this mismatch wasn't quite that extreme, but a solid team of players going up against kids who are, in essence, handicapped, should have taken it a bit easy. They didn't have to throw the game, but they also didn't have to grind the disabled kids into the dust.

    Reply

    • August 26, 2010 by stone9469

      they where not physicly diabled though... they just had learnig disabilitys... my brother has one and would hate it if someone took it easy on him because of it...

      Reply

  • February 12, 2009 by derek

    It's a little funny to think that because Covenant played perfect defense their coach gets fired. Also maybe the Dallas Academy coach should get fired because he has said that he doesn't even pay attention to the score which could be the problem in the first place. Or Dallas Academy should play against better opponents instead of thinking they can play against a team as good as covenant.

    Reply

    • March 5, 2009 by James

      It is one thing to coach kids well, and have them respond well to coaching, but sportsmanship is a big part of the game. The coaches for both schools knew what they were getting into. Covenant knew they were the better team and they knew they would win. I don't think any player enjoys beating an opponent the way convenient did. It was a unfortunate game, but where were the referees? I coach girls basketball and when the game starts to get lopsided, the refs remind the coaches of a little humility.

      Reply

  • February 12, 2009 by Etua Tahauri

    To judge or not judge is the question? To win or loose? Both opportunities are executed and played on the court. Both opponents know their strengths and weaknesses. To both teams I salute them. The winner is awarded, the losers receive endurance to the end. Firing the coach who stood up and cheered up for the school team has no place in the Savior's Teachings nor in the Name of Sport.I have great respect and honor for both coaches and teams. I know the Lord is on both sidse. There are lessons to be learned.

    Reply

  • February 13, 2009 by Garry Jay

    Any coach should know better not to run up the score intentionally. It's in bad taste and reflects back on the coach and the headmaster at the academy. And with that, the coach could have played the regular starters the first quarter only, and played the subs the rest of the game. Now a lesson learned on the coaches side, and I wish the best for both schools. Thank you.

    Reply

  • February 14, 2009 by Gordon

    As a high school coach, I encourage my boys to play hard and not let up. Momentum is such a funny thing. When the second team gets a chance to play, it's very hard to tell them to go out there . . . but don't play you're hardest. However, at some point, say 30 to 40 points ahead, you've got to be able to show some mercy. High School sports should never encourage the humiliation of an opponent. Make your point, establish yourself as the better team, give your younger guys the experience as you build for the future, but at some point, the line was crossed and it became a very selfish quest to utterly humiliate the Academy team.

    Reply

    • March 22, 2009 by Hit O'see

      If you think it is humiliation to lose by wide margin, you are the one who thinks scoring more runs is more important than anything. Both teams played their hardest to the end, and what else can you expect? They both did great, and how can you not praise them both? It doesn't matter what the score was.

      Reply

    • October 27, 2010 by lspeaker

      This is the first balanced and reasonable comment I have read on this site. Yes, I believe a team should always play to win, but at what price?

      If the coach was not willing to consider that his actions in driving the score up were less than honorable, then yes, I believe that he should have been let go. And not because the school is Christian, but because it is a school and should be modeling and teaching sportsmanship and actively promoting a code of conduct that agrees with the schools fundamental principles.

      I have watched this kind of conduct on little league fields and high school gyms throughout my son's baseball years. Some of the kids may enjoy the rush of such a huge victory temporarily, but they usually suffer remorse by the time they get to the dugout (sidelines). They are also very discerning when observing a coach that is pushing beyond acceptable boundaries. Many of the kids will rebuff such behavior, but there are also some that learn it is okay, and even better, to act that way. Again, the school was right in determining what the coach valued and modeled was not in alignment with the school's vision. Good for you, Covenent, for learning from the experience, being able to self-evaluate, and act accordingly.

      Reply

  • February 15, 2009 by elizabeth

    The score begs the question...was it for the coach's resume? Was it for the yearbook? Was it for the second string players who rarely get a chance to prove themselves? Or was a mob mentality taking over? I attended private school in Dallas and there was a relentless inequality between all the teams in the private league. Year after year we were beaten up by the same school "A", only to turn and beat up school "B", year after year. In my opinion, true sportsmanship is nearly dead, kinda like ethics in business, or our country's policy against torture. It's a reflection of a diabolic shift from the core principles that we once stood for. I like the fact that the coach refused to apologize, making himself look ridiculous in the light of day and dialogue. And shame on all those parents for not taking their daughter off the court and going home at some point. Certainly they should be held accountable as well.

    Reply

  • February 16, 2009 by derek

    I was on a team that was losing really bad one year in fact there was an article in the paper saying "should there be a mercy rule". Well we practiced really hard and won our league the next year. Either Dallas Academy can start having real practices or cancel their basketball program

    Reply

  • February 16, 2009 by Kyle

    I don't think that a win like this should be kept in any way to a good victory. Yes the winning team probably felt good about the victory but if it is that important the team should face a higher opponent not a team that is of a smaller school and obviously less sports enabled. I am glad that they fired the coach if he is that obsessed with winning who could say what he might of done if his team would finally lose.

    Reply

  • February 17, 2009 by Reggie Jones

    A lot is missing from this story. Did the winning team play all their players or just the first team? In the end, did they shoot the low percentage shots or keep driving to the board? While I think this score is a little out of hand we should never forget that the most prestigious award a college football player can receive is the Heisman. Coach Heisman holds the record for the most points scored in a game, 206 to 0. Man, have times changed. This whole mentality is reflected in what is wrong with America today. While we think running up the score is wrong China, India and other nations are not concerned with running up the score against the U.S. Get my drift here?

    Reply

  • February 18, 2009 by Hambone

    High school sports aren't where kids should learn morality anyway. Kids learn from parents.

    Reply

    • October 27, 2010 by lspeaker

      and where should they practice it then - only at home with their parents?

      Reply

  • February 20, 2009 by Tom Crandall

    I coached girl's basketball at this private American School in Brazil for a number of years. A few years ago my girl's played a very weak girl's team. Shortly after the game began I had all of my bench in the game, as a coach it's difficult to tell your reserves not to score, nevertheless you can quietly allow the other team to have some open shots and at least score. We won the game 64-2, but no one felt as if they had been humiliated. Obviously if the coach continued to press and keep starters in, then in my opinion he should've been fired. A coach simply has to use common sense, but you can't tell basketball players who rarely play not to score.

    Reply

  • March 5, 2009 by james

    Does it really matter. I mean as long as the kids had fun out there right? There is no rule saying you can't score as many points you can in a game, right? So what's the big fuss. I mean the Coach should have apologized for beating them that bad, but come on not all people are sports people. So I really don't think the Coach should be punished.,

    Reply

    • August 15, 2010 by Jack

      It does matter. There is no need to embarrass young student athletes especially when they are students struggling with special needs issues. The athletic director might have been better off scheduling a less competitive team but the coach of the winning team did not display any compassion or empathy for the feelings of the other girls on the losing team. This is just out right being a bully and a person that does not belong coaching a Christian School or any team especially when the coach could not respond to the Dean of the school in a more appropriate and respectful manner.

      Reply

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