Houston's Yates High School 100-point streak was in jeopardy. So, comfortably ahead with three minutes left, they began fouling their humiliated opponents to get the ball back. This would be what James Naismith referred to as "a dick move." Does the name Yates sound familiar? It should. That scoreboard photo is from earlier this month, when the team was up 100-12 at halftime. They kept their starters in and continued playing a full-court press, eventually winning 170-35.
Competition can often be used to bring out the best in our kids. They can be taught perseverance, toughness, dedication, and a whole raft load of other wonderful, useful positive qualities that will serve them well throughout their lives. Then again, it can all too often be used to bring out the worst in our children and those responsible for coaching them. Houston's Yates High School is renowned for having a phenomenally successful boys' basketball program, and this year is no different. Running up the score in an attempt to lay 200 points on an a hapless opponent is bad enough...and then you pull something like this? What exactly is it that children are being taught here? That it's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and if you're not the dog, you're probably the fire hydrant? That winning is all that matters? That the ends justifies the means? That humiliation is perfectly acceptable as long as you're the one doing the humiliating? That the only meaningful way to success in this world is to crush the last dying breath out of your adversaries? If you're the coach at Yates, you understand that your responsibility is to help mold successful young men...while teaching them to be ruthless in the pursuit of destroying opponents.
The problem here is that a simple "W" isn't enough at Yates. I understand the need to teach kids the importance of avoiding complacency, but by when you're still running and gunning and doing what you think is necessary in order to reach 100 points in a 32-minute game, you've become the poster children for poor sportsmanship and you shouldn't be allowed with 500 yards of a high-school basketball game...or the children who play the game.
Scoring six points with 1:30 remaining in a basketball game may sound like an attainable goal, but for Yates, it was mission impossible.
Unable to log its 12th 100-point plus game for the season, the Lions, ranked No. 3 in the nation on USA Today's Super 25, had to settle for a 94-64 win over Westbury Wednesday night at Barnett Stadium.
There is absolutely no reason for this sort of poor sportsmanship, other than simple bloodlust. Of course, at Yates the simple act of winning a basketball game is neither satisfying nor sufficient. Victory only holds mean if the vanquished opponent has been humiliated beyond reason. Remember, if you don't crush the life force out of your opponent, they might still rise up and fight again. Kill them, gut them, remove their still-beating heart, and leave their hollowed-out carcass hanging in the village square as a reminder to those who would dare to question your superiority. Now THAT'S success!!
Sportsmanship? Hell, that's for losers and Liberals....
