A “teachable moment.”
That’s what administrators are saying after the release of a video of two Texas schoolboys attacking a football official from behind when he was prone on the ground during a game. The video went viral and the incident became a national story.
“We’re obligated to use this as a teachable moment. … As educators, we’ve got to take this opportunity to teach our young people two wrongs don’t make a right,” Northside school district athletic director Stan Laing said at a news conference last week after two players with John Jay High School in San Antonio blindsided an official in a road game at Marble Falls.
A teachable moment? This is a large part of what’s wrong with too many of today’s educators and their approach to athletics. They seem convinced everything negative can be explained away as a teachable moment. They center on too many esoteric rules — only positive cheers, please — and fail to provide necessary punishment when something goes wrong.
They don’t have the gumption to do it, but I would suggest something that’s bigger than the size of Texas and can reach — and teach — everyone in high school football.
Discontinue the John Jay program for the rest of the year, on all levels, and disband the coaching staff. It would be a statement heard loud and clear, a lesson not to be missed.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” said the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Tom Robinson, who oversees local officials and is as kind and understanding a man as there is in today’s prep sports landscape.
Robinson, a former high school coach and respected college official, added: “We need to be ahead of that curve all the time.”
In other words, behavior such as what happened cannot be tolerated and there must be severe ramifications. There were unconfirmed reports that the players in question were subject to racial slurs by the official they attacked and that an assistant coach may have encouraged some team members to seek payback due to previous ejections and alleged “bad” calls.
But all the players had to do was inform their coaches, or other game officials, about such incidents, if they happened.
I asked a couple of local referees about the incident and they believe the Texas referee could have been paralyzed or killed, judging by the videotape.
“What’s nice is the videotape gives no doubt it was intentional, and that’s what is key here,” Robinson said.
I agree wholeheartedly. So, instead of educators running for cover, fearing parents and fearing lawsuits, why don’t they hand out strict punishment and actually teach students that outrageous and criminal behavior has no place in society?
Dozens of other John Jay players and coaches may have had nothing to do with the incident, but teammates should be responsible for each other. Coaches preach it all the time. So are they merely words? Or do they have actual meaning?
Thug antics have no place in high school sports.
“The teaching should be behind the scenes,” Robinson said. “The life-lesson piece is a good thing, but it shouldn’t be crammed down your throat. It should be the ultimate in everything we do.”
It will be if they get it right in Texas.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
