Ok, the link is worthless b/c you can only view it with a subscription. So here's the editorial. Sorry to take up so much space.
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Dianne Williamson
[email protected]
South High School basketball coach Patrick Williams made it clear that he was sickened Sunday night after his team lost a heartbreaker to Holy Name Central Catholic High School in double overtime. The coach used a variation of the word three different times during his stunning 29-minute tirade to a local sportswriter.
I dont ever pull the race card, Ive been here six years and this is the first time Ive talked about it, he said. If they say I cant talk about it, Ill tell them to walk in my shoes because its so hard to deal with, its sickening.
And this: I dont know if I can deal with grown men jerking around high school kids. That sickens me, and its hard to see that.
And this: From when we were 1-19 six years ago, its just sickening to watch those kids get jerked. They knew South shouldnt have won that game and they made damn sure we didnt.
The they in this case are a pair of respected referees who, according to Mr. Williams, essentially conspired to hand Sunday nights game to Holy Name because they are racist refs who favor white players over black ones. Mr. Williams, who is black, chose to make the unsolicited accusations not in the heat of the moment, but a good 25 minutes after the game ended. He didnt just cork off with an ill-considered remark; we know he expounded for 29 minutes because the sportswriter was using a tape recorder.
All of which, quite simply, is rather sickening.
This is an unprecedented situation, said Paul Wetzel, spokesman for the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. No one can remember charges as serious as this. Im overwhelmed by the verbiage.
Indeed. The six-year inner-city coach made extensive comments to Telegram & Gazette sportswriter Jim Wilson after his teams 60-56 loss to Holy Name in the Division 1 semifinal at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, claiming that referees Kevin LEcuyer and Bill Dugan called more fouls against his players which they did and ignored fouls committed by Holy Name. Mr. Williams also told the sportswriter, incredibly, that he warned his players that the refs were out to get them when his team took a 40-27 lead with eight minutes left in the game.
I said to the kids, Watch how the game is going to be taken out of our hands, and it was, he told the sportswriter. He also said, You have the same officials, and they look at all black players and a black coach, and they make the calls.
Now its time for South High to make the call, and to bench this irresponsible coach. We should also take a quick minute to ponder: Why is it always the adults, never the kids, who mar the purity of youth sports?
The athletic director for Worcester Public Schools said he and other officials are investigating Mr. Williams remarks to discern what provoked him to say what he said. Lest there be any misunderstanding, athletic director John J. Pepi noted that the investigation will center not on whether racism exists in high school basketball, but on the conduct of Coach Williams.
Im not happy that someone would make those comments, Mr. Pepi said. It was a great game and the fans got their moneys worth. I dont think there was anything wrong with the officiating. That game could have gone either way.
That seems to be the general consensus. I wasnt at the game, but Ive spoken to lots of objective people who were. No one appears to have seen what Mr. Williams saw. Instead, they watched two young teams pour their hearts into an exciting schoolboy game that, inevitably, left one team crushed and in tears.
In my 17 years, it was one of the best high school games Ive ever seen, said Jim Manzello, athletic director at Holy Name, who said he was surprised by Mr. Williams remarks. I know its very tough to lose a game like that. You have to use it as a learning experience for kids and tell them, Youve got to keep things in perspective. Its a game. Win, lose or draw, they have to shake hands and move on.
Sadly, the fine young athletes at South High learned no such lesson from their coach. Instead, they learned that its OK to blame others for their failure, to pull the race card even when it cant be proven and to behave in an unsportsmanlike fashion when you lose. Does racism exist in our society? Of course it does. Theres no evidence that it played a role in Sundays game. While the South High team is predominately black, Holy Name has four black players, including two starters. The refs did call 29 fouls against South compared with 17 fouls for Holy Name, but sports watchers say South plays a more up-tempo, aggressive game than the more deliberate Holy Name.
Maybe, if Coach Williams truly believed that his players were discriminated against, he could have used the situation as a learning experience to explain that life isnt always fair, but you still play by the rules and live with the outcome. (In his case, his rant violated MIAA rules that prohibit coaches from publicly criticizing game officials). Had he pointed to the inequities between private Catholic schools and inner-city public schools, his words would have more credibility. To accuse two well-regarded referees of outright racism is inexcusable. How do they salvage their reputations now?
When I picked up the newspaper, I couldnt believe what I was reading, an emotional Kevin LEcuyer, a referee for 16 years, said last night. It was like someone put a dagger in my stomach. I worked hard to get to a certain level. I teach, and I make my living with words, but words arent appropriate to express how you feel when you see your name in print associated with a terrible word like racism.
No doubt, Kevin LEcuyer is sickened. Everyone else should be, too, because South High lost more than just a basketball game Sunday night.