Texas dad alleges bullying in 91-0 football game

[markomalley]

Putting this in the Social Justice forum as it seems like it is more a Social Justice issue than a “world news” issue…

But, like a “news” thread, I will give a bunch of extracts from news articles so that you know the facts before talking about it:

From the local CBS affiliate:There was little chance of defeat, when Aledo’s undefeated Bearcats faced Fort Worth’s Western Hills on the football field Friday. The final score, 91-0, though, led one parent to file an official complaint of bullying against the entire coaching staff.
Aledo ISD administrators say the complaint suggests the coaches should have told players to take it easy on the competition. “I would never ask our kids not to play hard,” said Aledo football coach Tim Buchanan. “I would never tell them, ‘Go out and let them score’. That’s not what you want to teach kids.”

This lopsided score caused the parent of a Western Hills player to file the following complaint:“My son plays for western hills football team on friday night we all witnessed bullying firsthand, it is not a pretty sight. Picking up my son from the field house after the game and taking him home was tough, I did not know what to say on the ride home to explain the behavior of the aledo coach for not easing up when the game was in hand. After thinking about my ride home, I thought how tough it must have been for the parents of the aledo football players to explain what happened o their sons on the ride home. During the game the aledo players showed respect to my son and I thank them for their good sportsmanship. I wish the aledo players good luck this season and hope they have a successful school year.I wish their parents don’t have to explain this ride home again.”
According to this Fox News piece, the Aledo coach pulled the starting lineup after the first quarter and put in the second string. When they did too well, he put in the third string players. Additionally, the clock ran continuously starting in the third quarter.

Apparently, under Texas High School football rules, there is no “mercy rule” for 11-man football games (there is a “mercy rule” for 6-man football, though).

According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, neither team was happy about the results of the game. The coach of the losing football team denies allegations that his team was bullied:Western Hills Coach John Naylor said he disagrees with the allegations that his team was bullied.
“I think the game was handled fine,” Naylor said. “They’re No. 1 for a reason, and I know coach Buchanan. We’re fighting a real uphill battle right now.”
Naylor, whose roster had around 30 players Friday night, said there was only so much Aledo could do to stop scoring.
“We just ran into a buzzsaw, you know,” Naylor said. “[Aledo] just plays hard. And they’re good sports, and they don’t talk at all. They get after it, and that’s the way football is supposed to be played in Texas.”
According to the local Fox affiliate, students from the losing school (Western Hills) agreed with the coach of their team:
Western Hills HS students who spoke with FOX4 on Tuesday said they didn’t think the final score was bullying - just the result of a game against a better team.
One other thing: apparently the winning team (Aledo) has been petitioning to be placed in a more challenging league. They are 7-0 so far this season and their average margin of victory is 67 points per game…

---

**Now that the facts have been laid out, put yourself in the Aledo coach’s position…what do you do? **

In a general circumstance, this actually rather disturbs me…not the score of the game, but the fact that more and more in our society expect to have equal outcomes in life (as opposed to equal opportunity to achieve the best outcome possible in the circumstances). Those who are more capable are expected to not give their best so as to be “fair” and “nice” to those who are not as capable or not as motivated.

While I can’t see anything in the Magisterium dealing with how sports should be handled (other than cheating is not acceptable, obviously), the only good reference I can find is from Rerum Novarum:17. It must be first of all recognized that the condition of things inherent in human affairs must be borne with, for it is impossible to reduce civil society to one dead level. Socialists may in that intent do their utmost, but all striving against nature is in vain. There naturally exist among mankind manifold differences of the most important kind; people differ in capacity, skill, health, strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal condition. Such inequality is far from being disadvantageous either to individuals or to the community.
Any other, or more appropriate, references?

 

[Orogeny]

Here in the Houston area, there is an organization called Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer (FFPS). It is a soccer league that doesn’t keep score, doesn’t believe in winners or losers (EVERYONE is a winner) and everyone gets a great trophy. Parents and guests must be careful how they cheer for their child because it isn’t fair if one child gets more cheers than another. This is a league for kids ages 5 to 18.

How much do you want to bet that this parent has had their child in a similar league.

I really feel for that poor kid.

Peace

Tim

 

[maryjk]

Here in the Houston area, there is an organization called Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer (FFPS). ** It is a soccer league that doesn’t keep score,** doesn’t believe in winners or losers (EVERYONE is a winner) and everyone gets a great trophy. Parents and guests must be careful how they cheer for their child because it isn’t fair if one child gets more cheers than another. This is a league for kids ages 5 to 18.

How much do you want to bet that this parent has had their child in a similar league.

I really feel for that poor kid.

Peace

Tim

The league might not keep score, but I am betting the players do.

 

[VanSensei]

This is not bullying, this is just one team being outmatched. My Minnesota Vikings have had a very rocky season and on Monday, we played some horrible football and were outmatched against a previously winless team. No one claimed bullying because we lost 23-7.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Here in the Houston area, there is an organization called Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer (FFPS). It is a soccer league that doesn’t keep score, doesn’t believe in winners or losers (EVERYONE is a winner) and everyone gets a great trophy. Parents and guests must be careful how they cheer for their child because it isn’t fair if one child gets more cheers than another. This is a league for kids ages 5 to 18.

How much do you want to bet that this parent has had their child in a similar league.

I really feel for that poor kid.

Peace

Tim

That sounds absolutely awful… I hate this “no losers” mentality, it completely ignores basically everything about reality. Some people win, some people lose. That’s it, it’s a fact of existence.

The guy’s team was outmatched, and they lost. That being said, generally in instances like this I’ve seen coaches bring in the second string kids to let them play; note: I’m not sure if that happened or not, and not saying the coach should have done so, simply making an observation.

 

[Orogeny]

That sounds absolutely awful… I hate this “no losers” mentality, it completely ignores basically everything about reality. Some people win, some people lose. That’s it, it’s a fact of existence.

Don’t google them, it will not make you happy. Hint: parents are asked to attend clinics on how to cheer for their children.

The guy’s team was outmatched, and they lost. That being said, generally in instances like this I’ve seen coaches bring in the second string kids to let them play; note: I’m not sure if that happened or not, and not saying the coach should have done so, simply making an observation.

First team was pulled after the 1st quarter, second team was pulled and the third team played the rest of the game. The clock ran continuously starting in the 3rd quarter. The Aledo coach did everything he could to keep from making the final score worse than it was.

Peace

Tim

 

[Orogeny]

The league might not keep score, but I am betting the players do.

Some do but many don’t because they are taught that the score doesn’t matter. My nephew and niece both played in that league and neither could tell you what the score was at the end of the game.

Peace

Tim

 

[KrazyKat]

Texas Dad is a sore loser. Scores like this make for a boring game but it is not bullying.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Don’t google them, it will not make you happy. Hint: parents are asked to attend clinics on how to cheer for their children.First team was pulled after the 1st quarter, second team was pulled and the third team played the rest of the game. The clock ran continuously starting in the 3rd quarter. The Aledo coach did everything he could to keep from making the final score worse than it was.

Peace

Tim

In that case, the dad’s just being a sore loser, and need to get over it…

 

[dshix]

Here in the Houston area, there is an organization called Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer (FFPS). It is a soccer league that doesn’t keep score, doesn’t believe in winners or losers (EVERYONE is a winner) and everyone gets a great trophy. Parents and guests must be careful how they cheer for their child because it isn’t fair if one child gets more cheers than another. This is a league for kids ages 5 to 18.

That’s horrible! Talk about an entitlement mentality. These kids will grow up and they won’t have learned how to deal to absolute failure yet.

 

[maryjk]

Some do but many don’t because they are taught that the score doesn’t matter. My nephew and niece both played in that league and neither could tell you what the score was at the end of the game.

Peace

Tim

That is sad.

Sorry, but there are winners and losers in this world. Trying to teach children that it doesn’t matter is doing them a huge disservice.

 

[wendiek]

Well, we can thank the media (and our PC culture) for this warped sense of what bullying truly is. My kids use the term all the time and they construe any snotty comment as bullying. I try to correct them, and I think they are quite confused. Turns out so are the adults. It waters down the problem, and I see some parallels today to what we saw with the “sexual harrassment” issue of the 90’s. When did poor sportmanship become bullying?

 

[chero23]

That sounds absolutely awful… I hate this “no losers” mentality, it completely ignores basically everything about reality. Some people win, some people lose. That’s it, it’s a fact of existence.

The guy’s team was outmatched, and they lost. That being said, generally in instances like this I’ve seen coaches bring in the second string kids to let them play; note: I’m not sure if that happened or not, and not saying the coach should have done so, simply making an observation.

I agree that its a horrible idea. I also understand why it is put in. I love sports, and I know that there has to be a winner and a loser. these kids have to be shown that.

With the kids whose parent put that bullying claim, they have already lost several games by over 60 points. There was no bullying there

 

[St_Francis]

This is really weird. the players seem to have been fine with the situation, the coach of the winning team put in his other strings, the team has applied to be put into a more challenging league…

The complaint should be registered with the authorities who have not yet moved to team to the other league.

The parents of the losing team could have said the same things they say to their children when they lose with less of a point difference: you guys played hard, persevered, and didn’t give up–that’s what it’s about, no?

They could have even joked about it instead of making some big Issue about it.

 

[maryjk]

Well, we can thank the media (and our PC culture) for this warped sense of what bullying truly is. My kids use the term all the time and they construe any snotty comment as bullying. I try to correct them, and I think they are quite confused. Turns out so are the adults. It waters down the problem, and I see some parallels today to what we saw with the “sexual harrassment” issue of the 90’s. When did poor sportmanship become bullying?

When did playing a game become poor sportsmanship?

The two teams played a game. One team won the game. One, lost. It happens every time a game is played.

If the losing team can’t handle losing, maybe they should take up another hobby.

 

[KP3243]

This is hard because my brother played on a team in high school that had a future NFL player on it and his team would mow over competition and the kid would sit the entire second half and the score would be like 56-0 at half time. My brother played Tight End and Kicker (it was a super small school) but his teammate who was the running back was the State’s leading scorer and my brother the kicker was the State’s second leading scorer because he would make 7 or 8 points a game off of PATs he had 78 PATs in a row at one point, then they had to play a winless team who traveled three hours to get to our school and they said we came because we wanted to see what our standards need to be and they got beat badly but they saw it as a learning experience.

 

[pnewton]

Stupid story. Everyone should have just ignored that dad or told him to grow up.

 

[SamH]

Here in the Houston area, there is an organization called Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer (FFPS). It is a soccer league that doesn’t keep score, doesn’t believe in winners or losers (EVERYONE is a winner) and everyone gets a great trophy. Parents and guests must be careful how they cheer for their child because it isn’t fair if one child gets more cheers than another. This is a league for kids ages 5 to 18.

How much do you want to bet that this parent has had their child in a similar league.

I really feel for that poor kid.

Peace

Tim

That sounds terrible.

 

[mikekle]

Its a sports score, so it doesnt really matter, bullying or not, just another score.

This whole bullying thing has gotten crazy, I cant understand the online bullying…all they have to do is hit the OFF button to make it stop!!! Or even better, avoid the sites where it happens, computers have the ability to block out certain sites, people IP addresses, etc. Maybe we need to start teaching kids how these functions work and how to use them versus bullying help?

 

[phil19034]

If the coach had played the 1st string the whole time, then it would have been unsportsmanlike. However, he had his 3rd string in.

The reason the “no one loses” sports leagues exist is because of some bonehead parents.

When I was a kid in Little League, my dad was the coach and be was a very fair coach. He didnt play favorites (he actually feels that he should have shown me special treatment, but I tell him he did just fine). However, there were a few families who were always riding my dad to play their kid here or there. I kept getting moved around the ball field to satisfy those parents. I usually played 1st base. One day, after lots of nagging, my dad switched the two us. He went to 1st and me to 3rd. Neither of us were used to playing the new positions. The parents were sitting on the 3rd base side that game. I could hear everything they were saying in the stands. I was fielding plenty of hot shots at third, not all cleanly. They would say, “Ahh, our son would have had that”. Every play, a snide remark. Finally, there was one hot shot that came my way and my throw was low, but catchable. I made scooping catches from their son all the time. Well, he missed the scoop and then I started to hear “oh come on, our son would never throw such a terrible throw” blah, blah, blah. I lost my cool then and snapped. I turned and yelled back at those parents and then my dad forfeited the game.

I was so hurt and upset. But wasn’t about the game, it was the parents.

Leagues put these “no one loses” things in place because of these bonehead parents. But it the wrong measage. You should keep score, everyone should not get trophies.

If you want to protect kids, keep the idiot parents away from the games and give trophies to winners only. I was totally insulted the first time I got a trophy for last place.