HS team apologizes for 100-0 win
I’ve never been one to feel bad about a blowout. When I played football, my teams were sometimes on the good and the bad end of an embarrassing rout, and in no case did I feel like the winning team should have “pulled back” or “gone easy” or “called off the dogs” or however else you want to put it. In college, I had a part-time job in the Seattle Times sports department, primarily working with high school sports. Every now and then — whether it was football, basketball, soccer or softball — some ridiculous score would come across the wire, and every time, at least a few people in the office would get that disappointed look on their face and say, “They didn’t have to do that.”
I never got it. My philosophy was always this: I’m all for a coach sitting his starters if a game gets out of hand, but strictly in the name of keeping them healthy. And when you put the backups in, don’t feel obligated to have them play conservative or sit on the ball. In most cases, especially on the high school level, your backups are the younger kids who will someday be starters. If you put them in, have them run the same stuff you were running before, because this is their best opportunity to translate what they’ve been doing in practice to a game situation. If you want to pull back, do it for YOUR sake, not for the other team’s sake. And if you’re on the bad end of a blowout, well, you shouldn’t expect anyone to pull back for you. If you don’t want to get beat 85-10, the onus is on you — not the opposing coach — to prevent it from happening.
Regular DimeMag.com reader/poster GEE passed along this story of a girl’s high school basketball game in Dallas that got out of hand to the tune of 100-0. Yes, The Covenant School beat Dallas Academy ONE HUNDRED to ZERO. And now the winning team is asking if they can forfeit the game and have issued an apology. From Rivals.com:
“It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened,” Kyle Queal, the head of the school, said in a statement, adding the forfeit was requested because “a victory without honor is a great loss.”
The private Christian school defeated Dallas Academy last week. Covenant was up 59-0 at halftime.
A parent who attended the game told The Associated Press that Covenant continued to make 3-pointers — even in the fourth quarter. She praised the Covenant players but said spectators and an assistant coach were cheering wildly as their team edged closer to 100 points.
“I think the bad judgment was in the full-court press and the 3-point shots,” said Renee Peloza, whose daughter plays for Dallas Academy. “At some point, they should have backed off.”
Dallas Academy coach Jeremy Civello told The Dallas Morning News that the game turned into a “layup drill,” with the opposing team’s guards waiting to steal the ball and drive to the basket. Covenant scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and “finally eased up when they got to 100 with about four minutes left,” he said.
Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and about 20 girls in its high school. It is winless over the last four seasons. The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with “learning differences,” such as short attention spans or dyslexia.
Do you think it’s the responsibility of a coach — or their players — to pull back during a blowout?
Source: Rivals.com
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January 23rd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
sam says:
“The academy boasts of its small class sizes and specializes in teaching students struggling with “learning differences,” such as short attention spans or dyslexia.”
Great confidence booster that game was…
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:45 pm
SteveNash says:
jajajajajajajajajajaja….. i mean… jajajajajajajajajajajajajaja
that’s just wrong… dead wrong… how can you beat down on dumb 8itches
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Willis says:
Yeah, its bullshit that they are even playing that school. And its disgraceful to the sport. They were STILL pressing with four minutes left? They should have stopped that shit after the first quarter. That’s classlessness at its worst.
Against a mentally disabled school no less. That coach needs to be fired for their lack of judgment. Absolutely ridiculous. Garbage.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
I coach here in Vegas, my teams are usually pretty well stacked, because of this, I tell my teams after we are up by 40 to pull back, it is my responsibility as a coach, I need to lead by example… It also is the other coaches fault if we are ahead by that much cause his team obviously isn’t prepared.
That being said, if I am up that much and a coach decides to run that 4 corners bullshit, I am going to put it on his squad, I will not allow them to treat my kids like some monkey in the middle, you are here to play basketball not watch it.
But all in all, these kids were disabled and that is like KG picking on Jose, not even fair.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:59 pm
hahns says:
yeah thats just wrong.
you give that long intro about how its ok to run up the score…and the kicker you leave out until the end. The school is for kids w/ learning disabilities!!! not to say that their students are retarded…but talk about classless. a blow out is a blow out. and at that point talking about giving your bench players experience is a moot point because it cant be good practice to play against demoralized kids.
its one thing if its the pros. if the celts beat the bobcats 100-0 i would have no problems w/ it. but these are students.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Diego says:
We’re talking about the lowest high school tier of girls basketball here.
I started out school in Florida at a 1A school and you wouldn’t believe how bad some girls teams of such small private schools can be. Screw the learning disabilities, these were a bunch of girls that probably struggled just to dribble with one hand. That school basically had no girls who knew how to play, hadn’t won a game in 4 years, and just has no business fielding a team. Their opponent must belong to the church of a-holes to run up a score like that on those poor girls.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
the Heckler says:
profit margin…scoring margin. it doesnt matter what your competitor is doing. your job as a business is to increase your margins.
same in sports. no mercy.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
GEE..."Wit that big ol wolf P!!!" says:
AB preshate the call out!
I feel you have to know when to say when. I mean I am cool with teaching the bench based off of running plays, or getting the point across to a team that might have embarrased you before (Georgia vs. Flordia in football this year).
Still at the same time I feel you have to teach cats how to be classy also. Once you feel the bench has learned the play or you have proved your point, then you should fall back.
I mean what reward is it you get for continually shooting or stabbing a man that’s already been dead.
At the 59-0 spot, I think I would have been like, ok it’s time to fall back. I mean sure 100 – 0 is a plateu, but so is 50 – 0.
I think most of this is on the coach at this level.
Perhaps the coach even went this way. “Hey let’s whip them now and we can apologize later.” Interesting concept. Pretty cruel but at least they are trying to apologize.
At the same time where was the opposing coaches pride. Fa real, at 50 – 0 I am stopping it. Why let those girls go through that?
Just like when Kobe dropped 81. Where was that 1 player who had enough in him to either say “OK I am going to foul the @#$% out of dude if he shoots again! He is not scoring 81 (although he ain’t droppin anything past 65 on my squad) on me or my team.
That coach should feel responsible too.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Big Sia says:
Im laughing at these herbs.
Its not wrong at all.
First of all, the Covenant team was just running a full court press and shooting open 3′s… thats not rocket science. They weren’t throwing around the back passes and mutombo-wagging the opposition. They were shooting OPEN THREES.
And they stopped scoring with FOUR MINUTES left in the game!!! lol compare that to an NBA situation. Its laughable. The coach is a joke for playing a backcourt that dribbles like donkey kong and gets stripped.
im laughing just picturing that shit
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
WinDelRoj says:
Blowing a team out by 100 is messed up. But honestly why were these two teams playing each other? Obviously they are on different levels all together. You wouldnt send a D-league team to play the Celtics would you? The outcome would probably be similar….
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Big Sia says:
Soft
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Diego says:
These teams actually very likely were on the same high school girls tier, but at that level, some of those private schools just really shouldn’t field teams–while others do indeed have real talent. Result?: 100-0.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
GEE..."Wit that big ol wolf P!!!" says:
Yo and fa real too! Anyone advocating that, should think if that was their mentally or physically retarded, disabled or handicapped daughter getting the score ran up on them out there.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
I don’t mid the open threes, but the press, come on that’s just classless.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Austin Burton says:
(Maybe I’m going to Hell for this BUT…) It says some of the girls at the school have learning disabilities, not that they’re physically disabled. So it doesn’t automatically mean they can’t play basketball or they’re “retarded” like some people said. I mean, I’ve spoken to Joakim Noah before, and he has a short attention span. There have been pro athletes with dyslexia. So maybe it’s not THAT bad to play straight-up against them.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
karizmatic says:
They should have pulled back, if you’re up 59-0 there is not reason to be in the full court press and shooting 3′s. That’s unsportsmanlike. Even if you shoot the 3′s there is no reason for full court press.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Diego says:
I am not buying any physical disability. I just think you got a school with 20 girls none of whom play basketball (or likely other sports) and they are told they have to field a team. They should have stuck to the chess club or book club.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Big Sia says:
LOL @ Noah’s attention span.
Regardless, your coach is soft if you cant handle some pressure D. And close your man out god damnit.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
AY says:
you know what would be unsportsmanlike? stop playing hard, giving the ball up to the other team, or treating your competition as someone unworthy for you to compete against. Playing hard is the ultimate respect: this is how hard we play, and we respect you enough to give effort. Stopping with 4 minutes left, now that’s an insult. If the opposing team’s coach came over and said “please let up, we don’t want to compete anymore”, then your team can stop competing. But before then, why would you disrespect your opponent and the sport by treating them as someone unworthy to share the court with you? I don’t understand this “don’t run up the score” bullshit. The people who scheduled these two teams to play together should be fired, but don’t punish anyone for competing.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
umps says:
Shouldn’t some responsibility be on the losing team? I mean if I was the coach on the losing team, I pull all my players out of the game and leave. Or I tell them to foul the shit out of the other team.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
K Dizzle says:
So what’s your position on this, Austin. U sayin you see nothin wrong with bein up 59-0 at half and leavin on a full court press on a team that hasn’t scored?
Just wonderin cuz a “class act” like Big Sia postin what what he has should give you an idea how most competitors feel about the difference between genuinely beatin down good comp like what the Bucks did to the Mavs 2 days ago and stompin on a squad that has no chance to compete
Good thing about hoops is that shit like that always comes back around…
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
@ K Dizzle
“should give you an idea how most competitors feel about the difference between genuinely beatin down good comp like what the Bucks did to the Mavs 2 days ago and stompin on a squad that has no chance to compete”.
Nice post
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Jim says:
Texas is different with private schools than just about everywhere else.
Private schools can’t play against public schools in sanctioned competition so there aren’t many decent sports programs at private schools (I don’t want to hear it). That means there aren’t a lot of variations on who teams play, so these teams are going to play each other because they are in the Dallas area, not because of how big the schools are.
In HS my junior year I lost a game by 10 TDs. Shit was embarrassing because we got killed, not because of what the other team was doing in the fourth quarter.
Getting your ass handed to you is part of sports and part of life.
I kind of agree with AB on this. While I think coaches need to try and keep the score down when it’s badly out of hand, you need to let your backups get normal reps in.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Ric Hardwood says:
I don’t usually see anything wrong with blowing out a team. I think if the coach sits out its starters during a blowout, then the coach already eased up. If the other team can’t even match up to the bench then it’s the losing coach’s fault… but in this situation, since they are playing learning disabled kids, going for 100 was too much… especially using the press…
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:50 pm
patrick says:
I’m guessing after it was 25-0 or 40-0 the other team probably stopped caring. How demoralized can you really be if you are that bad. That being said I probably wouldn’t have kept the press on in the second half.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Illmatic says:
@Diego
Haha chess club and book club? If what Austin says is true, I think they might do even worse at that..
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
GEE..."Wit that big ol wolf P!!!" says:
Then I am thinking too. What happen with 4 minutes left for this coach to say ok you all pull back.
Man you have already SEVERLY crossed the line. Again, it’s like continually shooting or stabbing someone that is already dead.
You gonna stap a cat 50 times and then say, whoa..what am I doing?? Ok let me stop stabbing this guy and just kick him now. The hell?
Also sometimes a learning or mental disability can be harder than a physical disability.
I guess that is one of those what would you rather be questions.
Would you rather be have all your physical abilities and be dumb as hell?
Or would you rather be smart but you can’t do crap?
Either way though, 50 – 0 with girls at that stage I see. but 100? I mean you already have them SCORELESS. So if anything you are laying them out on D. I say if anything don’t let them score, but you yourself don’t have to go running it up to 100.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Big Sia says:
Gee, stop being soft.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Kermit The Washington says:
Thank you AUSTIN for making that point.
They have some dyslexic people there, and some people with “learning differences” (what does that even MEAN?!). It does NOT say that they were mentally or physically challenged to the point where they couldn’t score in a basketball game.
And if they ARE that disabled, why would they be playing in this game against a team that could drop 100 points? Sounds like the coach deserved to get DUSTED, and the poor kids who lost may have learned a valuable lesson in NOT GIVING UP. Which they clearly did. Unless they’re all retarded, in which case I’ll see Austin in hell. Yipes.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
liukz says:
they were not supposed to be playing against each other
u dont put special students against good basketball programs
not fair
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Austin Burton says:
@K Dizzle — If Covenant’s regular system is to press and shoot threes, let the backups run that system. I will say that if there was ever a case where I’d advocate taking it easy, it MIGHT be this one, but that’s because I’m admittedly a softy when it comes to girls.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Gunner J. Matthews says:
I was shocked at first that somebody would lose 100-0 but when they said the other was a team of special needs kids, I got angry. Not at the fact that the winning team won but they wanna forfeit they game. The referree should have called the game after the 3rd quarter. But still, a beat down is a beat down and they should be (at least) content that they gave it their all. Blame it on the referree for not ending the game or the coach for not forfeiting the game when his team was getting their asses handed to them. This team hasn’t won a game in 4 SEASONS. Shouldn’t they have fired that coach 2 seasons ago.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
D.Head says:
I say play the game the way it is supposed to be played when I was in 7th grade and playing summer ball we played this little country town in a tourney and beat them 66-0 this was still after we had stopped pressing and just went to a zone. if the other team cant keep up thats no ones fault but there own. If you don’t want your child to get they a$$ kicked don’t have them play sports.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
I believe in teams not being prepared getting their asses handed to them, but at some point, like Austin said you sit your starters and let the bench guys play. My team runs fast breaks all day long, we play D get steals and get out on the break, that being said, when I am up by forty, I don’t trap and don’t fast break. The problem I am seeing is that the team that won has a coach that isn’t teaching the right life lesson (respect for your opponent sportsmanship and mercy)and the team that lost isn’t teaching the correct life lesson (never give up)
We are talking about kids, not adults!
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Basketball is a tool, for life application, we should be teaching life lessons to the young’ens. Rememebr when you played and missed an assignment, the coach got on your ass, not because his job was in jeopardy it’s because you didn’t do what you were told. Life lesson if you do what your told by your boss you wont get into trouble. At this age, it’s about life lessons. Yes, we all want to WIN, but it’s not about winning.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Michorizo says:
We are talking about kids….but is it the losing girls that are upset and making a big thing out of this or is it the adults?
Kids are resilient…i’m not saying this was right. I’m saying they will not necessarily forget but move on if the adults can just move on without all the hoopla!
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
Why didnt the refs stop it at halftime?
They were playing a school who specifically specializes help for kids with learning disabilities.
That school hasn’t won a game in 4 years.
This was not competitive spirit. Full court presses? 3 pointers til they got to 100 points? Didnt score a basket again for 4 minutes once they reached 100 points? You cant argue that isnt childish, obviously trying to keep them scoreless while aiming for atleast triple digits.
The coaches, refs and the winning team all FAILED. These are kids being teached all the wrong things. Kids.
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Promoman says:
The score was the biggest massacre this side of the treatment of Native Americans but at the end of the day, it’s still competition. The goal is to win. If you’re cheating somehow, then it’s unethical. The competition isn’t going to adjust for you, you have to adjust to the competition. Personal accountability has to be considered at least to some extent in losses like that. I’ve played in rec teams where we’d be on the wrong end of Double Dribble scores and guys on the team want to dribble & shoot and don’t care that they’re losing by 50+ pts. That program needs to be rebuilt. I don’t fault the players, but the coach to the water boy need to be axed.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:04 pm
KnicksFan84 says:
Shoot, I’m mad they issued apology. This is competition folks. The other team wasn’t prepared to play, too bad. These kids are having kids of their own at 12, I’m sure they know how to “MAN-UP” for a loss. Next time they’ll know to work harder so they don’t embarass themselves. This is no different than homeboy getting DUNKED on the other day. Don’t want to get dunked on… stop him…
The team should have went for 200 points! Keep the starters in ALL GAME! MAKE THEM CRY!
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
I think we can all agree the coach of the losing squad should be axed. But correct me if I am wrong, don’t private institutions get to recruit any player they want? I know in CA and NV it works that way, I would imagine that it works that way everywhere.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
GEE...P.T.I. Pardon the Illness says:
LOL Big Sia that’s funny.
I guess it’s more along the lines of your personality or how you view things. I have a serious problem when simple things are made hard or when some things are done without reason.
I mean at 50 – 0 your point hasn’t been made? The lesson hasn’t been taught? THE OTHER TEAM HAD ZEEEROOOO! Not a freethrow, not even a lucky shot bounce in or nothing.
There wasn’t even no point to going to 100 beside ooach’s ego or player’s ego. That mess is lame.
Plies is horrible. LOL
Anwyay running up the score is cool when there are reasons and the reasons are legit. When you just doing it cause you can…you jus a homo lol.
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 pm
GEE...P.T.I. Pardon the Illness says:
I think both coaches should be axed lol.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:38 pm
wwill says:
Playing normally until the end is no problem. You don’t have to purposely avoid layups or 3 point shots if that’s the appropriate shot. I agree with the writer on this point: let your bench play as if it were normal minutes; how else are they going to gain experience?
However, the full court press at presumably the 80-0 mark is highly unnecessary. That was classless.
Asking to forfeit the game is another stupid move. Just apologize. Don’t pull that ish. It does not make the other team feel any better. Apologize and move on.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Peter Robert Casey says:
I used to force opponents into retirement.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
GEE...P.T.I. Pardon the Illness says:
no you didn’t lol.
January 24th, 2009 at 12:23 am
JCARR says:
girls bball- hhaha… no comment
January 24th, 2009 at 8:21 am
SlimGp says:
I dont have a problem with the score, but I do have a problem with the school competing against kids with a learning disability. Those girls should not have been on the same court. Find them some more suitable competition. You cant blame the coach for coaching his team to have a killer instinct. Where I am from, if you step on the court, be prepared for battle.
January 24th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Celts Fan says:
“You play to win the game.”
I’m pretty sure me and 4 of my buddies could play the Celtics and at least get on the board (it’d have to be a loooooong 3 most likely, but we’d get on the board.) The coach should be canned and the team should be dismantled immediately. If you can’t dribble and you get skunked by ANYONE, you shouldn’t have a team. and IF this team is “special needs” and not just some ADD type stuff, it’s on THEM not to schedule a team that is filled with “normal” kids (or to not field a team if that’s the only option.) This is also a huge lesson in life, cuz if these kids are in bad enough shape that that’s the reason they lost (and not just that they SUCK at basketball) they’ll have some other crushing things happen in their lives due to their conditions. This is where the coach needs to step in and teach overcoming adversity (though considering how well he’s taught dribbling and shooting, I don’t see it coming.)
To sum it up, if you gotta ride the short bus to the game and wear helmets indoors, don’t schedule the game for your kids. This one’s on THEIR own school. You play to win the game. All coaches teach playing hard til the whistle. Play all 48. It’s not their fault the other team was short-handed… on chromosomes!
January 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am
bballinca says:
I think you guys are idiots saying to let the 2nd unit of the winning team to play normal and stick with the game plan to gain experience.
Would you be learning anything if you are the Lakers 2nd squad playing against a team of midgets (little people whatever)? There is nothing to be learned from playing against a clearly outmatched opponent.
January 26th, 2009 at 12:29 am
TheAnswer71086 says:
If you suck, dont play.
Theres no forfeit in sports…those girls got what was comin for them