DCist: Sadly, Not Just A Plot From Friday Night Lights

kelly5612

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:14:07 -0500

Downtown rez, tell it to a judge. Everything may change once they turn 18, but until then, the law is the law. Some kid gets hurt or jumped at a game, and I don't think the parents, the police or the court will buy the "almost 18" rationale, nor the "hey, he needed to be challenged" defense.

dcustadiumnow

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:46:00 -0500

"Should the District ban teams from competing at Fort Hill until it's and other organization's investigations have been completed?" Seems like a non-issue, as Dunbar was the first DCIAA team to play in Cumberland (Fort Hill or Allegany) for a long time, and McKinley just scheduled Fort Hill as a last-second thing when both teams happened to have an open date. It's not like they go up there regularly, and there's plenty of schools in West Virginia and Ohio that are happy to pay DCIAA teams a guarantee in exchange for what is usually an easy win. I don't know what to make of the Dunbar-Fort Hill situation...it's hard to imagine Dunbar walking when they were winning unless they thought they had a good reason, but OTOH plenty of all or mostly black teams play in Cumberland and no one except Dunbar seems to have reported any racial problems.

downtown rez

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:05:09 -0500

Kelly- Yes, of course safety must be paramount. But these children will be 18 soon enough, and should be looking and preparing for their adult future. And the world being as it is, at some point they'll benefit from learning to overcome bias and ignorant adversity. I don't think people grow unless challenged. Corny as it is, they can only take responsibility for their own actions, not those of others. And they need to do right by themselves. Are any of these kids looking to play college ball? How does not playing help them?

kelly5612

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 18:29:39 -0500

"It's not professional to let personal passions get in the way of getting the job done." This is not professional sports; it's youth athletics. It's also not personal: schools function in loco parentis at athletic events. Thus, the only "job" to be done is ensuring the safety of the children....yes, children. Most of the players are still under 18.

cchan8

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 17:42:45 -0500

There was an article in the Post a few months ago about how Cumberland was experiencing racial tension and the blacks wanted to leave because they felt harassed.

downtown rez

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:26:17 -0500

Maybe that game should have been called, but the others? It's not professional to let personal passions get in the way of getting the job done.

IMGoph

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:12:40 -0500

regardless of what happens, the investigation needs to go through, and needs to be resolved swiftly. if the allegations are true, fort hill deserves to be ostracized.

dsade

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:26:15 -0500

I think dunbar's actions are totally justififed. They are extremely competitive, and common sense would lead me to say, if you were goin to drive all the way up to cumberland to play some team, why would you just walk off the field? something must have been happening. I think the dunbar coach did Fort Hill a favor, cause they would have gotten their asses KICKED in a fight. As for rescheduling games, have fort hill come down here and see if they still say what they allegedly said.

brookieDC

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 12:27:57 -0500

I can't see why this would be a false accusation on Dunbar's part. They are an extremely competitive team, and seemed to lose their focus only when the unsportsmanlike conduct calls were being made. So I think an investigation is necessary. That being said, I think it's also unsportsmanlike to not play the other scheduled games. If it's true or not, play the games and bring in different officials. Fort Hill's opponents will certainly be fired up, and perhaps close supervision during those games will reveal Fort Hill's true behavior. If the allegations prove true, the most lenient punishment should include expulsion of the involved students and disqualification of Fort Hill's season.