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March 10, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Maybe It Isn't Dead Yet, by Rubel Shelly
We still give lip-service to sportsmanship, but it is hard to believe
we are very serious about it. Obscene salaries to professionals, grades
without attending classes to collegians, drug parties by Olympians,
late "confessions" by athletes caught using banned substances -- all
these combine to mock the idea that we really value teamwork,
sacrifice, fair play, and honest competition.
Then you hear about a high school basketball game and think that maybe,
just maybe, you are getting too cynical. Sportsmanship may not be dead
yet. As told by Tim Dahlberg, national sports columnist for AP, here is
what happened.
On a Saturday earlier this past month, when DeKalb (Ill.) High
School was to play Milwaukee (Wisc.) Madison, tragedy struck the
family of one of the players. The mother of Milwaukee Madison's
senior captain died at a local hospital. While Johntell Franklin
was taking his college ACT exam, his mother took a dramatic turn
for the worse after five years of battling cancer. With her son at
the hospital late that afternoon, the 39-year-old mother was
removed from life support.
Thought was given to canceling the game, but Franklin urged the
coach and his teammates to play. The game started late, and
Milwaukee Madison dressed out only eight players. There may not
have been a lot of heart or focus for them.
"It was the right thing to do."
Early in the second quarter, Coach Womack saw his captain come into
the gym to cheer on his teammates. He called a timeout, went over
to give his grieving player a hug. So did his teammates and scores
of their fans. "We got back to playing the game, and I asked if he
wanted to come and sit on the bench," Coach Womack said later. Came
the reply: "No. I want to play!" Although it would mean a technical
foul against his team in what was then a close game, Womack thought
it was a price worth paying. So he had the young man suit up and
prepare to play.
Since Johntell Franklin had not been on the pre-game roster,
putting him in meant two free throws for DeKalb. When that was
explained to DeKalb's Coach Dave Rohlman, he offered to forgo the
free throws and let Franklin play. But five minutes or so of
argument got nowhere with the refs.
Coach Rohlman huddled his team and explained what was going on.
Then he asked for a volunteer to shoot the free throws. His team's
captain, Darius McNeal, raised his hand. He went to the line. The
first shot went about two feet and landed with a thud. The second
just rolled out of his hand. The Milwaukee Madison players faced
their opponent's bench and began applauding. It was only seconds
before everyone else in the stands joined the cheering. "I did it
for the guy who lost his mom," McNeal told a reporter later. "It
was the right thing to do."
DeKalb eventually lost the game. Who cares? What those boys will recall
for the rest of their lives is an act of sportsmanship they shared on
that special night.
---------
(c) 2009 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* Give Your Kids a Sporting Chance
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200710/20071020_goodsports.html
* Batter Up!
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200503/20050330_batterup.html
* But I Have to Cheat, I'm not Good Enough
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200704/20070425_cheatgood.html
* RubelShelly.com
http://www.rubelshelly.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200903/20090310_sportsmanship.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: WHY CHRISTIANITY MAKES SENSE, by N. T. Wright
Destined to become a classic alongside Lewis's Mere Christianity - a
fascinating and accessible apologetic for modern seekers.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?257
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