A Texas high school football teams wins 91-0, and then the coach is accused of bullying. Reading the article and being rational about it, it’s hard to see this as having merit.
To begin, the coach pulled his starters after the 1st quarter. Then, the article isn’t specific about timing, he eventually worked all his 3rd stringers in to finish the game. The game was played with a continuously running clock after the half. I’m not going to fault him for letting his 3rd stringers play the game rather than having them take a knee on every offensive possession. (Frankly, as a competitor I think that would have been insulting- there’s nothing more humiliating in sports than knowing you’re being toyed with.) It’s obvious that this coach did everything he could to keep things from getting completely out of hand. Given all that, I think it’s more accurate to say those two teams don’t belong on the same field together.
Bullying is an individual form of terrorism. It’s all about an individual, or a group, exerting power over another individual for the enjoyment of it. Bullying is about cruelty for it’s own sake. Sticking two totally mismatched teams on the field of play and watching the logical conclusion doesn’t come close to that mental dynamic.
I don’t know what the complaining parent is hoping to achieve. His son’s team just got beat by far superior competition. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be upset about getting beat like that, but there’s no shame in admitting to you got beat by a superior opponent.
One reply on “This is NOT Bullying”
The 3rd string was in by halftime and you are right on all accounts. This accusation will only make the situation worse for the “victims”. Parents need to understand that they can’t always protect their kids from disappointment and eventually, their kids have to stand on their own. The kids that lost were severely over matched by one of the best teams in the state. There is no shame in that loss, the shame is in the reaction to the loss.
A moment that could have turned into a galvanizing teaching point, a moment of strength in loss, instead has turned into another example of the entitlement issue that plagues our country. When things go bad, it has to be someone else’s fault, that is the mentality that the bulk of our country propagates.