So there's a story coming out of Arkansas right now where Teresa Bloodman, a mother who's son was cut from the Maumelle High School basketball team, is suing the school, district and state because she alleges her son has been deprived of his "right to a full and complete education which includes competition in sports." Bloodman's suit goes on stating that her son was deprived of the opportunity to earn athletic scholarships, that her son's equal protection rights were violated because the method for picking the boy's team was different from the method selecting the girl's team, that the coaches are not certified or qualified to coach and therefore are not competent to decide who makes the team, and finally that her son wasn't given the opportunity to appeal his dismissal from the team, a violation of due process.
Are you kidding me???
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| Photo Credit: momsteam.com |
Look, getting cut sucks. And as someone who was cut from my high school's JV baseball team as a freshman I feel as though I'm fairly qualified to speak on the matter having experienced it first hand. And yeah, I took it pretty hard when it happened, but I was able to dust myself off and move on with my life. Whether you like it or not, the truth is that sometimes not everyone can make the team. If you go to a high school where there's 2000 students, and they all want to play on the high school basketball team, that just doesn't work. You have a right to a fair try out, and that's all the school owes you. If you aren't good enough, PRACTICE MORE. And it's not like this kid's athletic future is destroyed because he didn't make the high school basketball team. There are recreational leagues, intramural leagues, and competitive leagues all over the place if he's looking for an opportunity to play and get better. Not to mention all of the basketball camps, clinics, and what not that are available. Heck, you could even go above and beyond and with a little initiative, start a club team. They have running clubs, why not a basketball club? Look, after I got cut I played recreational baseball my freshman year of high school. And then during the summers after my junior and senior years I played ball in a non-high school associated competitive league, and as a result of my efforts I was able to make my college team and eventually be the team captain as a senior. It can be done. But you've got to actually WORK FOR IT.
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The fact that this woman is suing EVERYONE on the grounds that her son is being unfairly treated because he wasn't good enough to play infuriates me. What happened to people taking ownership for their shortcomings? Instead of blaming everyone else, figure out what YOU need to do to improve yourself. And why have we as a society become so hellbent on preventing our youths from experiencing failure? Failure and learning to deal with adversity builds character. By getting cut, this kid can learn that he has to try harder if he wants to succeed at certain things. I'm not saying that you handle kids prior to high school this way, but at a certain point you have to take the training wheels off. What message are we sending if this lawsuit prevails? Heck, what message is his mother sending regardless? That you shouldn't have to work hard to get the things you want? That throughout your whole life everything you want will be handed to you on a silver platter? Give me a break, the world just doesn't work that way.
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