Sunday, November 15, 2015
Sunday Reflection: Teaching compassion, or its opposite
Last week, I went over to St. Paul to see a Division III football game between my school, St. Thomas, and Carleton (a school located 45 minutes south of here, in Northfield). St. Thomas is (within Division III) a powerhouse, currently 9-0 and ranked #4 in the nation. Carleton… not so much. They have won a single game this year and have suffered a number of blowouts, including a 59-0 loss at home to St. John's.
Going into the game, St. Thomas knew that they were much more powerful than Carleton. Last year, a less talented two-loss St. Thomas team won by a ridiculous score of 83-7. The difference between the teams was obvious just by looking at the sidelines-- St. Thomas had two or three times more players. In Division III you can watch a game (often for free) standing right behind the bench, and for a while I did exactly that. The Carleton players definitely had the aura of people who had been beaten down.
Given this disparity, it troubled me that St. Thomas seemed intent on running up the score. Yes, they put in subs in the second half, and the toying-with-you play shown above occurred when Carleton (somehow) was up 3-0 before giving up 80 consecutive points to lose by 80-3.
But… St. Thomas elected to make an onside kick when they were up 30-3, which they successfully converted, scoring again quickly. Long after that, they were calling long pass plays which were uniformly successful as well. I began to feel ashamed for my school, even as the Carleton squad doggedly did their best.
When a coach teaches students (and they are students) to grind a defeated rival into a deeper state of humiliation, he is teaching a value. It's a value that very well will inform the actions of those young men the rest of their lives.
Does that matter?
I think that it does. Much of the injustice in my field comes from prosecutors (who are often former athletes like myself) who push for the highest sentence possible, regardless of whether it solves a problem or is accomplishing anything beyond humiliation of the defendant. Like the St. Thomas coaches, they not only want to win, they want to win big, because that is a mark of their own worth and pride.
The results are horrifying. I represent a man who is serving life on a non-violent drug charge, despite being a penniless beggar at the time-- someone who was helping a dealer so he could get some crack for himself. Life in prison, without parole. He had the temerity to go to trial-- which is something like the temerity of Carleton in kicking a field goal-- and the reaction was the same: to grind him into the dust, to humiliate and destroy him.
Most coaches will tell you that the most important thing to them is the values they teach their players. It is something that St. Thomas needs to take seriously. To win the conference (which they did, in that game) but lose your soul is not a worthwhile pursuit, particularly at a university informed by the teachings of Christ.
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I can see your point. No one likes to see a blow out, especially one where the teams are so mismatched. But what is the alternative? Is St Thomas to simply take a knee ever down after halftime and punt? To fake as if they are trying, but actually fail on purpose?
I have always struggled with this problem in sports. I have been on both ends of the equation. It is unrewarding to soundly defeat those weaker than yourself. And it certainly doesn't sit well when you are soundly defeated.
But to have a better team simply stop trying is humiliating for the lesser team. It gives the impression that the loser is not worth the effort, that they are a joke. In sport, the opposition should always be treated with respect. And at the core, that means trying your hardest. Your opponent deserves as much.
There is no shame in losing to a better team. But there is a sense of failure in not being worthy of the other team's effort. In sport, one should always fight, and fight hard. There is joy in the struggle. Sometimes you come out on top, others you are clearly the lesser team. But to quit, to say the man across from you isn't worth your sweat or energy, is just cruel.
Of course, this only applies to sport. It is a game, with no real consequences. In life, mercy and justice should always prevail over a blind struggle to "win."
I have always struggled with this problem in sports. I have been on both ends of the equation. It is unrewarding to soundly defeat those weaker than yourself. And it certainly doesn't sit well when you are soundly defeated.
But to have a better team simply stop trying is humiliating for the lesser team. It gives the impression that the loser is not worth the effort, that they are a joke. In sport, the opposition should always be treated with respect. And at the core, that means trying your hardest. Your opponent deserves as much.
There is no shame in losing to a better team. But there is a sense of failure in not being worthy of the other team's effort. In sport, one should always fight, and fight hard. There is joy in the struggle. Sometimes you come out on top, others you are clearly the lesser team. But to quit, to say the man across from you isn't worth your sweat or energy, is just cruel.
Of course, this only applies to sport. It is a game, with no real consequences. In life, mercy and justice should always prevail over a blind struggle to "win."
Gavin, here is what I think they should have done:
-- not done on-sides kickoffs once they were well ahead
-- not gone for 2 after a touchdown against a clearly overmatched team
-- not thrown long bombs late in the game
That's what set this apart for me.
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-- not done on-sides kickoffs once they were well ahead
-- not gone for 2 after a touchdown against a clearly overmatched team
-- not thrown long bombs late in the game
That's what set this apart for me.
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