There’s a long-running debate on Outsports as to when “running up the score” is OK and when it’s wrong. I think it’s dependent on the level of play (in college sports dependent on polls and in the pros it’s OK, in high school it’s not). Others think it’s never OK. Some think it’s always OK. Now Dallas is abuzz this week after the Covenant girls basketball team beat Dallas Academy, 100-0, prompting the losing team to cancel its season and withdraw from the league.
Now the Covenant team feels terrible and wants to forfeit the game, which would hand Dallas Academy their first victory in four years. Why do they feel terrible, you may ask? For one, Dallas Academy is known for working with girls with learning disabilities. Yep. Covenant ran up the score against girls with learning disabilities. Second, it’s been reported that Covenant had a full-court press on when they were up 98-0.
Covenant head coach Micah Grimes wrote after the game:
It just happened, and we are not happy about that. Please know Covenant intended no harm against them. I see this as a real learning opportunity, so we can prevent this from happening in the future.
If you’re going to intentionally run up the score on some teenage girls, at least have the balls to admit what you did with a full-court press defense; Don’t try to claim it just “happened.” And good for Dallas Academy for pulling out of the league; That will make sure Covenant doesn’t do it again.
on Jan 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 PM
I’m going out on a limb and say “yes, 100-0 is running up the score.”
on Jan 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 PM
The Covenant coach is pathetic to say “it just happened”! My daughter has been playing competitive sports for years, is going to college on a softball scholarship and has played for coaches who’ve coached at the collegiate level. 100-0 does NOT “just happen”, especially when the coach continues to ALLOW a full court press. The players are not to blame for what the coach encouraged out there. My daughter’s HS Varsity BB team has beat teams by 50+ points, and her coach holds them off full court press in the 3rd quarter out of respect to the opposing players, fans and school. Micah Grimes, take responsiblity for your actions…YOU contol that game and what the outcome is. Shameful. Hardcore competitive is one thing, being an A$$H01E is another.
on Jan 23rd, 2009 at 8:34 PM
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.
on Jan 23rd, 2009 at 9:47 PM
Well, Covenant wanted to be on ESPN… they got their wish.
on Jan 24th, 2009 at 12:54 AM
covenant is a private christian school that practices the very christian ideal of pummeling your opponent to kingdom come!
on Jan 24th, 2009 at 12:56 AM
check out their oh-so-rightous website http://www.covenantdallas.com/default.asp?bhcp=1
on Jan 24th, 2009 at 9:54 AM
I was a student at Rose of Sharon Lutheran in Cottage Grove Minnesota and played in a similar game against Roan Oak in Inver Grove Minnesota. We only had about 7 players and only 2 that could shoot. It was a total missmatch and we were embarrasssed when thier score board couldn’t show 3 digits and we scored less than 10. Mr. Prigge made us finish the game even when I and others were in tears and our opponant ran up the score while the fans cheered. I threw a despiration hook shot fro the top of the key that somehow found the basket and was geered for it. We lost about 125 to 12 and I hated playing basket ball for the rest of my life even though I scored 2 points for the year that I remember. That happened in the late sixties and I remember it vividly yet today. KUDO’s to those girls for being strong and not throwing in the towel as I wanted to do! It would have been awesome if, at half time the leading coach whould have offered to put all the girls together and give each team a chance to teach the girls how it feels to score without worrying about the score. I’m not impressed with the winning team coach OR the players as they showed no compassion as people who are Christ-ians!
on Jan 24th, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Hmmmm….I’d be just as concerned about the goose egg on the losing end. At some point wouldn’t Covenant let up on the defensive end and allow a basket or two?
on Jan 24th, 2009 at 12:43 PM
While what Covenant did is pretty reprehensible, I like Michael Wilbon’s take on this. Why is a school with only twenty students even fielding a varsity basketball team? And why are they playing in a conference with school’s like this? The school is, I assume, in Dallas…there has to be some other level even if it’s intramurals. Covenant should be ashamed but Dallas Academy needs to reevaluate their situation as well. I am in no way condoning or excusing what Covenant and it’s coaches did but the administrators ast Dallas Academy need to be somewhat accountable for putting these girls in this situation in the first place.
on Jan 25th, 2009 at 4:06 PM
Jeez, talk about blaming the victim! I think the whole thing is rotten but I can totally imagine being the coach and letting my worse nature the the better of me. It’s the ultimate goal of *every* defense in every sport to throw a shutout. And that 100 point total is so alluring – if they’d won 93 to 0, the story would have gotten a lot less press.
One of the nice things about tennis is that there’s never a question of whether you should allow your opponent a free point, because the other guy can ALWAYS come back.
on Jan 25th, 2009 at 9:05 PM
Clearly Covenant asked WWJD (what would Judas do)…
on Jan 26th, 2009 at 7:35 AM
If Christ had the opportunity to save 100 souls should he only save 59 so that the devil won’t feel bad?
on Jan 26th, 2009 at 1:27 PM
The Covenant coach has now been fired:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dnspocovenantnu.2781526.html
on Jun 8th, 2010 at 3:15 PM
This attitude of holding back to placate a lower teams feelings is whats disgusting .
I played sports in high school. basket ball, and wrestling and I played my heart out. I would hate to think another team held back to make me feel better because in the end it wouldnt make me feel better at all. Making me feel like a competitor and a sprotsman when I’m really not ?
Not to mention I’d never get better because I’d know ” Well I dont have to try really hard because they wont beat us too bad”
We’re truly turning into a nation of wimps.
If youre so easily wounded and not able to take the loss maybe you shouldnt be playing sports in the first place