Faith first

Here’s another of the problems of accommodation. Damned if you do (you’re accused showing favoritism, bending the rules, etc.), damned if you don’t (you’re insensitive; too cold-hearted; unwilling to accommodate; think of the the children who have worked so hard to get here, etc.).

The girls basketball team at Northwest Yeshiva in Mercer Island, Washington, made it to the Class 1B tournament, but was ultimately unable to play because their game was scheduled for Feb. 24 — the Fast of Esther. As such, they would not be able to hydrate before, during and after the contest, which would put them at risk. As Scott Sandsberry reported in the Yakima Herald-Republic,

Short of being able to move the game time — an accommodation the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association wasn’t willing to make — Northwest Yeshiva school leaders opted to forfeit today’s game.

Sandsberry goes on to report

Northwest Yeshiva school leaders had appealed to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association board to adjust the tournament schedule so the team could avoid playing during the fast. The school indicated it would be willing to play at a non-SunDome site, even on the home court of its Eastern Washington opponent, if that would resolve the issue.

WIAA bylaws allow for tournament schedule adjustments for teams that recognize the Saturday Sabbath. But making game-time changes in this case, WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said, would be unfair for the other teams whose schedule would be affected.

It would force championship-bracket teams to play early games on less rest, for example, and possibly without the morning shoot-around practice typically held at available high school or middle school gyms by teams playing in the evening bracket.

The girls took the decision very well:

“It’s really cool to be here, first of all. We worked really hard to get here, to qualify for state,” said sophomore Julia Owen, one of the team’s top players. “But we’re also very happy to be able to show that our religion is very important to us. Although it’s hard because it would be great to get the chance to continue, we’re not wishing we could ignore the fast and play, because observing the fast is important.”

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2010 New Jersey Jewish News

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