CNN’s Belief Blog reports that a Houston Orthodox day school’s basketball team is forfeiting a semifinals game because the game is scheduled for tomorrow evening, that is, Shabbos. The championship game is set for Saturday day.
Maybe I should have passed this off to Ron at Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports, but I wanted to take a shot at it since my friend David S. tipped me off. (I’ll stop with the puns now.)
Slam dunk on who to blame (I guess I wasn’t quite done with the puns), right? It must be the big bad league full of rigid southern Christians, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS), right? After all, it was their nine-member board who set the schedule and then unaminously rejected a proposed time change to Friday morning. They must be the bad guys, right?
And since they are the bad guys, the good guys from the Robert M. Beren Academy get to give heart-swelling quotes like this: “If we give up this opportunity for our religion it just shows how much we deeply care for it,” [said] Isaac Buchine, a player on the Beren Stars.
Time out. (OMG, I can’t stop myself.)
TAPPS posted on its website that from the late 70′s till 2009, there were no Jewish school teams and the league does not play on Sundays because they are shomer Christian Shabbat. The league statement also said that when Beren Academy met with league officials in June 2009 to discuss joining, well, they were warned:
“At that time, the Board pointed out that TAPPS schedules its team sports championship on Fridays and Saturdays, which would conflict with Beren’s observation of their Sabbath,” the statement said. “The Board pointed out that the posted schedule for the state tournament would be followed and no changes made, unless weather related or similar conditions existed.”
CNN continued: “The league also pointed out another rule in its bylaws stipulating that if a team cannot follow the playoff schedule, it is up to the school to remove itself from the playoffs.”
So now who’s to blame? The league for being unbending even though other teams might not be able to make a rescheduled Friday morning game (and shouldn’t the players be attending school that day?)? Or a day school that joined a league who’s rules they couldn’t follow?
Why would you join a league knowing you would not be able to send your kids to play if they ever made the championships? It seems to me you work these things out long before your team ever gets close to having to miss an important game. Shame on the Beren Academy for setting up their athletes for disappointment, leaving them thinking that they were being noble and giving up an opportunity that really, they never had.
5 Comments
Less than two minutes, literally, after I hit “post” I found this: http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/03-01-12-11-30-sabbath-saved-beren-academy-gets-a-restraining-order-allowing-jewish-school-to-play-in-state-semifinals/
I’m glad the kids will get the chance to play, but I still think they should have worked out a contingency plan long in advance.
And I should have known that Ron Kaplan would be on top of the story, two days ago (a lifetime in an internet news cycle): http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2012/02/28/rachmones-for-the-winners/
I’ve been wondering if the school’s thinking was “Like we are EVER going to make the playoffs.” Even though I grew up as one of two Jewish kids in my Rhode Island elementary school (and the other one was my sister) I don’t think I can even imagine what life is like in Texas for observant Jews. But I agree, contingency planning is something to keep in mind!
FWIW, I am fairly certain that Houston has a bigger observant community than Providence, and more Jews overall.
I was fine with the ruling and policy until I learned that they moved a playoff game for a 7th Day Adventist school just last year.
I don’t disagree with you about Beren Academy knowing the rules when they joined the league. I also don’t disagree with you about potentially disappointing the students. However, your editorial missed (and another comment pointed it out) there was precedent to move the game. In fact, the TAPP rules state as long as the opposing team has no opposition and the team requesting the move is willing to foot the bill, games can be moved. And, in the first appeal to TAPP the opposing school said they had no issue with moving the game to be earlier in the day on Friday. Secondly, and this is because I’m from Texas, there is such emphasis here placed on both sports and the Christian faith, it was no surprise to me TAPP didn’t make the change until threatened with a suit. Now, I wonder what will happen if they make the finals?
Michele, after what Joshua wrote and I couple things I’ve read elsewhere this afternoon I have to agree – I didn’t know there was precedent and the chair of the organization sounds like an ass, to boot.