Other Sports The letter of the law or douchebag? - Page 2

**BigRichard** · 05-11-2010, 03:24 PM

This guy is a douchebag if you ask me. What is your take?

F you if repost

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...nnbin&hpt=Sbin

Remember the story of the college softball player who hit the game-winning homer and blew out her knee as she trotted around first base, but was carried to second, third and home by opposing players -- even though she represented the decisive run in a game that determined the championship?

This is not that story.

This is the story of a high school pole vaulter whose successful leap in the last event won the meet and the league championship for her team -- until an opposing coach pointed out she should be disqualified for breaking a rule, reversing the outcome so that his team captured victory and the league title.

The girl's infraction? Wearing a friendship bracelet.

The debatable moment in sportsmanship occurred April 29 in South Pasadena, Calif., where the visiting girls team from Monrovia High was seeking its first-ever Rio Hondo League title against longtime powerhouse South Pasadena High.

With the teams separated by a few points and only the pole vault remaining, Monrovia needed a second-place finish in the event to secure the victory and obtain the title. Both teams gathered around the pole vault pit, loudly celebrating and agonizing over every clearance and miss. Although South Pasadena's Rachel Ma led at 7-feet-6, two Monrovia girls had cleared 7-feet to give their team the lead.

But South Pasadena's best vaulter, Robin Laird, had not competed yet. Now she stood at the top of the runway, preparing for her first vault of the long day -- an attempt at 7-feet-6 that could win the event, the meet and the league title. The crowd fell silent. A crosswind was blowing. Laird began to sprint down the runway through the gauntlet of spectators, but suddenly stopped; something didn't feel right.

"I was feeling nervous," she would later say, "because the whole league championship was on the line."

Laird walked back to the top of the runway, gained her composure, then took off again. This time everything was in sync. She planted the pole, lifted herself into the air and soared easily over the bar to give her team a 66-61 victory. While half the crowd cheered and the other half groaned, Monrovia coach Mike Knowles reacted by pointing to his wrist and gesturing toward Laird, who was wearing a thin, colorful string bracelet.

"This is my 30th year coaching track," Knowles said a few days later. "I know a lot of rules and regulations."

The rule in this case -- Section 3, Article 3 of the National Federation of State High School Associations -- is clear: "Jewelry shall not be worn by contestants." So is the penalty, and in the time it takes to read "the competitor is disqualified from the event," South Pasadena's win was transformed into a 65-62 victory for Monrovia.

South Pasadena coach P.J. Hernandez was dumbfounded.

"I said, 'Coach [Knowles], you really want it to come down to this?' " Hernandez recalled.

When Laird was informed that she had been disqualified because of her bracelet, she burst into tears.

"It wasn't so much that I had been disqualified, personally," Laird said. "It was that I had just lost the league championship that my coaches and teammates had worked so hard for ... I had just lost it with this little piece of string on my wrist."

When the ruling was announced, Monrovia's athletes and supporters erupted into a reflexive cheer and South Pasadena's reacted with stunned resentment. But people on both sides mostly retreated into schools of thought, pondering issues of sportsmanship vs. gamesmanship, the letter of the law vs. its spirit and what lesson to derive from what had just happened.

Even Monrovia athletic director Randy Bell struggled to process the outcome. "I don't think it was anything people were particularly proud of," he said. "A rule was invoked, and correctly so, but I don't think anybody was excited to win that way."

Knowles, 54, is in his first season at Monrovia, but he has won a lot during a career in which he coached Pasadena's storied Muir High to nine CIF-Southern Section championships, three California state championships and one mythical national championship.

"It's unfortunate, that's all I can say," Knowles said. "It's unfortunate for the young lady. But you've got to teach the kids that rules are rules."

South Pasadena's Hernandez doesn't dispute the technical validity of Knowles' call, Laird's obligation to have followed the rule or even the life lesson to be learned by everyone involved. But Hernandez thinks the scope of this teaching moment ought to be broadened to examine when the teaching could have best taken place.

"Mike Knowles was down by the pole vault pit, kind of waiting and sitting there, keeping an eye on our girl, waiting for her to attempt the vault and then make the call, " said Hernandez. "I am upset that he wanted to win so badly that he would do it that way. We feel sportsmanship is important, too, and that it is in question with him in this situation."

Knowles denied he was lying in wait.

"I didn't notice the bracelet until after she cleared the height and walked by," he insisted. "[I had] a sinking feeling for her. I didn't want to have to do it. But it's a real rule -- it's in the book -- not something I made up. About 10 years ago, I had a girl who wore an earring in the 4x400 relay and it ended up costing us a CIF title. I feel bad for what happened, but I guarantee you she'll never wear jewelry during a track meet again."

Laird, a senior who will be attending -- but probably not pole vaulting -- the University of Southern California next year, says, "I find it hard to believe" that Knowles did not see the friendship bracelet when she took that aborted trip down the runway. "But I don't want to say for sure that he saw it," she said. "It isn't my place to say that."

Laird disgustedly tore the friendship bracelet off her wrist after being disqualified, and she concedes that Knowles is right about her mistakenly wearing one again in competition -- or maybe ever.

"As of right now, I am not wearing one," she said. "Although I do still have a tan line on my wrist. That's my scarlet letter."

**Rain Man** · 05-11-2010, 03:42 PM

He almost certainly knew she was wearing it before the attempt. A real adult would have mentioned it before the jump and had her take it off if it was that big a deal. Instead, he scarred her for a long time just so he could get a plaque.

I wouldn't want to win that way even if someone else noticed it.

**BigRichard** · 05-11-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrebMaxx

Douchebag move by the coach calling foul. But on the other hand, her own coach should have instructed all team members of the rules or at the least instructed her to remove the bracelet before she competed.

I agree with you 100%. Her coach is the one to blame for the mistake. But yet the other coach is still a douchebag for calling it.

ClevelandBronco · 05-11-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

its about winning. no mercy.

In professional sports, I agree. When it comes to amateur sports, not so much.

chiefzilla1501 · 05-11-2010, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrebMaxx

Douchebag move by the coach calling foul. But on the other hand, her own coach should have instructed all team members of the rules or at the least instructed her to remove the bracelet before she competed.

When I played baseball, people used to get in trouble all the time for wearing jewelry. It's not something you think about or something you notice most of the time.

It's not like the bracelet gives her some kind of competitive advantage. It's probably a safety precaution more than anything.

That's what bothers me the most.

MOhillbilly · 05-11-2010, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Complete douche bag move. And I can promise you that every single person on that team hates him for it. Winning is one thing. But knowing you won in that way is another thing.

I'm a competitor. I want to know I won with a fight. The coach should have told her to take the bracelet off before she jumped rather than waiting for her to jump and then calling her out on it.

you foul out, you foul out. plain and simple. Its up to the coach/handler to make the call to the judge. If its an advantage, you take it. period.

CoMoChief · 05-11-2010, 03:45 PM

Rules are rules whether they are dumb or not.

But if the HS officials didn't notice it, or just didn't care. Then the coach shouldn't have either. It's not like she was wearing this bracelet in just this one event (I'm assuming that she may have competed in other events as well). She's probably worn this bracelet in previous meets as well.

Bullshit move no doubt, but gotta give props to the coach for knowing such a rule, when no one else was paying attention.

Garcia Bronco · 05-11-2010, 03:45 PM

rules are the rules. She wore it all day...meaning they had already lost long before then. Oh well. I wouldn't have called it, but I wouldn't coach those sports anyway.

Pitt Gorilla · 05-11-2010, 03:46 PM

Complete douche.

MOhillbilly · 05-11-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

In professional sports, I agree. When it comes to amateur sports, not so much.

if it were my coach and someone was called for a foul and then fouled out and lost the game i would take the win and be happy w/ it.

ClevelandBronco · 05-11-2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Rules are rules whether they are dumb or not.

But if the HS officials didn't notice it, or just didn't care. Then the coach shouldn't have either. It's not like she was wearing this bracelet in just this one event (I'm assuming that she may have competed in other events as well). She's probably worn this bracelet in previous meets as well.

Bullshit move no doubt, but gotta give props to the coach for knowing such a rule, when no one else was paying attention.

I would go out of my way to avoid congratulating the coach if my kid was on his team.

Then I'd have a long discussion with my kid.

MOhillbilly · 05-11-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Rules are rules whether they are dumb or not.

But if the HS officials didn't notice it, or just didn't care. Then the coach shouldn't have either. It's not like she was wearing this bracelet in just this one event (I'm assuming that she may have competed in other events as well). She's probably worn this bracelet in previous meets as well.

Bullshit move no doubt, but gotta give props to the coach for knowing such a rule, when no one else was paying attention.

Bullshit its up to the coach to do everything within his power to bring home a W.

ClevelandBronco · 05-11-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

if it were my coach and someone was called for a foul and then fouled out and lost the game i would take the win and be happy w/ it.

Enjoy.

Frazod · 05-11-2010, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

Bullshit its up to the coach to do everything within his power to bring home a W.

If you've never seen That Championship Season, you should rent it sometime. Movie based on a play about the aftermath of winning at all costs.

Swanman · 05-11-2010, 03:56 PM

Yes it is a rule, but if the douche coach knew anything about the big picture, he would think about the fact that the bracelet did not give her any sort of advantage (in fact probably hindered her if anything) and that should have driven the decision. It's complete form over substance.

That whole story feels like it came out of the book Atlas Shrugged.

CoMoChief · 05-11-2010, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

Bullshit its up to the coach to do everything within his power to bring home a W.

Winning fair n square is one thing.

Winning because you're pointing out a technicality that has no bearing on the results of their performances is cheap. That coach knows he won because of some bullshit technicality. If he can live with that then so be it. But I can bet you that even people at his own school wouldn't approve of this.

But ....rules are rules I guess.

View Poll Results: The letter of the law or douchebag?
Letter of the law	8	11.43%
Douchebag	62	88.57%
Voters: 70. You may not vote on this poll

05-11-2010, 03:24 PM
BigRichard Buddy Christ is a Chiefs fan Join Date: Nov 2008 Casino cash: $409546	The letter of the law or douchebag? This guy is a douchebag if you ask me. What is your take? F you if repost http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...nnbin&hpt=Sbin Remember the story of the college softball player who hit the game-winning homer and blew out her knee as she trotted around first base, but was carried to second, third and home by opposing players -- even though she represented the decisive run in a game that determined the championship? This is not that story. This is the story of a high school pole vaulter whose successful leap in the last event won the meet and the league championship for her team -- until an opposing coach pointed out she should be disqualified for breaking a rule, reversing the outcome so that his team captured victory and the league title. The girl's infraction? Wearing a friendship bracelet. The debatable moment in sportsmanship occurred April 29 in South Pasadena, Calif., where the visiting girls team from Monrovia High was seeking its first-ever Rio Hondo League title against longtime powerhouse South Pasadena High. With the teams separated by a few points and only the pole vault remaining, Monrovia needed a second-place finish in the event to secure the victory and obtain the title. Both teams gathered around the pole vault pit, loudly celebrating and agonizing over every clearance and miss. Although South Pasadena's Rachel Ma led at 7-feet-6, two Monrovia girls had cleared 7-feet to give their team the lead. But South Pasadena's best vaulter, Robin Laird, had not competed yet. Now she stood at the top of the runway, preparing for her first vault of the long day -- an attempt at 7-feet-6 that could win the event, the meet and the league title. The crowd fell silent. A crosswind was blowing. Laird began to sprint down the runway through the gauntlet of spectators, but suddenly stopped; something didn't feel right. "I was feeling nervous," she would later say, "because the whole league championship was on the line." Laird walked back to the top of the runway, gained her composure, then took off again. This time everything was in sync. She planted the pole, lifted herself into the air and soared easily over the bar to give her team a 66-61 victory. While half the crowd cheered and the other half groaned, Monrovia coach Mike Knowles reacted by pointing to his wrist and gesturing toward Laird, who was wearing a thin, colorful string bracelet. "This is my 30th year coaching track," Knowles said a few days later. "I know a lot of rules and regulations." The rule in this case -- Section 3, Article 3 of the National Federation of State High School Associations -- is clear: "Jewelry shall not be worn by contestants." So is the penalty, and in the time it takes to read "the competitor is disqualified from the event," South Pasadena's win was transformed into a 65-62 victory for Monrovia. South Pasadena coach P.J. Hernandez was dumbfounded. "I said, 'Coach [Knowles], you really want it to come down to this?' " Hernandez recalled. When Laird was informed that she had been disqualified because of her bracelet, she burst into tears. "It wasn't so much that I had been disqualified, personally," Laird said. "It was that I had just lost the league championship that my coaches and teammates had worked so hard for ... I had just lost it with this little piece of string on my wrist." When the ruling was announced, Monrovia's athletes and supporters erupted into a reflexive cheer and South Pasadena's reacted with stunned resentment. But people on both sides mostly retreated into schools of thought, pondering issues of sportsmanship vs. gamesmanship, the letter of the law vs. its spirit and what lesson to derive from what had just happened. Even Monrovia athletic director Randy Bell struggled to process the outcome. "I don't think it was anything people were particularly proud of," he said. "A rule was invoked, and correctly so, but I don't think anybody was excited to win that way." Knowles, 54, is in his first season at Monrovia, but he has won a lot during a career in which he coached Pasadena's storied Muir High to nine CIF-Southern Section championships, three California state championships and one mythical national championship. "It's unfortunate, that's all I can say," Knowles said. "It's unfortunate for the young lady. But you've got to teach the kids that rules are rules." South Pasadena's Hernandez doesn't dispute the technical validity of Knowles' call, Laird's obligation to have followed the rule or even the life lesson to be learned by everyone involved. But Hernandez thinks the scope of this teaching moment ought to be broadened to examine when the teaching could have best taken place. "Mike Knowles was down by the pole vault pit, kind of waiting and sitting there, keeping an eye on our girl, waiting for her to attempt the vault and then make the call, " said Hernandez. "I am upset that he wanted to win so badly that he would do it that way. We feel sportsmanship is important, too, and that it is in question with him in this situation." Knowles denied he was lying in wait. "I didn't notice the bracelet until after she cleared the height and walked by," he insisted. "[I had] a sinking feeling for her. I didn't want to have to do it. But it's a real rule -- it's in the book -- not something I made up. About 10 years ago, I had a girl who wore an earring in the 4x400 relay and it ended up costing us a CIF title. I feel bad for what happened, but I guarantee you she'll never wear jewelry during a track meet again." Laird, a senior who will be attending -- but probably not pole vaulting -- the University of Southern California next year, says, "I find it hard to believe" that Knowles did not see the friendship bracelet when she took that aborted trip down the runway. "But I don't want to say for sure that he saw it," she said. "It isn't my place to say that." Laird disgustedly tore the friendship bracelet off her wrist after being disqualified, and she concedes that Knowles is right about her mistakenly wearing one again in competition -- or maybe ever. "As of right now, I am not wearing one," she said. "Although I do still have a tan line on my wrist. That's my scarlet letter."
Posts: 10,810

05-11-2010, 03:42 PM	#16
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $1808491 VARSITY	He almost certainly knew she was wearing it before the attempt. A real adult would have mentioned it before the jump and had her take it off if it was that big a deal. Instead, he scarred her for a long time just so he could get a plaque. I wouldn't want to win that way even if someone else noticed it. __________________ Active fan of the greatest team in NFL history.
Posts: 142,657

05-11-2010, 03:45 PM	#21
CoMoChief Mahomes Dynasty Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Parts Unknown Casino cash: $7862254	Rules are rules whether they are dumb or not. But if the HS officials didn't notice it, or just didn't care. Then the coach shouldn't have either. It's not like she was wearing this bracelet in just this one event (I'm assuming that she may have competed in other events as well). She's probably worn this bracelet in previous meets as well. Bullshit move no doubt, but gotta give props to the coach for knowing such a rule, when no one else was paying attention.
Posts: 39,194

05-11-2010, 03:45 PM	#22
Garcia Bronco No Keys, No Problem Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver Casino cash: $3883136	rules are the rules. She wore it all day...meaning they had already lost long before then. Oh well. I wouldn't have called it, but I wouldn't coach those sports anyway. Last edited by Garcia Bronco; 05-11-2010 at 03:52 PM..
Posts: 31,560

05-11-2010, 03:46 PM	#23
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $1770194	Complete douche. __________________ Your son is a bench warmer because of your weak genetics not because of the coach Norlin Mommsen is disgusting.
Posts: 46,724

05-11-2010, 03:56 PM	#29
Swanman It's a league game, Dude Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Itasca, IL Casino cash: $9967354	Yes it is a rule, but if the douche coach knew anything about the big picture, he would think about the fact that the bracelet did not give her any sort of advantage (in fact probably hindered her if anything) and that should have driven the decision. It's complete form over substance. That whole story feels like it came out of the book Atlas Shrugged.
Posts: 4,719