Something Good from the Sports Pages

In a time when all we seem to see are players being arrested, charged with things, going to jail, and admitting to cheating, we can fail to see the good stories that occur in the world of athletics.

Milwaukee Madison High School basketball captain Johntell Franklin was late to the February 7 game for the Knights against the Barbs of Dekalb, Illinois. The reason is tragic: his mother, aged 39, had died after a five-year battle with cancer.

Johntell felt, as a captain, that he needed to be there for his team, but he arrived late. He went to the locker room, suited up, and came out to the court. The coach placed him in the game, but had not expected him to come, so had not placed Johntell in the scorebook. Those familiar with the rules of basketball know that this results in an automatic technical foul.

Here is where the sportsmanship comes into play. Dekalb knew of the situation, and both coaches discussed the situation with the officials for over seven minutes! The referees eventually convinced both coaches that a technical foul had to be assessed. Dekalb’s coach, Dave Rohlman, went to his bench to explain what was going on and to choose a shooter for the two free throws. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

“I gathered my kids and said, ‘Who wants to take these free throws?’ Darius McNeal (a 5-11 senior point guard) put up his hand. I said, ‘You realize you’re going to miss, right?’ He nodded his head.”

During technical free throws, no other players are allowed around the free-throw lane. So Womack gathered Madison’s players around his bench, on the other end of the court, and was trying to reel in their emotions when he saw something odd out of the corner of his eye:

Instead of swishing through the basket, the ball rolled slowly across the end line.

“I turned around and saw the ref pick up the ball and hand it back to the player,” Womack said, “and then he did the same thing again.”

“Darius set up for a regular free throw, but he only shot it two or three feet in front of him,” Rohlman said. “It bounced once or twice and just rolled past the basket.”

“I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal said. “It was the right thing to do.”

After the second shot, everyone in the gym – including all the Madison players – stood and applauded the gesture of sportsmanship.

“Any one of my teammates would have done the same thing, and I think anyone on the Madison team would have done the same for us,” McNeal said.

What a wonderful display! We need more stories like this one to be reported. While these young men (and their coaches) were against each other on the court, they realized there was something far more important going on at the moment.

Parents, teachers, coaches, and other leaders, let’s instill this attitude in our young people in all areas of life. Competition is fine, but sportsmanship and growth are far more important. Thanks to these two teams for giving us a real-life reminder.

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Out of Tragedy, Sportsmanship Has a Shining Moment [Journal Sentinel Online]