B6 March 4, 2021
The Chronicle
Lesson
From page Bl
parent decided to tell his
child, “If they are going to
call that cheap crap, then
you might as well slam
them and get your money’s
worth.”
Another thing the par
ent said to his son was,
“It’s okay, son. If we were
on the other court with
those refs, we would have
won.” That parent had a
lot to say that afternoon;
those were just two ex
amples.
For a parent to tell his
son to slam an opponent
in a basketball game was
shocking to me. Luckily,
the son did not take the
father’s advice; however,
the son did commit a hard
foul toward the end of the
game that prompted the
refs to end the game early
to avoid any further unnec
essary fouls.
I observed the unruly
parent’s son for most of
the game. His body lan
guage, facial expressions,
and attitude were horrible
throughout most of the
game and I have to expect
it was due to him assum
ing that if his parent can
act that way in the stands,
it was OK for him to act
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that way on the court. As a
parent, if you can’t control
yourself; how can you ex
pect your child to control
themselves on the court?
The young man was no
more than 12 or 13 years
old, so there is time for
him to grow out of that
childish behavior. The
thing that worries me is it’s
obvious the kid has talent,
but if he never matures and
continues to exhibit that
kind of behavior on the
court, it could turn some
coaches and recruiters off
on the next level. That par
ent is potentially hurting
his child’s future.
I couldn’t imagine act
ing that way at a game my
child was playing in. I just
don’t understand the logic
in acting in that manner,
because it’s not like the
ref is going to change his
call. Ninety-five percent of
the parents don’t know the
rules, which is another is
sue altogether. If they did
know more of the rules, I
think more parents would
understand what the ref
eree is looking at and why
certain calls are made.
Yelling gibberish from
the stands only lets the ref
know you don’t know the
rules and most refs just
laugh while you’re yelling
things that aren’t right.
Parents, do yourself
and your child a favor and
just cheer for your child or
root for the team. You nev
er know if there is a scout
or coach in the stands. I
Coach
From page Bl
she wanted to participate
and why. She responded
that to the outside world,
she is not biracial, she is
Black and is treated as
such.
“I am always proud
when they accomplish
things on the basketball
court, but I was super
proud of them for support
ing me with this and taking
part in it with me.”
Crews said this is just
the beginning of what he
has planned for the year
when it comes to his activ
ism.
“This is my mission
and I feel like this is my
would hate for a kid to
lose out on a scholarship
offer because they were
not taught how to control
themselves.
The next issue that
bothered me was the con
versation I had with a par
ent about the difficulties
his daughter was having
with her AAU basketball
team. His daughter is head
and shoulders better than
any other player on the
team. She leads the team
in scoring and assists.
You would think a parent
would be happy for a child
performing so well on
the court, but in this case
you’d be wrong.
The father of the young
lady told me his daughter
was verbally attacked by
two parents after a game.
Of course, it was a game
that neither he nor his wife
was able to attend because
of work. Apparently, the
parents were saying his
daughter was a “ball hog”
and was “taking stats
away” from their children.
The parents did not
even have enough cour
age to say it to the young
lady; instead, they spoke
amongst one another loud
enough to make sure the
young lady could hear
them. That was one of the
most immature and child
ish things I have ever heard
when it comes to adult be
havior. To stoop that low to
talk about a child, but not
have the guts to say it to
their face is a punk move.
The father told me
that his daughter no lon
ger wanted to play for that
team. Weeks later she in
formed him that she did
not want to continue play
ing basketball for the re
mainder of the season. She
is now questioning wheth
er she wants to play for
another team or switch to
another sport. Her fear is
that a similar situation may
occur with a new team, be
cause she will most likely
be the best player on the
team from day one.
For an adult to take the
joy out of playing sports
from a child is despicable.
The father stated the coach
and players on the team
have reached out numer
ous times to change his
daughter’s mind. So far,
she is content with sitting
out the rest of the season,
which is sad.
The last example that I
wanted to discuss was the
video of the young man at
a camp engaging in a back-
and-forth conversation
with Cam Newton. The
young man could be heard
saying negative comments
toward Newton in the
video. He even could be
heard using profanity. The
young man did not make
his parents proud during
that video.
place,” Crews said about
his plans for the year.
“Yeah, I am a basketball
coach and a basketball
trainer and that’s my call
ing, but also as an African
American man that has
seen a lot in this world, my
goal is to have these kids
make it to adulthood and
educated. I am not telling
them what’s going on in
the world to scare them,
I just want them to be
knowledgeable of what’s
going on. It could have
been me or anyone else
that we know.
“The last thing I told
them was, ‘When'this is all
said and done and you’re
playing in college or going
on with your career in life,
In the world we live in,
anything and everything is
capable of being recorded.
Being as blatantly disre
spectful as he was, he may
have put his college foot
ball career in jeopardy. I’m
sure this will be one of the
first things college coaches
mention if and when the
time comes for this kid to
get recruited.
The question I have is,
where did this kid learn
this type of behavior? I
am not saying he learned
it from his parents, but you
have to wonder why he felt
so comfortable being so
disrespectful. I know ev
eryone wants their 15 sec
onds of fame nowadays,
but our kids must find a
more constructive way of
doing so.
The young man in the
video did issue an apology,
although it was too little
too late, because the dam
age has already been done.
Luckily, Newton decided
to use this as a teachable
moment instead of stoop
ing to the young man’s
level. I just cringe every
time I see a young person
being disrespectful to an
adult. I don’t want to even
think of the consequences I
would have received from
my parents had that have,
been me in the video say
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ing those things. Let’s just
say I probably would have
had trouble sitting down
for a few days, because my
parents didn’t play about
respect toward adults.
I think what gets lost
too often in youth sports
are the youth. I am not
speaking to all parents,
obviously, but to those
who go overboard like the
above-mentioned ones.
Please remember what
youth sports are all about.
Let’s show the kids how
to act as fans, so they will
be better behaved on the
court.
I am by no means try
ing to tell a parent how to
raise their kids. I am sim
ply wanting to bring youth
sports back to a place
where it’s not all about
winning, but more about
the love of the game. We
must put the focus back
on the kids and the enjoy
ment they get out of play
ing sports.
I don’t want parents to
stop rooting for their kids,
or even voicing their dis
pleasure with a certain call
on the court or field, but
do it with some tact and
respect because your kids
are watching. As parents,
our playing days are over,
but for these kids, they are
just beginning. Let’s put
them in the best possible
position for success by
showing them what class
looks like on and off the
court.
We can do better; we
must do better.
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if all you can say is I was
a good basketball coach,
then I didn’t do a good
job of being a good role
model’.”
Crews says he has been
inspired by Malcolm X for
quite some time. He said
Malcolm’s words encour
aged him to use his voice
for the greater good and
wants to instill that same
thing into his players.
During the pandemic,
Crews said his business
has continued to increase.
He says if he has to be fake
and pretend the things hap
pening to Black and brown
people don’t matter just to
make people do business
with him, he doesn’t need
their money.
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