On-field brawls abound these days; but this one, as a team was losing 0-24, stands out.
Apparently the losing team fought among itself — presumably due to frustration (“The Warriors are winless on the season and have been outscored by opponents 70-0 in two games.”); the opposing team seems not to have been involved at all.
So it turns out the whole high school has around 150 students, of whom let’s say half are boys; and of course a football team usually carries 40-50 players. Are we doing the math here?
Id est the school’s too small to field a competitive football team, but someone’s insisting on keeping the comedy going, paying a coaching staff (this is a poor part of Miss.), etc.
September 12th, 2023 at 12:21AM
Looking up this high school and its associated district brings up:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bolivar_Consolidated_School_District –> History including a notorious and noxious US Supreme Court decision:
–> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lum_v._Rice
Searching on the other high school in the article yields a Wikipedia page with a link to Segregation Academies:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segregation_academy
The point? It seems that there is a pattern of systematically destroying these largely (completely?) African American schools in a coordinated campaigns lasting decades. Focusing on this one unfortunate incident strikes me as “punching down”.
September 12th, 2023 at 5:04AM
Dmitry: Hardly. Once you decide a history of racist treatment makes a population immune from criticism, you’re lost. I doubt the state rep from the school’s district would agree with you that a serious focus on this particular football program is out of line.
September 12th, 2023 at 9:45AM
History of racist treatment? This is generational terrorism. Is the solution for this condemning all sport?
I await the representative’s comments.
September 12th, 2023 at 9:51AM
Small Texas communities have long kept the Friday Night Lights lit by fielding seven player teams.
There’s something similar at work in northwestern Illinois, complete with some legal term for high schools combining their efforts, most recently Orangeville, a former water stop on the Charter Line, and Freeport Aquin, a Catholic high school, entered into such an agreement and I believe they’re setting up an eight player team. Why Texas play seven and Illinois play eight I can’t tell you.
Are there ways for Mississippi high schools to go to seven or eight player teams or enter into combinations?
Whether that would make the intrateam dynamics any better is outside my pay grade.
September 12th, 2023 at 11:04AM
https://misssportstalk.com/topic/1309-rosa-fort-24-shaw-0/?tab=comments#comment-31193
Found a comment thread that seems made up of insiders, some of whom are far more broadly critical than I.