The below video is truly sad. The video clip starts off in the middle of a high school basketball game between Desoto County (Fla.) and Port Charlotte. You soon see two players engage in a shoving match and the referee stops play and ejects a player from the game. The disgruntled player then repeatedly shoves the referee, grabs him, and throws him to the ground.
We’ve all seen these types of YouTube clips before (or at least heard about them). Unfortunately, while this sort of situation is uncommon, it’s not surprising. And if you’ve been in sports ministry long enough, you’ve probably seen a situation or two similar to this. If not to this degree, perhaps on the verge of this.
So, how would you handle the aftermath of a situation like the one showed in the video if it happened in your ministry? How would you discipline the player? What would you say to the referee? What would you say to the coaches? Here’s what the coach of the team had to say about his player:
“It was totally unacceptable behavior,” Sheridan said. “It was everything we are not, and now we have to recover from that with 12 very, very good boys. He’ll never play here again. … I’ve been coaching for 40 years, and I’ve never experienced anything like that. I’m still in shock. He’s suspended from school for at least a week, and he’s suspended from all extracurricular activities for the rest of the (school) year and now it’s all up to the administration.”
