I remember when high school sports were the gold-standard for sportsmanship and fair play between opponents.
Well, that went out a door about five years ago and this might be the most blatant and stupid example about how not to take a loss as an opposing coach.
The above picture is of Robin Laird who is the best high school pole-vaulter in Southern California. Recently, her high school team was denied the Rio Hondo League Title because the opposing coach decided that Laird's friendship bracelet broke some sort of paraphernalia ban in National Federation of State High School Associations.
We get more from Sports Illustrated:
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.Just when you thought you had seen it all, a high school track coach decided to push up the envelope and win a title the most cheap way possible.
"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."
Also to note, making a high school girl cry is pretty low as well, Coach Knowles. Rules and regulations are one thing but does anyone really think that a friendship bracelet added anything to her vault? However, I think alot of people along with me are wishing that Taylor Swift go kick his ass.
If the local high school sports association has any sorts of guts, they will at least reward a co-title to both schools but to be honest, I doubt that will happen.
If we learned anything from this story is that people will do anything to win and to quote the Spice Girls, "Friendship Never Ends".
(Courtesy of With Leather , Bob's Blitz and Sports Illustrated.com)
