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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

More to game than the score

The Spokesman-Review

I’m writing to express that our family is offended by the sanctimonious manner in which David Butler wrote (“104-4 rout violates AAU tenets,” March 16) about the score of a Moses Lake (boys basketball) tournament game.

Unlike Butler, I was at that game and my son played in it. It’s sad Butler decided to report a situation in the newspaper he hadn’t taken the time to understand.

The coach of the winning team did everything possible to keep the score down when the differences in the teams’ skill level became apparent. He told the boys not to take fast breaks, pass the ball six times before taking a shot. He asked officials to change the score. No more fouls were called on the losing team.

Many factors played into this situation. In hindsight, it would have been best for the coach of the losing team to pull his team out of the competition since it obviously wasn’t adequately prepared for this tournament.

The winning coach instructs and teaches by example good sportsmanship. Good coaching is hard to find. This coach is one of those rare gems. He takes hours of his time to teach boys to play basketball at its finest.

Butler should retract his judgmental letter and apologize for being so publicly critical of parents, coaches and organizations where he has no standing to be critical. Taking time to learn the facts before being critical would be time better spent.

Lori Kenney

Spokane