My son’s basketball team is in the top of the ladder for this year’s championship season and last weekend was the most crucial game for the team in the second place to get in to the top spot as the game was between the top two teams.
I did notice that the other team was being rough and in the first 10 minutes there were already 3 fouls. Sometime in the second half one of the boys from the other team scored an own goal.
My son’s team won the match.
All was well, so I thought.
As we were leaving the arena, my son told me “Mom, one of the boys in the other team kept shoving me and telling me that ‘you are an Arab and I hate you”
( In all fairness my son does look like an Arab and has family history that makes him look that way..)
But calling names was not right and I was just about to walk inside and tell the coach of the other team that calling names isn’t right. First of all my son isn’t an Arab and even if he is, what difference would it make to a basketball game?
By then one of my son’s team mate came out and told him” hey mate, what you did was smart” and gave him a high five and both of them were laughing.
“What did you do?” I asked my son
“Well Mom, they were being pretty rough and kept shoving me and during the second half one of the boys from the other team asked me which way we are going and I directed him to the wrong basket which resulted in him scoring the self goal”
I did notice that the other team was being rough and in the first 10 minutes there were already 3 fouls. Sometime in the second half one of the boys from the other team scored an own goal.
My son’s team won the match.
All was well, so I thought.
As we were leaving the arena, my son told me “Mom, one of the boys in the other team kept shoving me and telling me that ‘you are an Arab and I hate you”
( In all fairness my son does look like an Arab and has family history that makes him look that way..)
But calling names was not right and I was just about to walk inside and tell the coach of the other team that calling names isn’t right. First of all my son isn’t an Arab and even if he is, what difference would it make to a basketball game?
By then one of my son’s team mate came out and told him” hey mate, what you did was smart” and gave him a high five and both of them were laughing.
“What did you do?” I asked my son
“Well Mom, they were being pretty rough and kept shoving me and during the second half one of the boys from the other team asked me which way we are going and I directed him to the wrong basket which resulted in him scoring the self goal”
My son is grounded for eternity..I am that mad with him.
He is 12 and it is time he learned that whatever happens, he will be less of a man when he forgets his ethics.
When you play a game, you have to remember that at the end it doesn’t matter who won or lost. What matters is that you played a game fairly. What my son did was so wrong. Imagine the ridicule the boy who scored the self goal will have to endure because of my son’s cheekiness ! Yes, I do understand that they called him name, pushed him, shoved him etc. But that doesn’t give my son the right to do what he did.
I feel bad for punishing my son..because I know he was pushed to do what he did..but my job as his mother is to teach him to do the right thing whatever happens.
I agree with you…