Tarrant County area coaches stand up for players’ rights
The distinctive characteristics of high school football coaches often stem from their forefathers in the profession, the men who came of age in economic depression and as soldiers of World War II.
They stood faithful to the basic tenets of conforming to rules and social norms, and obeying authority in general. It’s the topic of Pigskin Pulpit, a social history of Texas high school football coaches by Sam Houston State history professor Ty Cashion.
Though many, many things have changed over the years, coaches today remain linked to that era.
So, how would coaches handle a player, who, like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, refused to stand for the national anthem as a means to protest issues in race relations?
A survey of 10 public school coaches across the area showed they wouldn’t like it, but all recognized their players’ protected individual rights to speak openly and demonstrate as symbolized, oddly enough, in the flag and anthem, so long as it stayed within the “limits of the law,” as Fort Worth Carter-Riverside coach Jim Jeffries said.
“I am almost brought to tears every time I hear the national anthem played before my games, it means that much to me,” said South Hills football coach J.J. Resendez, noting that he is the son of a Vietnam vet and the grandson of a soldier of WWII. “The presentation of the colors and national anthem represent a theme and unity of a people that express the rights this country was founded upon.
“I would not choose to demonstrate in this way, but I do personally understand” the need to do so sometimes. “There must be a level of discomfort to open eyes and make a demonstration effective.”
The freedom to sit or stand was likely initially confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1943 struck down a West Virginia law that required students salute the flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein,” Justice Robert Jackson wrote for the majority.
“If someone decided not to stand, I would visit with them and ask why,” Fort Worth Arlington Heights coach Phil Young said. “See what they have to say. I would hope they would have a reason and not just being indifferent or imitating someone else.”
And Todd Lawson of Fort Worth Dunbar: “You have to respect the rights of an individual. I think you sit down and have a personal meeting with him to see where his head’s at … the thinking behind it. That’s a young man, you have to respect his thoughts. There are other ways to go about it. But that is his right.”
All agreed such a hypothetical would be a teachable moment. Young said he would probably counsel his player to make a more meaningful effort in service to the aggrieved group or cause.
Private schools are held to the standard and guidelines of the institution.
Sports teams also have collective standards and cultures. Coaches of any sport walk a fine line in supplementing education’s design to teach students to think critically and for themselves. Many times those goals overlap with the team’s, though sometimes there is conflict. Thinking critically and individually can also rip a team apart if it’s done for selfish reasons.
“What we do [as a team] is bigger than all of us,” Fort Worth Paschal coach Matt Miracle said. “Once it becomes about ‘me,’ it’s disruptive to the team.”
A few coaches, including Fort Worth Southwest’s Robert Goebel, said that’s why the first lesson of team is respect of your teammates, no matter race or creed.
In a memo from University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven, the former U.S. Navy admiral who oversaw the planning and execution of the 2011 Bin Laden raid, urged presidents and athletic directors to create an atmosphere in which anthem and flag are respected simply because of what it represents.
“The flag rode with the Buffalo soldiers of the 9th, 10th, 24th and 25th Cavalry and Infantry Regiments,” McRaven wrote. “It was carried by the suffragists down the streets of New York City. It flew with the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII. It was planted in the fields where Cesar Chavez spoke. It marched with Martin Luther King Jr. It rocketed into space on the shoulder patches of women, gays, Hispanic, Asian and African American astronauts.”
McRaven’s sentiments seemed to fall in line with another former coach in Fort Worth.
“I’m a World War II veteran so I would probably frown,” said former Dunbar basketball coach Robert Hughes, 88, who grew up in segregation and saw the nation’s imperfections up close and at its worst. “It’s not kosher. I came from a family of seven boys; just about everyone was in WWII. I was old-school, we would have had a talk about it.”
That’s not to say Kaepernick’s or, say, a high school student-athlete’s cause is in error, Hughes said, but “there are some things you just don’t do or you do it in a different manner.
“I can understand them having problems. I had problems here in Fort Worth. I had a choice: Either quit, go to the house or dig my heels in and coach like hell. I can tell stories [about racism he encountered] that I won’t ever talk about.”
Chatting with … Edwin Allen
Paschal junior running back Edwin Allen had a choice of numbers when he entered high school three years ago. He chose No. 42. Why? Jackie Robinson. The Panthers, along with their star running back and wide receiver, Jaylon Robinson, a Texas Tech commit, are 2-0 with a test Friday against Mansfield Summit at R.L. Anderson Stadium. Allen admittedly enjoys the gift of gab. “I’ll talk to the world.”
You have a twin brother, Edmond (a defensive end and running back). He’s older. Does he hold that against you … like in calling dibs on the front seat of the car? No, he does not. Maybe a few times. But I like to lay down in the back seat and go to sleep anyway.
Are you all competitive with each other? Very, very. We don’t talk on the field, but when we get home we talk a little bit.
What is your ideal pregame meal? Chicken. I love me some chicken. My mother’s cheese and seasoned chicken.
One day there is a movie about you. What current day actor plays Edwin Allen? [Thinks for a bit] I’d probably say Will Smith’s son.
What do you enjoy doing when not playing football? I stay after school a lot and go to events. I like going to my school events, getting the crowd pumped up.
Games to watch
Euless Trinity vs. Colleyville Heritage, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Mustang-Panther Stadium, Grapevine: The Trojans, the state’s seventh-ranked team will encounter the neighbor down the street with a chip on it shoulder and riding a QB who passed for 500 yards a week ago.
South Grand Prairie vs. Arlington Martin, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Maverick Stadium, Arlington: Game pitting teams of “Warriors” with big plans. Both are coming off big losses.
Fort Worth Paschal at Mansfield Summit, 7:30 p.m. Friday, R.L. Anderson Stadium, Mansfield: Undefeated visiting Panthers get a test in Game 3.
Player of the Week
The dfwVarsity.com football winner for Week 2 is Haltom senior quarterback Cole Hays. He captured 43 percent of the vote, followed closely by Richland linebacker Dashaun White with 40 percent. A total of 13,355 votes were cast.
Week 1 winner was Cleburne QB Tre’Von Bradley.
Reach John Henry at jfhenry1970@gmail.com. Twitter: @John_F_Henry
This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Tarrant County area coaches stand up for players’ rights."