Honesty, trust, and integrity are cornerstones of athletic competition. Right? Well, not always.
Recently, I read an interesting article about a man named John Corcoran. He played college sports, graduated, and then taught high school for 18 years. Sound unremarkable? That would be right…in most cases…but not in this one. Corcoran, you see, did all of this without being able to read. Yes, he was illiterate.
John Corcoran (photo, Facebook)
Corcoran used a variety of schemes to help him get by. As a teacher, he used “teacher assistants,” picking his most talented students to ‘lend him a hand.’ “Everybody trusts the teacher,” Corcoran explained. He relied on trust to deceive.
The good news about Corcoran is that he has come clean. He can read now–he has written several books, in fact–and has established a literacy-related foundation, too. Let’s say bravo to a person who once lived a fraudulent life.
At issue is whether recognition and repentance will come to North Carolina. Here’s why.
COVID-19 has caused havoc to high school schedules. Spring sports never happened, and the future is uncertain. What we know for sure is that the basketball state championships weren’t conducted to the finish. State championship games weren’t held, and state champions weren’t crowned.
Courtesy, Goodreads
But last week, the governing body of NC’s high school athletics association ruled that the West and East champions in each division would be declared co-champions. That’s a departure from past practices, reports the Charlotte Observer, when “the NCHSAA did not name state champion, but simply named Eastern and Western Regional champions.”
Why do it differently this time? The illogic amazes me, and the deception frightens me even more. What every player is being told is that he/she is a member of ‘a part-way’ championship team.
Never mind that championship contests weren’t held. Never mind that teams were declared co-champions because they won divisional titles. Oh, and never mind that one team may have been much better than a scheduled opponent. And never mind being honest and full of integrity.
In popular fashion, state association leaders decided to please all and anger none. But is it really better to be named a co-champion than to be celebrated as a champion? No, not at all.
Championships are earned through competition, not by committee. That’s what makes championships an honest and worthy accomplishment. Instead, the NC state high school association has muddied the water by mixing politics with sports. The outcome? They have compromised the very essence of sport.
John Corcoran once compromised integrity, too. Then he made amends. Now it’s your turn, NC high school athletic association.
