School says "Sorry" after a 100-0 Win

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Winner in 100-0 girls game wants forfeit

Associated Press

Jan. 22, 2009, 1:39PMShare  Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! Buzz• Houston area had blowout, too. See box here

DALLAS — A Texas high school girls basketball team on the winning end of a 100-0 blowout has apologized to the losing school, calling the game “shameful and an embarrassment.â€

Officials from Covenant School, a private Christian school in Dallas, said Thursday they are seeking to forfeit the win because “victory without honor is a great loss.â€

Covenant defeated Dallas Academy 100-0 on Jan. 13. Covenant led 59-0 at halftime.

The Dallas Academy has eight girls on its varsity team and just 20 girls in the school. The academy specializes in teaching students with what it calls “learning differences,†such as short attention spans or difficulty in concentrating.

[DP#1FAN]

have mercy

[CRUSHCOACH]

That's ridiculous ! Heck DP Fan we didn't even get beat that bad back in the day ! LMAO  :D

[McLovin]

Haha what an insult.  They pitch a shutout, I can count the number of those I've heard of on one finger, throw up a century, and won't even take the win.  Talk about pity party.

[Jdad]

The only thing I saw in the article that the winner did wrong was press most of the game. A game like that isn't good for the winner because it will not make them better but, could develope bad habits they can't get away with agaist a better team. Cathedral Christian gotbeat by Cypress Creek  3 years ago 105-7. There were opologies for that game. The reason I know is because my daughter and another went to Cathedral the next year and with those 2 girls they went to Cypress Creek who had the same starters and the start of the 4th Quarter the game was tied and Cypress had 2 girls who had signed with D-1 schools. What justice making they sweat. Cathedral lost by 12 points but the 2 girls girls from HJ made them plenty worried.

[KFDM COOP]

Covenant coach who beat Dallas Academy 100-0 is fired

06:50 PM CST on Sunday, January 25, 2009

By BARRY HORN / The Dallas Morning News

[email protected]

The Covenant School fired its girls’ basketball coach Sunday, the same day he distributed an e-mail and posted on a Web site that he disagreed with the school’s headmaster as well as the school’s chairman of the board, who have publicly apologized for Covenant’s 100-0 victory over Dallas Academy.

Kyle Queal, Covenant’s head of school, said former coach Micah Grimes “now only represents himself.†Queal said he could not answer if the firing was a direct result of his e-mail and posting.

Also Online

Grimes’ e-mail and posting said, “In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls’ basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed,†Micah Grimes wrote in an email sent to The Dallas Morning News. “We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity.â€

On its Web site Thursday, the school posted a statement that said it “regrets the incident of January 13 and the outcome of the game with the Dallas Academy Varsity Girls Basketball team. It is shameful and an embarrassment that this happened. This clearly does not reflect a Christ-like and honorable approach to competition.†It was signed by Kyle Queal, the head of school and Todd Doshier, board chair.

Grimes did not immediately respond to repeated email requests for an interview. But his email and Web site post concluded, “I believe in the lessons that sports teach us. Competition builds character, and teaches us to value selflessness, hard work, and perseverance. As a coach, I have instilled in my girls these values. So if I loose my job over these statements, I will walk away with my integrity.â€

His Web site is Irving-based and lists him as one of the program’s coaches.

Covenant has been in the national spotlight since Thursday when The Dallas Morning News published a story about its 100-point shutout victory over Dallas Academy back on Jan. 13.

Dallas Academy coaches and administrators say Covenant kept the pressure on until it reached 100 points midway through the fourth quarter.

Sunday’s email was the first public communication from Grimes since he emailed The News on Wednesday night. In the original email that was copied to Queal and athletic director Brice Helton, Grimes called scoring 100 points “unfortunate.â€

“It just happened,†he wrote. “Please know Covenant intended no harm against them. I see this as a real learning opportunity, so we can prevent this from happening in the future.â€

In Sunday’s email, which didn’t appear to be copied to school officials, Grimes said his team stopped applying full-court defensive pressure after the score reached 25-0 three minutes into the game, dropped into a relatively benign zone defense and began resting his starters in favor of his three bench players.

Dallas Academy coach Andrew Lott agreed Covenant stopped pressing but returned with an alternate press later in the game. “I am 100 percent sure,†said Lott, who estimated his team was able to get off “seven shots†all game.

“He’s entitled to his opinion,†Lott said. “If you ask 10 people about it you might get 10 different answers.â€

Lott said his team did not videotape the Jan. 13 game hosted by Covenant but he is certain Covenant did as there was a camera was set up near the Dallas Academy bench. “Maybe we could look at the tape,†Lott said.

The story has captured national and international attention.

When posted on dallasnews.com, the first-day story attracted 665,000 page views worldwide, an enormous number for a story on a local private school girls’ basketball game.

E-mails have flooded in from across the country and as far away as China and Thailand commenting on the story. Most have questioned the motives of Covenant’s coach for “running up†the score. But some have defended the coach for allowing his girls to play to their potential. None have blamed the Covenant players.

Dallas Academy girls, portrayed as lovable losers on the court but winners in life for their attitude after the loss, have been showered with praise nationally. They’ve were on ABC and CBS network morning shows on Saturday and are scheduled to make a repeat appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday as well as their Today show debut.

[adminbaberuth]

Dallas Morning news ^ | 06:04 AM CST on Monday, January 26, 2009 | By BARRY HORN

The Covenant School fired its girls basketball coach Sunday, the same day he posted a message on a youth basketball Web site saying he disagreed with school officials who had publicly apologized for the team's 100-0 victory over Dallas Academy

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[Guest Auditor]

Didn't I see a score in the Beaumont Enterprise earlier this year where either Legacy or Kelly beat some team 74 - 2 ????

[hjhawks]

I agree with the coach on this one....

In our own words: The Journey to a 100-0 victory

By: Coach Micah Grimes

After counting down the seconds until the final buzzer, I lined up my girls to wish the opposing team well, and then headed into the locker room for our post game rituals.  After the girls and I said our goodbyes, I headed home to reflect like I always do after every game. But this was no ordinary game.  Little did I know that in the next eight days, Barry Horn would write an article for Dallas Morning News about our 100-0 win over Dallas Academy that would start a firestorm of articles, nationally broadcasted news stories, and hateful email about me and the 8 young ladies that make up the Dallas Covenant School girls basketball team. I’ve always taught my girls to value honesty, integrity, compassion for others and to stand up for those values despite the consequences. So it is for Andi, Savannah, Taylor, Lauren, Wren, Marquita, Blair, Tiffany and our assistant coach Kelly that I tell our story.

The Team.  We are hardly the “elite basketball powerhouse†that we are described as in the National and local media. Up until 3 years ago, we rarely had a winning season.  In fact, during my first year at Covenant four years ago, we experienced one of our worst seasons - a losing record of only 2 wins and 19 losses that sunk to an 82-6 low in a game that forever changed us and how we approached the game of basketball.  Two years later we made the first Final Four appearance in the school’s history. Like Dallas Academy, Covenant is a small Christian school, which is why we are in the same district. We don’t have a home gym so we rent out facilities or gym space in the community so we can practice, and then watch game film at the home of one of the players. We’ve never had a full roster. Only about 30 high school girls attend Covenant and only 8 of those girls play basketball.  During many of the games this year, we played with 6 girls, and sometimes only 5. When players fouled out, we’ve had to finish the game with 4.  But we always finished the game.

The Players.  Rarely does a coach find a player who will run the extra laps, do the extra push-ups, or shoot the extra baskets without complaining. I have 8 such players—2 freshmen, a sophomore who is new to the school and team, another sophomore who has been with us for two years, two Juniors who have been with us for 3 years, a Senior who is new to the team and school, and another Junior who is new to basketball and is learning how to play for the first time in her life.  My girls believe in each other, motivate each other, and see each other as family. The respect and admiration I have for them and their parents are the main reason why I come back to Covenant each year.

The Game. The game started like any other high school basketball game across the nation. The teams warm-up, coaches talk, the ball is tipped, and then the play begins. We started the game off with a full-court press. After 3 minutes into play, we had already reached a 25-0 lead.  Like any rational thinking coach would do, I  immediately stopped the full-court press, dropped into a 2-3 zone defense, and started subbing in my 3 bench players. This strategy continued for the rest of the game and allowed the Dallas Academy players to get the ball up the court for a chance to score. The second half started with a score of 59-0. Seeing that we would win by too wide of a margin, running down the clock was the only logical course of action left.  Contrary to the articles, there were only a total of four 3-point baskets made; three in the first quarter, and only one in the third quarter. I continued to sub in bench players, play zone defense, and run the clock for the rest of the game.  We played fair and honorably within the rules and in the presence of the parents, coaches, and athletic directors for both Covenant School and Dallas Academy. 

The Apology.  In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Website, I respectfully disagree with the apology, especially the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel "embarrassed" or "ashamed". We played the game as it was meant to be played and would not intentionally run up the score on any opponent. Although a wide-margin victory is never evidence of compassion, my girls played with honor and integrity and showed respect to Dallas Academy. We honor God, ourselves, and our families when we step on the court to compete. I do not wish to forfeit the game. What kind of example does it set for our children? Do we really want to punish Covenant School girls?  Does forfeiting really help Dallas Academy girls?  We experienced a blowout almost 4 years ago and it was painful, but it made us who we are today. I believe in the lessons that sports teach us.  Competition builds character, and teaches us to value selflessness, hard work, and perseverance.  As a coach, I have instilled in my girls these values. So if I lose my job over these statements, I will walk away with my integrity. 

Sincerely,

Micah Grimes

Box Scores:

1st

35

2nd

24

3rd

29

4th

12

[Jdad]

Great reply and a great example of a media gone bad. The girls who lost are praised as hero's and the winners who worked hard to achieve their goals viewed as evil. In any other arena the coach of the loser would be the one fired for not having their players prepared to compete. The christian school needs to read their bible and see where it says to lay down and embarrass the weak. If they would have quit playing hard that would have been the wrong message to both sides. I hope the parents of the fired Coach stand up for him and get his job back for his kids. Everyone has heard from the losing players Coach's and media. I want to hear from the winning players and their thoughts.

[DP#1FAN]

That's ridiculous ! Heck DP Fan we didn't even get beat that bad back in the day ! LMAO    :D

You are right Crushcoach at least one of us would throw it up and it would go in every now and then!    I still have bad dreams about Hebert!!!!!!!!