I often tell you I love sports for all the positive energy it gives to those who watch it and those who play it. And like everything in life, the things that make you laugh and provide joy can often make you cry. The bond and brotherhood of sports is the lifeblood of why we pick up the ball and take the field. Black, white, brown, or any color you choose to use, sports in its pure essence takes race off the table. That's why today's topic really does break my heart. I wish I could say I was surprised when I heard what was done at the end of the game between Coronado and Orange glen high school. Sad to say, I wasn't.
We have watched during the NBA season fans throwing things on the court and at players. This vile and gross behavior is often seen overseas with soccer and basketball, where fans toss bananas at African players. So finding out after winning the game people were caught on camera throwing tortillas at the orange glen players and coaches really pissed me off. This blatant and premeditated act of hate was nothing short of disqualifying. According to the reports, the coaching staff was seen encouraging the disgusting behavior of these bad actors to make the lousy turn to worse. Look, kids are gonna be kids. Mistakes made out of ignorance at a young age are all too common. Those who took part in this should have been, if not already, pulled to the side. This was a teaching moment the adults in the building failed! It was a chance to explain why this was unacceptable and genuinely hurtful. Did you get that? NO! According to people at the game (thanks twitter) the Coronado coaches were seen saying, "that's what you get when you talk shit."
Now again, this was complete hearsay. I wasn't there. This account is what I have seen from a Compilation of videos and tweets. If this is true and members of the coaching staff applauded this behavior, they should be fired immediately! The CIF should suspend these men from coaching under their umbrella, and the school district should have them banned from ever coaching again. This isn't the type of leadership we need in sports and absolutely not something we need in a military community like Coronado. This cowardly act of racism being backed up by adults leads to the question of what kind of athletics are they encouraging within the walls of that school. I believe there are two periods of time when most people tell the truth about who they are and what they think. When you're mad at someone, most people say pretty hurtful things to try and pass on the pain. Two when your drunk, often times when people drink that little part of your brain that censors you get's drowned out by the booze and you tend to say crazy but most times honest shit. I think we see the hate at these sporting events because of a combination of the two. The fucked up part about what happened after the game in Coronado was neither of the two was involved.
Just about twenty-four thousand people live on Coronado island. The island is primarily military families, which gives it that small-town energy the separates it from the rest of us across the bay. There is no real poverty or homeless issue on the island. In 2019 it was ranked one of the most expensive zip codes in America. Also, in 2019 According to the census, The racial makeup of the city was 84.40% White, 5.15% African American, 0.66% Native American, 3.72% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, and 3.14% from other and 2.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.83% of the population.
I share these population stats with you because I think they are essential to the story and the times we live in. At this hour, I hope the people of Coronado are seeking the truth of what happened in that gym. This isn't a time for the community to rally around the coach. This isn't time for sensitivity training. This isn't the time to chalk this up as lessons learned. This is the time to stop bullshit like this right in its tracks!
I have copied the thread of the tweet to this post. I hope you take the time to look it over and tell me if I'm out of line.
https://twitter.com/FullTimeHoops1/status/1406499344027635714?s=20
