University City & Normandy: Revisited

On February 27, I wrote an article entitled U. City and Normandy may play future games without fans. As you know, this blog is about more than sharing stories. It is about finding solutions whenever possible. Soon after the article posted, I spoke with the superintendents of both the Normandy and University City districts.

Both leaders expressed concern over their high schools' relationship and how that relationship was being portrayed in blogs like this one, television outlets and in newspapers. Good sportsmanship is rooted in truth and it is incumbent upon me to find the truth and communicate it as best I can.

It appears my original post contained a factual inaccuracy relative to a single sentence. I wrote, "Another incident happened earlier this season when Normandy students hurled bricks at the U. City team bus with students on-board." That was technically incorrect.

Bricks were thrown at the U. City team bus, but they were thrown by a U. City student. The U. City student who threw the bricks had transferred from Normandy a few weeks before the incident.

To be fair, the U. City athletic director was quoted in a local TV news story as saying, "We had bricks thrown through the bus windows as they left. They did leave the parking lot. After that, the superintendent decided we weren't going to play them in anything anymore."

Qiana Luckett, the parent of a U. City player was quoted in the aforementioned TV news story as saying, "They had to stop the bus. Kids were throwing rocks at the bus. It was just horrible. I just thought maybe it would be better because last time it was just chaotic."

Ms. Luckett's statements suggest more than one child threw rocks and/or bricks at the bus. I have not been able to gain consensus from both U. City and Normandy as to whether or not there were additional kids involved and if those kids were U. City or Normandy students.

To be honest, those particular details mean very little in the grand scheme. As I wrote in the beginning, it is our purpose at the Sportsmanship Initiative to foster positive discussion that will lead to a workable solution. No matter who threw what at whom, the essential question is this: How do we get our young people to stop?

In my conversations with both superintendents, I expressed a desire to meet with them or the staff person they designate to come up with a solution that will bring the districts and their communities together in a display of solidarity and sportsmanship.

I am happy to report that those efforts have not fallen on deaf ears and preliminary discussions have begun. My hope is that in the coming weeks and months I can report more tangible results. In the meantime, let's keep the U. City and Normandy districts in our thoughts and continue to support the children of each community.