1988 Dallas Carter Football Championship
Behavioral learning starts at a young age. Adolescents or youths that take part in schools’ athletics are shaping themselves with the use of experiences that they have with other athletes. Guiding these young minds in leadership that is focused on integrity can create sportsmanship on the field and off too. A lot of the lessons that student-athletes learn will transform into real situations sometimes later in life. As a result, learning positive and embracing positive behavior and also staying away from unethical practice is essential in the big picture. Associations, including the National Federation of State High School Associations and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administration Association, were set up for the establishment of universal guidelines that can be embraced by any athletic administration. The associations give a code of ethics in the enforcement of principled leadership that looks forward to abolishing unpropitious behavior and lead by example. The main goal is to promote a constructive environment where student-athletes can learn as they mature. However, challenges keep airing throughout the athletic programs across the nation, and the 1988 Dallas Carter football championship team is one of the cases that saw team members be punished for unethical behaviors costing them a championship.
Thirty-two years ago, on a Thursday evening, the Cater high football practice was interrupted by a shocking bulletin. One of the players had been declared ineligible, thus disqualifying the whole team from participating in the following nights’ playoff opener. As media streamed in, shock and confusion lead to anger, and that is where the Carter sage began. The 21 so-called carter robberies by 15 teenagers where six of them were players of the cowboy’s football team hit the headlines, were taken to court, and sentenced to prison shattering young lives. Their state title was stripped, the trophy returned, and the books of records revised, and every year, the Carter community went through deep-seated emotions.
Even though there was pride in the team’s success, there was bitterness that the title was taken and quite a lot of shame from the robberies. The actions of a few youths led to the stigmatization of the whole team, school, and an entire middle-class black community. A video from June f20,1989, saw Edwards and his teammate Deric Evans get arrested shortly after robbing two stores at gunpoint and enabled the police to trace the other robberies that had taken part just five days after they had won the state title game.
The carter team members resent a movie adaptation with concerns that it views them as dirty-playing thugs. They were middle-class poor, honor students, and exceptional athletes. Out of the 36, 15 earned significant college scholarships. Notably, a player like Evans lost his university scholarship after serving for six years and 11 months in prison. After looking for answers by the court, parents, and educators, it was found that the robbery participants were from both sides of the track, meaning that the robbery participants came from all walks of life. Research shows that ethical issues in high school or youth sports also arise regarding violence, psychological exploitation, as well as emotional abuse. Coaches and parents further have to deal with matters relating to discrimination regarding race, health conditions, and gender.
So, what happened to the Carter players? Was it a lack of advice and proper coaching? Academic advisers are concerned about how the demands of high school or college sports undermine the athlete’s educational goals. They are under pressure in trying to keep players eligible, struggling to help them. However, less attention has been paid over what is likely to be a more usual problem: whether advisers or coachers hyper manage the athletes and prevent them from being self-sufficient. They do go to them instead of letting the athletes come to them. The incident of the carter players could have been handled if one of the players had approached the coach. A player being kicked out for ineligibility while the coaches still allowed him to play. Notably, the players were recognized as high character guys, leaders who worked hard both in the classroom as well as on the field. This assumption alone made the players make terrible choices that cost some of them up to 20 years in jail.
Many national and international sports organizations have been recently paying attention to the promotion of ethically sound sport while emphasizing fair play. As youth athletics have developed as a way of positive youth development and competitive activity, bringing balance in sports ethics while not interfering with its vibrancy requires a cooperative and robust association of all stakeholders. Creating a positive competitive environment for the participants, parents, coaches, and the whole community while encouraging ethical development among young people is one of the suggested ways. Notably, demanding accountability from the parties involved is also vital. Ethical decision-making training and techniques of creating a positive environment for the athletes is also essential for father promotion of moral expectations and behavior in high school athletes.