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An Update On The Last 24 Hours

  Well, it’s been a pretty intense day.  And as the situation plays out I want to bring the readers up to date as well as make sure a few things are addressed right away. The fact gathering is continuing and Sweetlax Florida has put out a tweet this afternoon: This is an acknowledgement and those words were likely carefully chosen to indicate that they are taking full responsibility for what is found out and the fact that a club team is named in this makes it clear where the investigation is pointing to.  
And that leads me into an important point that needs emphasizing, because I didn’t mention it in my last post:

There is no reason whatsoever to attach any blame on the event itself, or the organizers of the event.  I know both of the proprietors and they are people I have a great deal of respect for and I do not in any way want their event to carry any stigma from this.  It is one of the premier events of the summer season and draws a substantial number of programs, both Boys and Girls, and this only happened here.  I don’t want to see ANYONE taking out any of their frustrations on the ORGANIZERS, they provide a great event and I will be back to attend every one they put on because I believe in them.

The perpetrators of the racial slurs, pending the final conclusion, are the sole people responsible.  As I said in the previous article, if you are of high school age and you are still utilizing these types of feelings and language you are just not paying attention to how to live a good life, respectful to everyone and on the path to being a productive member of this country.  This isn’t rocket science.  This is understanding that stereotypes are not facts and ignorance is not an excuse in an information Age. This is a period in our history as a country when sentiment is on a thin edge and there’s no reason to go anywhere’s near that edge.  This is a warning to you that society will not put up anymore with this level of stupidity.
  I’ve also talked about in past articles over the years that or sport has a bullseye on it’s back from those who don’t understand it, as well as it’s background and sanctity by it’s founders.  We ALL have to stop giving those who look down their noses at us an easy score.  I’m TIRED of pointing this out.  Sportsmanship at ALL levels, of play, of respect for each other as players (sure, a little trash talking is natural but how hard is it to leave it on the field?) and also respect for the officials.  I have to say this again, but parents, if you are yelling at the officials from the stands don’t be surprised to see your kids mimic that on the field.  Plenty of talking back to officials during games by the players.  I’m 61 and if I yelled at a ref playing ANYTHING my Dad would have pulled me if my Coach didn’t.  PLEASE set the example too.   As far as the next steps, I have had a lengthy conversation with the Mother of one of the 3 kids receiving the slurs and her son has indicated he is willing to put into words how he felt about the situation. as well as how he handled it on the field.  I have seen some of the write-up and am very impressed on the mature take he has on the event. We’ll have it for you as soon as possible. And for the young ‘men’ who used the inappropriate words, I hope you take time to reflect on what you did and what you need to do to make yourself real men, with all the responsibilities that go with that.  If you feel like you want to make any of your reflections public, feel free to contact me here at the site.  We’ve seen enough word slinging back and forth the last 6 months or so, let’s see if we can substitute action instead.  A good start would be for the two sides of the game to exchange face to face conversations instead of high sticks.  Let’s make it happen; a few steps beats standing in place.  

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