Playing football isn't a right, it's a clear privilege
By By Sid Salter / syndicated columnist
September 29, 2004
Northwest Rankin High School has it half right regarding star football athlete Jeremy Bibbs' indictment on charges of selling crack cocaine.
Bibbs was arrested last March by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents for allegedly selling 3.9 grams of crack cocaine on Aug. 21, 2003. He was indicted on the charge by a Rankin County grand jury on the charge on Sept. 24.
Despite the arrest and later indictment, Bibbs is still a 6-foot-2, 215 lb. star running back for the Northwest Rankin Cougars rushing for 129 yards last Friday night in a 37-15 victory over Oak Grove.
Protecting kids' rights?
The school's administration and coaching staff suggest that yanking Bibbs out of school before he's had his day in court would violate his right to attend school and earn an education. NRHS is right about that.
But in addition to recognizing Bibbs right to stay enrolled as a student, NRHS's football coach also decided that Bibbs should continue to play football despite the indictment.
David Coates, the reputable NRHS coach, told The Clarion-Ledger that he's not playing Bibbs because he's a star athlete, but because he made a "decision to do what's best for the kid."
There's no reason not to take the coach at his word. But one has to question whether the decision to keep a person indicted for a felony on the field is the best decision for the rest of the kids watching the situation.
Students do have a right to get an education in the public schools. An indictment on serious criminal charges doesn't eliminate that right. But does that same right extend to playing football or basketball, performing in the school chorus or band or other extra-curricular activities?
The school seems to suggest that such a right exists. It doesn't.
There's no constitutional right to play football in the public schools. That's a privilege granted by the school district, the coaching staff and earned by the student.
The tough questions
One has to pose the difficult questions in this dilemma.
What if the student in question had been arrested on a charge of rape or murder? Would the Rankin County School District still want to protect the student's "right" to play football?
Would the parents of the other children in the school put up with it? Or have we simply reached a point in our society in which winning athletic programs are so important that we'll turn a blind eye to any criminal behavior if a person is handy with a football?
There's no sense trying to crucify Coates over his call in this case. His decision is in keeping with similar decisions made almost daily in the college and professional sports ranks.
There is far greater danger in the message sent to the rest of the student body by allowing Bibbs to continue to play than there is in keeping him in school but taking away his privilege to play football.
High school football players routinely get cut from the team for failing to show up at practice or the weight room. Players get cut from the team for failing to meet their academic responsibilities.
Whether NRHS, the Rankin County School District and the Cougar coaching staff intend it or not, the message is going forth that a felony indictment on a charge of selling crack cocaine isn't a serious enough offense for a star athlete to lose his place on the team.
Every kid in the Rankin County school district is watching this situation. So are school children across this state.
Next time a kid is expelled from NRHS, one would assume it will be for an offense more serious than being indicted on a felony drug sale charge.
Sid Salter is Perspective editor of The Clarion-Ledger. Call him at (601) 961-7084 or e-mail
ssalter@clarionledger.com.
