These past few days I have felt some real rage.
My daughter Allison is playing high school basketball, and it is a whole different level of playing than our quiet and fun church team games.
The other day she came home and explained that a girl on the other team had punched her in the eye when no one was looking. I guess she had stolen the ball from this girl twice and so SHE PUNCHED HER in the eye. And yes, the next day she was sporting a shiner that turned a lovely purple shade and now is winding down to a yellowish green.
The rage I felt towards this girl was so real and overwhelming. Ally just brushed it off, but I have had to give some serious thought to what my response would be if I had been in the stands and had watched this bully punch my daughter. The game was an away game and Paul and I did not attend, but I have some real issues about watching my children get hurt. It’s one thing if it is an accident, but if someone intentionally assaults them, my claws come out.
I played basketball all during my middle school years, and remember playing some tough girls from the east side of the Detroit area. Any place east of woodward was considered a much tougher part of the city. And for our church competitions, I remember some nasty scratching and elbows in the face.
We have a long and serious tradition of Mormon Basketball jokes in the LDS world. “Mormon Basketball: the only fight that starts with a prayer” etc etc..
But again, this was my child being punched, and I have not settled my heart on the matter. I plan to attend a home game tomorow night, and my number one goal is not to embarrass Allison. She said that in talking with her coach after she was punched, she was glad I was not in the stands because she knew exactly how I would have responded to seeing her hit.
Anyway, I suppose we shall see, the basketball season is long and intense and I have many, many games to observe and watch. I’m not so sure I’ll be able to sit on my hands if I see her assaulted again.
Jenny Hatch