Once upon a Kneejerk

The members of the Miami Wardogs and McLain Titans football teams were at midfield shaking hands. Miami had just won a hotly contested district football game 19-18. It appeared as congenital as a post-game ceremony can be.

The gunshot was barely audible on the video. Players and fans alike scattered. Fear seemed to leap from my television. Announcers expressed their confusion.

Just beyond the football field, near the tennis courts, a seventeen-year-old boy died. Even now, that is difficult to write. Someone‚s child died. Three more wounded and their emotional scars will likely exceed their physical ones.

Another 17-year-old child who randomly shot into a crowd will also be lost. A few days later, on local television news, I watched him, head bent with shoulders slumped and his body circled by the arms of his mother and grandmother, as he walked into the police station to surrender. How tough is the other side of the coin? I struggle to imagine how his family must feel.

The local media begin to report the responses of regional schools. Miami Public Schools announced they will never again come to McLain for an activity of any sort. Cleveland Public Schools announced they would not come to McLain for the football game scheduled for the next Friday evening. Cleveland cancelled the game and accepted the forfeit.

I understand schools are responsible for protecting their students and to a degree the parents. But it‚s tough on a group of boys who did nothing wrong.

I just shook my head and stared at the squirrels competing over a peanut while cavorting about my backyard.

Next, someone in the Cushing Public Schools reached out to the McLain football team. The Titans were invited to attend Friday‚s football game between the Cushing Tigers and the Wagoner Bulldogs as guests of the Cushing Public Schools. McLain accepted.

Seating was set aside. Their presence was acknowledged to the overflow crowd. They were warmly received.

We all have kneejerks. It is the human thing to do when placed under stress. Then, we think about it. We consider the facts. The better angels of our nature surface and bring us to display the empathy and compassion we feel for those who did nothing wrong. These kids played a fiercely contested football game, lined up and where shaking hands.

Now, here the Titans were on an Oklahoma fall Friday night, their game cancelled, seated in Cushing watching two future district opponents play. In my mind, it sure beats the alternatives.

I never heard Cushing‚s empathic generosity reported on a local television station.

Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World wrote a superior article about this happening. Bill, thank you for sharing this story. And thank God for newspapers.

McLain Coach Willie Ponder was quoted as saying, “We‚ve been welcomed here with open arms. It‚s a blessing. Look at these kids. They‚re having a great night.”

Good. I really like high school football.

I just want the facts, Ma‚am. – line spoken by Jack Webb in the role of Sgt. Joe Friday in the television series, Dragnet.

Hal McBride writes a column, Just Thinkin‚, published each week.