Hyde Boy’s Basketball Withdraws From MPA [OPINION]

WGME is reporting that the Hyde Boy's Basketball Team in Bath is withdrawing from the Maine Principal's Association and  re-entering the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.

What's disturbing about this, is the reason behind it. According to WGME, Malcolm Gauld the President of the School said

there were questionable calls made by referees and racial slurs yelled at his athletes. Gauld says, “we went to the foul line six times. Our opponent took 45 foul shots and we took six. We just felt like maybe we saw a different game out there.” Between the racial comments and the calls, Gauld says this game was the last straw, “Some pretty insulting racial comments made to our kids and I guess those two things together made us think maybe it's time to move on.”

Gauld says what upset him even more than the comments was that no one told the people yelling them to stop, “it just seemed really inappropriate, the things that were said, and there just seemed to be an approval, maybe a lack of outrage among others about this which made us think maybe we’re in the wrong place.”

 

What I find confusing, is that if you feel that way, why are you allowing, for now, your Girl's basketball team to stay within the Maine Principal's Association? Did anyone from Hyde go and speak to the site director and ask them to do something about the comments that were being yelled? I only can speak from experience in Eastern Maine, but the site directors from the Maine Principal's Association in Bangor are very hands on, and I can't imagine this being allowed. Fans would have been ejected.

If this is solely about racist comments and sticking up for your students, then I can applaud the actions. It sends a powerful message to your students, alumni, staff and the Maine Principal's Association. The fact that the complaint about the disparity in free throws lumped within the comments just makes me go hmmmmm.

I'm sure more will be coming from this. Dick Durost, from the Maine Principal's Association is scheduled to comment on this on Monday.

The Hyde School is a private school with campuses in Bath Maine, and Woodstock Connectibut