Readers speak out on BE, PSHS sports competitions

On Sept. 20, Bishop England and Philip Simmons High Schools announced they would no longer compete against each other in sporting events.

 

The announcement came a week after the crosstown rivalry football game between the two teams was played with no fans, after Bishop England officials cited “concerns posted on social media across the state and country containing threats of violence, and due to the current climate between our fan bases.”

 

With the schools no longer playing each other in sports, how do you feel about the decision?

 

Comments: Tell us how you think the situation should be resolved in the future. To see all the reader comments for this and past surveys, go online to bit.ly/45vehL9.

 

• The offender needs to suffer consequences and security measures put in place. 

 

• The heads of both schools should consider a neutral site for the football games, as well as for other sports.

 

• Meetings between student-led groups to build necessary bridges. Don’t overthink it, and administrators, don’t overreact. Handle conflict. Real world.

 

• There should be NO future or further games between the two schools!!!

 

• In a small community like ours, I would have expected both administrations to come together to work towards a solution. While there are a few bad actors on both sides causing pain and hurt across the community, the majority are supportive and loving of one another. This was a wonderful opportunity for the admins to lead and give our children the tools to come together and learn that separation never works and only creates deeper trauma and anger. Shame on both schools for their lack of leadership.

 

• Social media blew this whole thing up. There are many examples of local high schools “hating/not liking” the other team. The BE administration is in the wrong for this.

 

• BE should own and address its own issue and not make its other players, its fans, and PSHS’s players and fans suffer because of BE’s mishandling of the situation.

 

• Social media is only going to get worse over the years and we can’t simply cancel our lives due to poor internet behavior. The schools need to create a no tolerance policy with strict punishment for any child threatening or causing violence at school functions.

 

• Using the phrase “climate in the country” as an excuse, is just crap. If something specific happened, address the students. Punish the students that did something wrong. But to say because of the climate in the country, then you should cancel all your sports - because that climate would not just apply to two schools. But they won’t do that this is, there is clearly something else going on here

 

• BE penalized by league in either forfeit or banned from league. Individual players banned from season.

 

• By not placating to the least common denominator. Set the tone as adults regarding how to persevere through challenging times.

 

• Bishop England is totally in the wrong. They need to grow up.

 

• They need to act like adults and resolve this conflict. It sends a terrible message to our youth that the leaders of these two schools can’t resolve this issue and instead opt to take the easy way out.

 

• We cannot be this soft as a society. We cannot allow parents to not be able to watch their kids compete because of administrator bureaucrats. Increase security or whatever but it’s a part of competition and athletics

 

• Those posting inappropriate content should be punished and leadership and coaches should explain respect, integrity, accountability, and the consequences of bad conduct to the team and students.

 

• In the future you make an example out of the people behaving poorly and at the event you have zero tolerance policy: anyone acting out of sorts is kicked out and banned from all future PSHS or BE sporting events.

 

• Bishop England’s decision was a solution looking for a problem and I lost respect for them. There are ZERO issues between the BE and PSHS student bodies other than a healthy rivalry and an enthusiastic fan base on both sides. Everyone loses based on this decision. BE should have simply handled the isolated incident with their student appropriately and just moved on rather than using it as an excuse for eliminating the fans this year and from playing PSHS going forward.

 

• Threats of violence should be dealt with firmly and swiftly. We need to keep our kids safe and there are many ways we can do that. We should be taking proactive steps towards making our world a safer place (common sense gun laws is a great place to start). Canceling sporting events is such a sad outcome. We are neighbors and should be building each other up.

 

• Remove the offending players from ALL sports. Let the teams play.

• The students involved with threats should have been isolated and benched.

• Children involved punished. Adults/admin should acknowledge how they will handle future incidents better and kids should be given a second chance. All players/fans be forced to take online training or do community service before attending/playing again.

• Just add more security.

• A student should be suspended or expelled, depending upon the severity of offense, or if a player on a team, not allowed to participate for remainder of school year, with a probationary period for the following year (if there is another year). Learning how to deal with things of this nature in the proper manner is essential in these times. Violence and avoidance is not the answer. Learning and accountability needs to occur. The entire student body of both schools should not be punished for a few bullies. The bullies won and now will continue to win while the student body is missing on some great competition and experiences and teachable moments.

• I think that BE needs to discipline their students for posting racist comments on social media. Use this opportunity to teach kids about how there is no room for hate and that they should love everyone…

• Why is it only PHS and BE? Why aren’t the other schools in our state canceling games?…

• …Their choice to stop all games only created more tension and division.

• Punish the perpetrator, apologize to the community and move on. They couldn’t figure out this simple solution?

• After a one year break, the schools should resume playing each other. The schools should also organize charity volunteer service opportunities and community service opportunities where students from each school are encouraged to get to know one another and volunteer for the good of the community. This would help break down stereotypes and get the kids to meet students at the other school.

• …As a Daniel Island resident, it was insulting that we were not allowed to watch our children play a game in our own neighborhood. Bishop England no longer wishes to play us in basketball or football citing the large fan draws as dangerous is further insulting. For the record, the football matchup last year between the two took place at Philip Simmons without any drama or incident. This could have been the case again this year at BE had this incident been handled more appropriately.

• Handle the individual directly and be honest. It would have settled everyone’s emotions. Tensions rose when they didn’t think Bishop England was handling the situation.

• Discipline any kid that threatens the security of another student, team or school. Why hasn’t there been any discussion around corrective action taken? It shows students we accept their behavior and sets the exact opposite message and president needed

• I think the teams should continue to play each other. I don’t think there is truly a “situation” to be resolved.            

• It doesn’t matter what people think. The schools’ administrators are the ones who get to make these decisions, whether the public agrees or not. Stay out of it. This is a pathetic attempt to get a story for attention. Leave it alone.

• Hold offenders responsible with harsh penalties.

• Considering BE was the school that had the problem student…, I don't understand why BE wanted to cancel future games with Phillip Simmons. Seems to me to punish the student that made the posts and let the rest of the kids play on.      

• Parents can volunteer to watch the stands. Reminder regarding sportsmanlike conduct.

• Social media posts should be associated only with the individuals who make the posts. We shouldn't let social media influence our decisions on real in person interactions. Leave all that online. Don't bring it on the field.

• First off, people are morons. Why is it that an athletic event should lead to violence or racial discrimination. Both sides should be embarrassed. Parents need to do a better job at raising their kids, and then take responsibility for their own actions.…                

• For the perpetrators, bring the fullest powers of the law upon them, no matter age or school affiliation.   

• Students and parents identified as posting socially charged remarks should be expelled.

• In the future, strict consequences should be imposed on individuals responsible for harmful behavior, rather than canceling events for all. Schools should implement clear policies promoting accountability, education on diversity, and stronger collaboration to ensure that competition continues without disruption, fostering unity and respect among students.

• Parent involvement - security - live your life and don't be intimidated or swayed by social media and one or two individuals

• Rather than punish all athletes and fans of both schools, impose immediate, fair and proportionate consequences for individuals who violate rules or norms of behavior.

• This is a teachable moment. The students and athletes involved need to learn how to resolve differences and understand the meaning of sportsmanship. The adults, coaches, and administrators involved should schedule counseling sessions to help students and athletes resolve differences. The two teams. should meet face to face, something so rare today, and discuss the conflict. I'm sure no one wants to play without fans, but if the way to resolve this situation is to ignore it out of fear, then no one learns anything. This is about the most childish solution I can imagine. Adolescents need to be taught that someday they may encounter people they don't like but may still have to work with. What then?

• Why not bring student leaders and student athletes together from both schools and develop solutions – we need them to learn how to address problems, not ignore them.

• I trust coaches and players from each team had some input. If not, then the coaches and players were denied an opportunity to settle it without parents and administrators. After all they are young men and should be capable of resolving issues. Get into the real world!

• BE hasn’t provided enough information for us to say if it was truly warranted or not. My guess is that they are tight lipped about it because the decision is rooted in an unrelated dispute and the social media post was simply a scapegoat.

• I am never a fan of the actions of a few ruining a typically fun great rivalry. If you want to punish the kids or adults that are or would act poorly then that is what should be done but condemning both school and all of those fans is absolutely ridiculous. Our family has always enjoyed this friendly rivalry and it will be sad to think it would never happen again.

• The school should have removed the students/players who were causing issues and use this as a teachable moment in both schools. The entire student body was punished for a few bullies and this showed the bullies that they can do whatever they want and get away with it. This was a foolish decision.

• The rhetoric and attitudes of both fan bases are unacceptable. … I think a hiatus/break from playing games to allow cooler heads to prevail is essential. DI sends kids to both schools. They are part of our community and the schools should engage in athletic competitions, but the student behavior on both sides is unacceptable.

• The problem was BEs intent with the initial request to not play just basketball or football. Philip Simmons replied with we play all sports or none. With this scenario in mind, Philip Simmons made the right choice.

• BE has never publicly acknowledged, apologized or been transparent about the post made by one of their students. The Bishop England’s student’s post and its role in the events that unfolded has been downplayed and ignored by the school in its press releases. Had it been acknowledged, then perhaps a teachable moment may have been exercised for both sides on how hateful content like this should not and will not be tolerated. A public acknowledgment and apology by BE could have done wonders to heal the rift between the two fan bases. Instead the PSH fan base was presented to media as dangerous and confrontational. The BCSD spokesperson has stated in press releases that no evidence of threats were ever uncovered. Yet, this narrative of threats by BE has painted PSH inaccurately is unfair to the PSH community.

• Hard to call a 5-year-old rivalry a tradition but they are the closest school to BE so it’s as close as they can get to a rivalry. They should expel all kids involved and keep playing with additional security.

• BE should have accepted responsibility and dealt with the situation instead of presenting this as a “both sides” issue. Then the community could have come together and moved on. Instead, they shifted blame, avoided accountability, and proposed a remedy that wouldn’t not only divide the community but divide the teams at PSH. PSH made the right decision to stand together with all teams and players!

• It is a shame that the Phillips Simmons administration wouldn’t allow the games for other sports (other than football and basketball) to continue.

• When the students at both schools can be more sportsmanlike, they should resume playing. However, BE is now in 4A, so their games don’t even count towards their conference records anyway. So, it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

• The games should have continued to prevent bad actors from feeling empowered by their behavior. Canceling the competition sends the wrong message and allows negative actions to overshadow the positive aspects of sportsmanship and community.

• Local high school rivalries of close neighborhood schools have existed for decades – just walking away is not a good example of solving problems.

- Student Body President Philip Simmons High School, Amelia Perkis