Fight Mars Kids' Fun

In what should have been one of the most exciting times in a young child's life, a fight occurred in their presence and is perhaps a scene that will linger with them years from now. A Monroe City Academy League (MCAL) sponsored championship basketball game between 8-9 year old girls was held at Marbles Community Center in Monroe, LA on Saturday, February 19, 2022, but ended badly. The game ended with the Academy Bulldogs/Tigers winning by a 9-8 score, but the game was all about young little girls playing a game, just having some fun. Once the game was over, things got ugly. Very ugly. A young female adult allegedly walked across the basketball court towards the winning team and berated the referees in a loud voice, claiming that they cheated the Bulldogs/Tigers, causing them to lose. The next thing that allegedly occurred was a coach was yelling at the referees, as another young Black man from the losing team side also confronted the refs. This quickly led to more heated words being exchanged by people who supported the winning team, which led to punches being thrown. Sources say that one particular individual tried to diffuse the situation as it rapidly got out of hand but wound up hit by someone rendering that person unconscious. Sources also say that a senior female also somehow got involved in the melee and was knocked to the floor. One eyewitness at the game said that security on hand at the game tried their best to diffuse the situation but were unable. Things escalated so quickly, as no one was backing down. Someone yelled out that the police were on their way, which led those who allegedly started the incident to leave the premises. Sources say that it appeared that no one was arrested. MCAL did what it wanted to do since its inception, which was to establish sport-based activities for all kids, particularly those at-risk. The championship game was all about the kids, as they would play the last game of the season to see who the champion would be. It was supposed to be about winning but also about sportsmanship. It was also supposed to develop social skills, even in basketball. Social skills in respecting your opponents on the court and to play a good clean game. Somehow, a small group of adults made the game about themselves. This was not a high-stakes to the death encounter, nor was there a million-dollar prize waiting for the winner. It was 8–9-year-old kids doing what those adults did when they were their age. Unfortunately, those young Black adults must have thought that something was being taken away from them. It was a 9-8 score, something that will not topple the walls of Jericho. Those young Black adults/parents set a bad example for their kids. It is a game officiated by human beings, doing something that the majority of us honestly couldn't do a better job of doing what referees do. It is a game where there will be a winner and a loser. There is nothing wrong with losing, because as Lynn Anderson sang in her song, "I never promised you a rose garden", that "along with the sunshine, there's got to be a little rain sometimes".

The same logic applies to sports. Just ask the Cincinnati Bengals. One thing that young Black adults, especially Black men, should remember is that we need to teach the young ones the "ups/downs" of life, as losing is always a teachable lesson. We need to learn how to lose before we can know how to win. What happened at Marbles Community Center served no useful purpose for those 8–9-year-old. No purpose at all. Hopefully, it got some, if not all of those young adults, to re-examine themselves and say, this is not how I want my child to be. The incident was ugly. It had no place at a kids' basketball game. Let's hope that will never happen again at any sporting events for our kids. The parents owe them that much and more. There are three sides to every story. This was one side of this story. The Monroe Dispatch welcomes another or the other side of this story.

On a community note: A "Dedication Ceremony" will be held Saturday, February 26, 2022, at the Emily P. Robinson Community Center in Monroe LA, as the room will be dedicated to longtime community activist Linda Faye Wilson C who died about seven years ago. The "Linda Faye Wilson Comanche Senior Room" is dedicated to her passion in working in arts/crafts. The dedication is being solely done by the E.P. Robinson Advisory Board for the Southside Improvement Association and Mt. Nebo B.C. Playground Committee. The city of Monroe is expected to issue a proclamation in Comanche's honor.