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Is this a time when the game is bigger than it should be?
The Wisconsin State Journal reported last week that three starters and a reserve on the Madison Memorial boys basketball team have been charged with retail theft. Seems they had a friend working at a store in the mall who rang up purchases for them for a few dollars rather than the hundreds of dollars the merchandise actually cost.
The players actually sat out one game and then appealed to an athletic board for reinstatement. Their appeal was granted.
Apparently the Madison Memorial athletic code was followed, at least to the bare minimum.
The players then played in the boys basketball state tournament last week. Memorial, the defending state champion, was eliminated and replaced for the title by Germantown in the first Division 1 game Friday.
The question that needs to be asked is were the players allowed to play because it is Memorial, it is the state tournament, and the team wanted to have a chance to repeat as state champions? If that is what happened, something was missed here.
A few weeks ago a talented wrestler was banned from participating in the state wrestling individual tournament because of a hazing incident that resulted in charges.
Seems like a mixed message has been sent.
State titles are great. Our community has several. They are what dreams are made of.
At the Hall of Fame awards ceremony this past season, a very successful cross country coach, Roger Hirstein, said it was great to know you could read about the Dodgeville athletes in the paper for their accomplishments, not in the police report.
That's the way it should be.
Madison Memorial needs to revisit the policy and let their athletes know there will be strong penalties for breaking the law.