Second chances
I read with sadness the story of the Dallastown High School football players dismissed from the team for underage drinking. If the objective is to "teach them a lesson" as I've heard so many say, the fact that your choices have consequences is the most obvious and most important one. Along with that, however, let's teach them that there are second chances in life... and that one mistake doesn't define you as a person.... Let's teach them about the meaning of redemption. And in any event, don't give up on them; don't criminalize them amongst their friends and teammates; and, don't be so quick to take away something that probably means more to them than just about anything else right now, the one thing that enables you to speak into their lives.
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Instead, engage them; challenge them; educate them; believe in them.... Give them a chance to earn their way back on to the team if they're willing to fight for the right to do so. Make them run laps until they puke; do community service; write a research paper on alcohol abuse; attend an AA meeting; talk to my friend who very nearly lost his life because of excessive drinking. Let's "teach them a lesson" all right... but one potentially far greater than what may result from throwing them all away like an empty six-pack.
Winston Wise
York Township
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