



As someone who played organized basketball in middle school, I can tell you that it is most definitely "serious business." When you're an 11 year old kid, you don't have the luxury of exaggerating and/or outright lying about the greatness of your athletic accomplishments; you have to prove it on the hardwood in front of your peers (and possibly any girls that may be watching).





Even though kids are expected to be hormonal and crazy at that age when it comes to competitive sports, parents can be just as bad, if not worse. I was very fortunate to have a dad/coach that stressed sportsmanship and being proud of how we played no matter what the outcome. These days, it seems that more and more children aren't as lucky.









On Friday, March 9 of 2012, a 6th grade boys basketball game had just concluded at the Holy Name School gymnasium in Springfield, Massachusetts. As the teams walked onto the court and lined up to shake hands, all hell broke lose, prompting this very bizarre series of 911 calls