It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'T is mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown:
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
-William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) ruled that Bishop Fenwick violated MIAA rule 87.6.
They deemed that justice demanded that the four hundred student-athletes of Fenwick be banned from postseason play for a season. News reports characterize Fenwick as acting in bad faith "by not making "a clear and unequivocal, explicit statement of institutional acceptance of compliance" and failing to provide a "full, unqualified assurance of future compliance as required by all members.""
Building straw men from other sports and other situations adds heat without light.
One can reasonably ask questions including:
1) Where is the proportionality between the severity of the offense and the punishment?
2) Why punish the children for adults' offenses?
3) Are there undisclosed offenses or unrevealed agendas?
Proportionality. Many feel that Fenwick has received the "death penalty" for infractions tantamount to jaywalking or illegal parking in a handicapped space. Fenwick acknowledged their mistakes.
Accountability. Part of the problem for Fenwick is that both the Athletic Director and the principal from the time in question are gone. If the MIAA wants a "human sacrifice," a proverbial "head to roll" then who should Fenwick offer up? The students did nothing wrong.
Making an example. You may remember the saying, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky they're gonna give Cleveland State two more years of probation." Maybe you can change that to the MIAA is so mad at Catholic Memorial, Everett, Andover, Malden Catholic (or others) that they're gonna give Bishop Fenwick two more years of probation."
We can't know whether any other historic grievances by MIAA board members might contribute to their highly public rebuke of the Peabody private school.
The MIAA declares it "will promote activities that provide lifelong and life-quality learning experiences to students while enhancing their achievement of educational goals." This observer feels they've scored an 'own goal'.