What have Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Joan of Arc and Bernard Mizeki have in common?
Yes, they all suffered for their beliefs, even to the point of death. Bonhoeffer was a strong and outspoken critic of Hitler, which led to his arrest, imprisonment and later hanging.
Martin Luther King was a vocal advocate for human rights only to be assassinated for his stand.
Joan of Arc, while still a teenager, fought for freedom of her country only to be captured and burned to death as a heretic. And closer to home, Bernard Mizeki, was an Anglican Bishop in Mashonaland who was killed for being a missionary, standing for what he believed, caring for the people to whom he was called.
In the sporting world, we have encountered martyrs for different reasons.
Eric Liddell is well known for his stand in not running in the Olympic 100 metres race in 1924 (when he was hot favourite to win) as he would not run on a Sunday on account of his strong Christian conviction.
In a similar way, Michael Jones, who was described by one of his national coaches as “almost the perfect rugby player”, won the Rugby World Cup for New Zealand in 1987, scoring match-winning tries, but missed three World Cup matches in 1991 (including the semi-final which they lost) because they were played on a Sunday.
He was not selected for the 1995 World Cup team because several of their matches would be played on a Sunday. As sportsmen, these men sacrificed much for their beliefs.
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Still in sport, a few years after Michael Jones made his stand, a coach of a basketball team also made a stand, not based on his religious beliefs but on matters of principle. Ken Carter, a former alumnus of the school, was called in to coach the local school basketball team and made worldwide news (and even outrage) by his decision to suspend his undefeated team, even locking them out of the gym, because he was appalled by the players’ attitude.
When he came into the role, he required that the players sign contracts to ensure they would do everything to gain high academic grades.
For him, it was not all about sporting ability or success; it was about the all-round child. Six years later, the situation gained even greater worldwide notice when the film ‘Coach Carter’ was made about him.
When the players did not honour those contracts, he banned them from the team, creating massive opposition, even from the players’ parents, as well as the school, who, it would appear, naively looked to sporting results to build their reputation.
Even when it came to the school Board threatening him with dismissal, he would not be moved from his stance. Even when staff and parents persecuted him, he would not change his position.
He simply said: “If you vote to end the lockout, you won’t have to terminate me; I’ll quit.” He pointed out that “These students are student-athletes. ‘Student’ comes first.”
The bottom line was that, for all his dubious methods, the coach stood up for his beliefs, values, principles, morals. It was not about results or success in one area.
He was seeking to develop young men of values, emphasising the importance of discipline, education, personal responsibility, accountability, integrity, teamwork.
He argued that “It’s the same message that we as a culture send to our professional athletes, and that is that they are above the law. If these boys cannot honour the simple rules of a basketball contract, how long do you think it will be before they’re out there breaking the law?” Crucial lessons needed to be learned, not least standing up for our principles.
In our school sport today, coaches may be faced with similar situations to lower their standards or principles.
Parents pressurise coaches to play their child in the team, to play in a certain position, all the time, in a certain way – in all sorts of ways.
Coaches must stand against such pitiful approaches.
There are many powerful and necessary lessons to be learned for our coaches. They are there to develop the whole child, not just produce victories.
They must stand by the values of the school and the principles of education. As a result, a coach may become a martyr (though not to the point of death) but just as the motto of Bernard Mizeki College, named in honour of the fallen martyr, has as its motto “I have liberated my soul” so the coach will liberate his soul and the souls of those children he is developing.
That is far more important than winning – and they do not need a film or a shrine to record it. Values are far, far more important than victories – end of. Burn me, if you wish.
