Track Star A Friend of the Pole

Where's the sportsmanship? Girl disqualified for wearing bracelet
SI.com

Remember the story of the college softball player who hit the game-winning homer and blew out her knee as she trotted around first base, but was carried to second, third and home by opposing players -- even though she represented the decisive run in a game that determined the championship?

This is not that story.

This is the story of a high school pole vaulter whose successful leap in the last event won the meet and the league championship for her team -- until an opposing coach pointed out she should be disqualified for breaking a rule, reversing the outcome so that his team captured victory and the league title.

The girl's infraction? Wearing a friendship bracelet.

The debatable moment in sportsmanship occurred April 29 in South Pasadena, Calif., where the visiting girls team from Monrovia High was seeking its first-ever Rio Hondo League title against longtime powerhouse South Pasadena High.

With the teams separated by a few points and only the pole vault remaining, Monrovia needed a second-place finish in the event to secure the victory and obtain the title. Both teams gathered around the pole vault pit, loudly celebrating and agonizing over every clearance and miss. Although South Pasadena's Rachel Ma led at 7-feet-6, two Monrovia girls had cleared 7-feet to give their team the lead.

But South Pasadena's best vaulter, Robin Laird, had not competed yet. Now she stood at the top of the runway, preparing for her first vault of the long day.

Laird walked back to the top of the runway, gained her composure, then took off again. This time everything was in sync. She planted the pole, lifted herself into the air and soared easily over the bar to give her team a 66-61 victory. While half the crowd cheered and the other half groaned, Monrovia coach Mike Knowles reacted by pointing to his wrist and gesturing toward Laird, who was wearing a thin, colorful string bracelet.

"This is my 30th year coaching track," Knowles said a few days later. "I know a lot of rules and regulations."

The rule in this case -- Section 3, Article 3 of the National Federation of State High School Associations -- is clear: "Jewelry shall not be worn by contestants." So is the penalty, and in the time it takes to read "the competitor is disqualified from the event," South Pasadena's win was transformed into a 65-62 victory for Monrovia.

South Pasadena coach P.J. Hernandez was dumbfounded.

"I said, 'Coach [Knowles], you really want it to come down to this?' " Hernandez recalled.

When Laird was informed that she had been disqualified because of her bracelet, she burst into tears.

Knowles, 54, is in his first season at Monrovia, but he has won a lot during a career in which he coached Pasadena's storied Muir High to nine CIF-Southern Section championships, three California state championships and one mythical national championship.

"It's unfortunate, that's all I can say," Knowles said. "It's unfortunate for the young lady. But you've got to teach the kids that rules are rules."

Sportsmanship? Who gives a rat's ass about sportsmanship. I want to comment Coach Knowles for teaching these girls a thing or two about the rules. As the great Walter Sobchak once said, "Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules? Mark it zero!" We can't let these high school girls run around willy nilly with friendship bracelets on during track meets. That just leads to frivilous behavior and eventually they end up getting knocked up and flunking out of college. So if you ask me Robin Laird owes Coach Knowles a huge thank you. She'll realize that one day.