DON McDERMOTT MORE COLUMNS Advertisement

Who's to blame for the forfeitures that ruined the Eldorado High School girls' basketball season -- and could have knocked out the Desert Pines boys as well?

Let's say ... everybody in general ... no one in particular.

Everyone?

* The girls, for being absent from class, or from school, on the day of a game, without that absence being excused -- and when they know they have to be present and accounted for ...

* The parents, for not being aware that their children were conning teachers, coaches, administrators, the janitors, the bus drivers, and in particular, their classmates by skipping.

Parents need long memories, like back to the days when they were teenagers looking for the scam, one as simple, but potentially costly, as skipping class.

* Classmates? Sure, they know that if a pal or girlfriend dodge the rules, that friend could get in trouble.

Classmates know the rule, too, that being in school on the day of the game is one of the first things an athlete in any sport is told. And it is a rule parents should know as well.

* Teachers? Most definitely. One of their jobs is to make sure everyone is in class, and if someone is missing, find out why -- immediately, if not sooner.

There could be something more sinister than someone not being in his or her seat. Illness, distracted to the point of not being aware of the time, or -- in some kind of legal trouble.

* The administrators, for not having better security measures.

The lack of surveillance techniques -- either by indoor and outdoor cameras or hall guards -- enables kids to hit the exit doors running to daylight.

* The coaches, for not doing a simple body count periodically during the school day. He (or she) doesn't necessarily have to do that check in person. There are assistant coaches, teachers, cell phones, intercoms, or how about this tactic?

Simply, walking down the hallway to check out the library, the gym, the nooks and crannies where kids like to hide out -- just to get away from it all (especially on game day, when stress begins to rise and causes an upset stomach or a headache or any number of other ailments, real or imagined.

* The media, for whatever sins people like to pile on the guys and gals who write or report sports for newspapers, television and radio(?). All that public attention to a 14-, 15-, 16- or 17-year-old athlete may be fun to some, but if publicity paints a target on that unsuspecting girl or boy, chaos can ensue.

The media has to recognize a basic fact; they are reporting on impressionable, super-sensitive (or painfully shy) individuals.

At the high school level, the game is about the team, not a solitary player, regardless of how talented he or she may be.