Here’s a local story but one telling of a form of stupidity that is all but universal – and of the proper response to it.
Soccer coach Ihab Leheta sees his role as not only instilling a love for the game in his young protégés, but also teaching them some life lessons – such as speaking out when they witness injustice.
The ban on turbans by the Quebec Soccer Federation, despite medical evidence that they pose no danger and a directive from the Canadian Soccer Association that they be allowed, offered Leheta, who coaches under-14 players in Brossard, such an opportunity.
The QSF move, and a suggestion by its director that Sikh children affected by it play soccer in their backyards, sparked outrage in the province, across the country and abroad.
A city councillor in Montreal plans to present a motion denouncing the federation; “disgusted” parents Donald Pinkerton and Philippa Settels have pulled their 6- and 11-year-old sons from Greenfield Park soccer in protest; and a member of the Sikh community in Switzerland has asked Sepp Blatter, president of Zurich-based FIFA, to intervene. Some of the 13 soccer clubs in the West Island are putting pressure on Lac St-Louis Regional Association to appeal to the QSF to reconsider.
Yet the provincial body appears to have dug in its heels, refusing to respond to questions on the issue and removing contact information about its board of directors from its website.
Saddened by it all, Leheta, 46, decided he couldn’t just sit back in silence. He had a chat with his undefeated team last Friday before Saturday’s big game against Granby.
“I asked them what was more important than this game,” Leheta said Monday in an interview. “One said school, another said family, and then someone said injustice.”
Although there are no Sikh boys among the 18 team members, age 14 and under, Leheta asked them what they would do had one of them been excluded because of a turban.
“I told them you can either say: ‘It’s not my problem,’ or you could decide to do something to help out.”
With the enthusiastic support of his players and their parents, the coach headed off to the Sikh temple in LaSalle the next morning before the big match and borrowed 20 orange scarves that the boys then donned as turbans at their game in Brossard.
The referee didn’t object while doing an equipment check, until he spoke to the coach of the Granby team.
“The ref came back [and] said we couldn’t play if we were going to wear the turbans, so I showed him the FIFA rules and he said OK,” Leheta said. “But as I shook hands with the Granby coach before the game, he said he thought what we were doing was stupid.”
The Brossard team lost 2-1 in the end, but learned an invaluable life lesson, the coach said.
The full story is here. (Thanks: JQ.)