Raw deal for McDonald
Cross Country Trails
Dave Dyer
A beautiful day with some spectacular performances at the [Massachusetts] All-State Meet at Northfield Mountain over the weekend could have put a perfect ending to the cross country season.
It's too bad that the MIAA officials on hand had to put a damper on the day.
Technically, they were in the right and just applying the rules when they disqualified Pentucket junior Eric McDonald for uttering a profanity as he finished third at the Division 2 All-State Meet. But was it the right thing to do? The answer is, without a doubt and for several reasons, no.
McDonald and his coach, Darrel Cox, were told that McDonald made his comment loud enough so that parents and children could hear it and would be offended.
I could argue that, in today's society, there is little that offends, but that's another story. But, first of all, I question how loud McDonald's utterance really was.
I was 10 yards from the finish line on one side and heard nothing, and our photographer, Andy Baumgartner, was on the finish line on the other side and likewise didn't hear a thing. Neither did Timberlane Regional coach Mark Behan, who was also at the finish line.
How can a profanity be so offensive if few hear it?
Another point is that there should be a distinction between swearing at another competitor, or an official, and shouting out in frustration at your own performance. McDonald was upset with himself for being outkicked at the finish, nothing more.
Sure, he should have accepted his fate without an unfortunate comment, but the penalty does not fit the (minor) crime. Wouldn't it have been better for an official to take McDonald aside and have a little lecture
about good sportsmanship and to warn him about doing it in the future.
As a baseball umpire, I can tell you that I make a distinction | as long as equipment is not tossed | between players who make comments when they're upset with themselves versus those who verbalize intending to insult, demean or just disagree. Basically, I give them a warning and say this will be their only mulligan.
The MIAA officials claimed, according to McDonald and Cox, that they didn't have any choice but to disqualify him, but they definitely did. With almost any rules, there are different ways of interpreting and applying them.
Fortunately, McDonald was running as an individual and not as a member of a full team, because how fair would that have been if his unjust disqualification affected the team results?
It was bad enough that it had a profound effect on McDonald. He's not even listed on the official results, meaning that college coaches may wonder if he dropped out, or even competed. Worse, perhaps some will now
consider him a hothead or even a bad apple.
Which is not the case according to Cox, as well as runners like Hamilton-Wenham winner and Cape Ann League rival Gabe Pacione, who called the MIAA decision "horrible," and Haverhill standout Pat Fullerton, who
e-mails McDonald on a regular basis.
"I've never had a problem with Eric, which I can't say about everyone," said Cox. "He's a competitor who loves to race, and hates to lose, and that's all."
Unfortunately, by being so inflexible, the MIAA is making it seem that it is not all.
Dave Dyer is an Eagle-Tribune sportswriter.