A few weeks after I chronicled Rutland’s tentative renaissance in our Feb. 1 cover story, RutVegas is making headlines again — this time in a decidedly less flattering light. The New York Times on Saturday covered the story of talented high school basketball players who left the Bronx behind to attend Mount St. Joseph, Rutland’s small, and by all accounts struggling, Catholic high school.
It seemed like a win-win proposition for everyone involved: The Bronx students enrolled at the private high school and boarded with local host families. In the process, they helped the Mounties turn around a terrifically terrible basketball team. After playing to a 2-18 record in the 2009-2010 season, the Mounties clocked 16 wins last season. This year, the team is 15-1, and blazing a trail to the state playoffs.
Down-on-its-luck high school sports team? Check. Talented young athletes fighting their way out of inner city housing projects? Check. Throw in the setting — hardscrabble, blue collar Rutland — and you’ve got all the makings of a feel-good Hollywood flick.
But not so fast, reports the Times:
This month they beat their archrival, Rutland High School, for the first time in five years, a 62-49 game that drew more fans to Mount St. Joseph’s small gym than it had seen in years.
“I’ve never seen that kind of school pride since I’ve been here,” said Matt Sanborn, a junior from Rutland who is captain of the Division 2 team.
Though the atmosphere that night was electric, nasty comments have flown on Facebook, at basketball games and elsewhere in town, directed not only at the players, but also at Mr. Benetatos and Cam Gilligan, a local woman who agreed to host four of the boys in a modest brick home here. Racial epithets have been directed at the boys, all five of whom are black, as well as taunts like “Go back to New York.”
Some say Mount St. Joseph is cheating, and that the new students are shoving local kids off the court. Countering the outcry about the “imports,” officials at Mount St. Joseph say the decision to enroll the four Bronx students was about fulfilling the school’s mission, not about winning basketball games. What’s certain is this: In a city that’s trying to claw its way out of economic depression, a story about racial prejudice and small town xenophobia scores no one any points.
Photo by Caleb Kenna.
This article appears in The Love & Marriage Issue 2012.
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As an ex-VT basketball player, I’m torn about this. While it is an uplifting story, and it’s great that the boys are trying to make the most out of their lives…from a sports standpoint, this is absurd. MSJ is a Division 2 team, and our own D2 team beat up on them several times. The four Bronx kids, who happen to be more talented (purely on population odds) than almost anyone they go up against bring an incredibly unfair advantage. No way in hell should they beat Rutland in an even game. Good for them for doing what they can with the resources available, but players of their talent levels should be playing for a D1 school, for fairness’ sake.
There’s no excuse for prejudice or bigotry.
Whats so unfair about 4 guys who apparantly have worked harder at becoming the best they can possibly be at what they do ? Everyone else has the same opportunity to bring their game to a higher level. These guys didnt just crawl out of their cribs and suddenly have the ability to break ankles on the court. Div. 1, Div 2 whatever- Rutland will be a better team because of their game experience against a talented MSJ squad.
When I played high school ball for Fair Haven in the late 70’s, we played against a dominating Burr & Burton team that had some players from Ornsby Hill, an exchange program for inner city students to experience school life in Vermont. They dominated Div. 2 as well but they packed the house and we got fired up to play them. They made us a better team and the experience was all positive. Disgruntled fans who have racial issues need to check themselves & get a life. Just when I thought Rutland was turning the corner….
My name is Steven Greene and I played on the Burr & Burton championship team 1975-1976. Ormsby Hill was a beautiful experience and it gave me an opportunity to receive a better education than schools in New York City. Basketball was only a small part of my years at BBA. To this day I am very grateful to Burr & Burton Academy and the Ormsby Hill Program for the opportunities that was given too me.