It sounds like Danvers hockey team’s locker room was a place for hate - The Boston Globe

Let’s hear from school leaders — and the boys’ parents

As reported by Bob Hohler and Brandon Chase for the Globe, the boys of the Danvers hockey team allegedly turned their locker room into a fearful, dangerous place for members of the team (“Danvers fights airing findings on hockey team: Offensive rituals alleged; report heavily redacted,” Page A1, Nov. 7). With hateful words and violent actions, they took control of what should be a place for young adults to learn teamwork and develop positive relationships with coaches, a place to have fun and enjoy the camaraderie of what it means to be a part of a team. Instead, young people experienced humiliation and fear. School administrators, coaches, and other adults didn’t step forward even though, according to some observers, they had heard or witnessed the behavior.

There was little mention of the hockey players’ first teacher: their parents. What are those role models saying about racism, homophobia, and antisemitism? How could these boys think their behavior was acceptable? Some have said it’s just boys being boys. Is it? Or is it adults being adults?

Deborah Re

President and CEO

Big Sister Boston

Social-emotional learning is not just for the classroom

Re “Danvers High School hockey needs a dose of sunshine” (Editorial, Nov. 9): In my June 23 letter to the editor, “The very structure of school sports is a table setter for abuse,” regarding the case of since-fired Duxbury coach John Blake, I wrote that giving coaches absolute authority over children and encouraging athletic students to obey and remain silent are the foundational pillars for abuse.

Now, the ice hockey program at Danvers High School shows a third structural problem with the prevailing early-1900s model of school sports. Schools lack an enforced, written social-emotional learning/sport psychology curriculum for teams, upon which coaches are evaluated. Such a protocol would have prevented the inexcusable before it began in what can only be described as a culture of hate and derision on the Danvers team.

People perform better in a culture of acceptance and support. If we made learning how to create a positive, safe, and supportive team climate a foundational, scientific, and educational goal for students, then athletics would soon be rid of the negativity that has been associated with too many teams for too long.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must step in because children are suffering long-term consequences from these repulsive activities.

Mitch Lyons

Newton

The writer is founder and retired president of GetPsychedSports.org and the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for Massachusetts.

An antidote to hate: fostering diversity within a community

Re “Troubling graffiti found at school” (Metro, Nov. 10): Hate of the other has a very long history in this country. It is sad that hateful graffiti was discovered in a Danvers middle school.

While education of students (and adults) is crucial, just as important is having diversity within a community. If someone encounters people who look or worship differently or who may have immigrated from a different part of the world, then it is harder to demonize or hate the other. I hope that Danvers and other communities can learn from this episode and welcome the stranger rather than try to drive them away.

Edwin Andrews

Malden

They’ve got to be carefully taught

As an old white guy, I feel an unfortunate need to pass along my opinions. Today’s topic is critical race theory.

Critical race theory was explained pretty well in the musical “South Pacific” back in 1949. The song “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” pointed out that kids aren’t racist when they’re born. If they grow up to be racists, there had to be things in society that made them so. Critical race theory is all about finding those things and stopping them from hurting another generation of kids.

On a personal note, my father told me 50 years ago that racism wouldn’t disappear from this country until his generation had passed from this earth. Well, he’s been gone nearly 20 years, and racism is still awfully common. “South Pacific” and the debate over critical race theory are good explanations of why Dad’s prediction was wrong.

Charles Meins Jr.

Chelmsford

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It sounds like Danvers hockey team’s locker room was a place for hate - The Boston Globe
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