I was really disappointed to learn of the arrests of three Lanett High athletes as the result of a fight that took place this week on the school campus. At first there was some disbelief. It just didn’t sound like something these guys would be involved in. Each one of them had much to do with Lanett High’s championship legacy over the past three years, and this incident does put a dark cloud over something that had been bright and sunny.

After much reflection over it, I don’t think it takes away from what LHS did in basketball over the past three years and in football this past season. I think they are good kids but just got carried away one day and did something they are already regretting. Championships are made by players who bond together as a band of brothers to accomplish high goals. I know they are at the core good people and I’m hopeful they can go on to college and be successful, responsible men in life. In the long term, what happened on Monday could make they closer and their friendship stronger.

This is the first time something like this has happened in the tenure of Coach Clifford Story, and hopefully nothing like it will happen again.

Putting in context, it’s not nearly as bad as what’s happened on other campuses and with other athletes. No one got killed or seriously hurt. That has happened at other places lately.

Some disciplinary action must be taken, and I’m confident school officials will do the right thing. No one wants something like this to happen again.

Something I do like about Lanett High is the way the teachers and coaches talk to the students about being responsible adults. And they go the extra mile in making playing sports a family event.

This past summer, Coach Story’s wife Krisse headed up an effort to get the moms involved in a camp, where they could learn about what their sons were doing in the Lanett High program. They became better versed in what went on in practice and in the games on Friday nights. It helped them to understand what their son was going through.

As a Lanett High alumnus and a guy who still bleeds black and gold, I am disappointed in what happened on Friday, but I don’t think Lanett is a bad school or that the guys involved in the incident are thugs and bad guys. They made a mistake and should be punished. Hopefully they will learn from it and will be better people for it. I don’t think it should ruin their lives.

I hope we don’t see those names in the police report any more.