By now everone has heard the story regarding Sherrod Brown, his mother and the vote for the stimulus bill. The short version is that Senator Brown's mother passed away recently and her wake and funeral were the day of the stimulus vote. Many people here (and elsewhere) pointed out that a Republican could have stepped up and offered to vote 'aye' as a stand in for Senator Brown so he could mourn with his family. Instead they forced him to fly back to Washington between the wake and funeral to cast his vote (the 60th that Democrats needed)
Earlier this month, there was a similar situation regarding a high school in Illinois but the results were very different due to the class, compassion and respect shown by the students involved (and the teachers who lead them). From more details, follow me after the jump
Here's the background from ESPN
Milwaukee Madison senior Johntell Franklin, who lost his mother, Carlitha, to cancer on Saturday, Feb. 7, decided he wanted to play in that night's game against DeKalb (Ill.) High School after previously indicating he would sit out.
He arrived at the gym in the second quarter, but Franklin's name was not in the scorebook because his coach, Aaron Womack Jr., didn't expect him to be there.
Rules dictated Womack would have to be assessed a technical, but he was prepared to put Franklin in the game anyway. DeKalb coach Dave Rohlman and his players knew of the situation, and told the referees they did not want the call.
The referees had no choice
After the refs called the foul, Dekalb sent senior point guard Darius McNeal to the line to shoot the technical free throws. However, instead of attemptnig to make the shots, McNeal shot the ball about 2 feet and let it roll to the rim. This was done with the blessing/urging of his coach and teammates.
In the end Dekalb lost the game, but that was not what mattered. The Milwaukee Madison coach was so impressed with the sportsmanship (which also included Dekalb agreeing to delay the game and offering to reschedule it) that he wrote in to the local papers, which picked it up and gave it (and the players and coaches invloved) the recognition they deserve.
It really is wonderful that this coach taught his kids to do the right thing and that these kids learned and appreciated the lesson. As Darius McNeal said simply "It was the right thing to do" And as Coach Rohlman pointed out "We got lots of positive calls and e-mails because of it. Even though we lost the game, it was a true life lesson, and it's not one our kids are going to forget anytime soon." Hopoefully this message will spread and percolate up to our political class.