Everyone knows that high school sports hit close to home for most Americans. The average two-child family is likely to have at least one child who competes in some interscholastic sports in high school or middle school, a process which draws them into their own community’s sports, and often prep sports as a whole.
Yet state governors usually have more important things to focus on then prep sports, unless some major misjustice has been perpetrated. That, apparently, is where the current curious tale of Illinois governor Pat Quinn comes in.
As reported by the Chicago Tribune, Quinn gave an emotional speech in which he attached his own alma mater, Oak Park (Il.) Fenwick High, because the school fired his brother as its varisty basketball coach.
“He’s a kind and gentle man who understands the importance of sportsmanship, and I feel that my high school has lost its soul,” Quinn told the media.
To be fair, the decision to take the less famous Quinn, John Quinn, away from prep basketball is an odd one. The coach has won 469 games across 28 years en route to an induction in the Illinois High School Hall of Fame. He is also a Golden Apple teacher, according to the governor.
So why is Fenwick breaking with the man who has built their program up from the ground?
That’s a question plenty of people would love to know, not least of all the man who leads the state from Springfield.
“It’s a devastating blow to my brother, John, and I think the administration there has let down the students, the alumni and shame on them.”
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