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Monday January 26, 2009
CityNews.ca Staff

Last week we told you about a high school in Dallas that beat their opponents so badly in a game of basketball, they actually apologized for it on their website.

But now it seems, not everyone at Convent School was upset about the thrashing the team awarded to their rivals. And it appears to have cost the coach his job.

Micah Grimes was on the bench the day Convent beat Dallas Academy by a score of 100-0. But afterwards, officials with the Christian school apologized for the lopsided victory, saying doling out the humiliation wasn't in keeping with the faith it teaches its students.

Dallas Academy has a very small number of students enrolled and most of them are made up of kids with learning disabilities.

One parent noted Covenant was up 59-0 by the half and that its players continued to aim for 3-point shots even in the fourth quarter, when there was no chance the other team would ever score.

The winning school requested the game be forfeited.

But Grimes disagreed, writing a letter to a local newspaper insisting he didn't feel the same way, and indicating clearly that he didn't share in the mea culpa.

"In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls' basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed," Grimes wrote to the Dallas Morning News. "We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."

The day after the letter appeared, Grimes was told his services were no longer required and he became the school's ex-coach. Officials have so far refused to comment on the reasons for the dismissal or whether the letter prompted the impromptu sacking.

The story has since made headlines around the world, because few places have ever regretted winning, even at another team's expense, and the move has engendered debate about whether a so-called 'mercy rule' should apply to high school sports.

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