Houston hoopsters win battle to play but fall 4 points short in final

By Uri Fintzy

FORT WORTH, Texas (JTA) — In Texas, they say, high school athletics are a religion. But last weekend the saying took on a new meaning.
The Robert M. Beren Academy, a small Modern Orthodox school in Houston, had captured national headlines during the week. Its boys’ basketball team had earned a berth in the state tournament 2A semifinals, but would have been forced to forfeit because the games coincided with the Jewish Sabbath.

But an 11th-hour legal challenge convinced the tournament organizer, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, to accommodate the team. And last Friday, hours before Shabbat was to begin, Nolan Catholic High School was the place to be for Houston Jews who had made the four-hour trip to cheer on their boys.
Beren would reach the finals on Saturday night but lose, 46-42, to Abilene Christian High School. But even after coming up short, the game’s larger significance didn’t appear lost on the players. For an hour after the final whistle, fans, friends and family lingered in the gym to support the players.
“I am proud to be here,” said Beren guard Isaac Mirwis. “It’s more than just basketball. It’s about being true to who you are.”
That would seem to be the lesson of the whole episode, which saw a little-known Jewish school in Texas cast into the national spotlight for standing firm on its refusal to violate its religious principles for the sake of a basketball game. After a refusal by TAPPS to accede to Beren’s request to reschedule the games, The New York Times, ESPN and other national news outlets picked up the story, which was also much discussed on social networks.
After a second request to TAPPS was denied, it seemed as though Beren was going to have to forfeit. Playing on Shabbat was never considered.

It seemed apropos, that the Beren hoopsters’ determination to stand up for religious freedom would happen as Jews in the Metroplex and around the nation and world prepared for Purim observances. Perhaps one of the most gripping stories of religious freedom for Jews, the situation focused on one’s right to observe, rather than being forced to follow rules violating that observance. In fact, many fans on the Beren side of the gym passed around tins of homemade hamentaschen as the Beren Stars battled Saturday night.
“Our priorities were never shaky,” said Chris Cole, the non-Jewish coach who has guided the Beren team for 10 years. “I learned very quickly that there is no compromise as far as upholding the religious faith.”
On the morning of March 1, several Beren players and parents filed a civil rights motion in federal court accusing TAPPS of religious discrimination and asking for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Before a judge had time to rule on the matter, TAPPS acquiesced and said it would reschedule the games. Dallas attorney Richard Rohan, partner at Carrington Coleman, was the lead attorney who filed the case in Federal Court on March 1. One key to the claim, Rohan explained, was that the initial game was scheduled to be played on a Mansfield Independent School District basketball court, which allowed the state to get involved.
“The experience gave us the opportunity to show how much we care about religion,” said senior Isaac Buchine. “The way you make something special is to sacrifice something that is much greater for it.”

After the decision, Beren players were in Dallas by Thursday night, receiving home-hospitality from Yavneh Academy students and their families. On Friday morning, the Beren Stars practiced in the Bulldog Gym on the Schultz Rosenberg Campus of Akiba and Yavneh Academies. “Dallas has been so amazing,” said Dorit Guttman, mom of junior, Ahrony. Many of the fans had plans to share Shabbat with Dallas families.
By Friday at 2 p.m., it was time for basketball, and the atmosphere in the Nolan Catholic gym was electric for the semifinals. Beren students who had been allowed to leave school early, families with kids and elderly couples were present. In an e-mail to its families on Thursday night, Levine Academy said students wishing to attend the game could do so without penalty as long as work was made up. As a result, stands were filled with supportive elementary and middle schoolers as well as their parents from the school. At halftime on Friday, Lisa Rudner, mom of Levine seventh grade twins Zach and Josh commented. “We’ve won the moral victory, this is all icing.”
Beren also got some support from an unexpected source — members of the Burton Adventist Academy soccer team showed up to cheer them on. Burton had its own beef with TAPPS a few years before over a Saturday soccer game that TAPPS had declined to reschedule.
“The doors were blown wide off,” said Kevin Klein, the Burton coach, of Beren’s earning the right to compete. “Sabbath keepers across Texas don’t have to fear not being able to play.”

Dallas Covenant proved little challenge in the semifinals for the Stars, who breezed to 58-46 victory led by junior Zach Yoshor, to earn a spot in the Saturday night finals.
“We kind of blocked everything out and focused on playing basketball,” Yoshor said.
After the game, the Stars returned to their hotel to prepare for the finals and observe the Sabbath, with special services hosted by the Dallas Jewish community. The next night, with the game set for 8 p.m., the team didn’t arrive until only minutes before tipoff, since Shabbat had ended only minutes before.
In the locker room, Cole tried to fire up his players.
“Now there are no regrets,” he told them. “You are representing your school, your family and your faith. Make everybody proud.”
After a short prayer, the game began. It was a sloppy one for the Stars, with turnovers and easy shots missed. Beren seemed unable to cope with the Abilene defense.
The Beren side of the gym was packed with supporters from around the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, a virtual who’s who in the Jewish community, with all ages and denominations represented. Supporters continued to file into the gym late into the second half. When asked what brought her out to the game, Fort Worth resident Karen Silverberg said, “History… these kids need to know that just because they are away from home, there are a lot of people who care.”
Despite trailing through much of the first half, Beren managed to forge a 19-19 tie shortly before halftime. But a quick rally to start the second half pushed Abilene ahead for good. After the game the Beren players were left in tears, but they had inspired a community.

Robert Beren, the school’s namesake, recognized that the point wasn’t the outcome of a basketball game.
“Win or lose,” Beren said, “this whole experience was a victory for everyone.”
Sharon Wisch-Ray contributed to this report.