si.com
Sabbath conflict may end playoff run
Jewish boys hoops team won't play on Saturday
Posted: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM; Updated: Wednesday February 27, 2008 6:48PM
DENVER (AP) -- State senators have taken up the cause of a Jewish boys basketball team whose playoff run may be halted because its players can't play on the Jewish Sabbath.
The Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy team could be headed for a regional championship on Saturday, March 8, if it wins one more game. But the Denver team's religious beliefs prohibit students from playing on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday.
If Herzl/RMHA makes it to the regional championship and refuses to play a Saturday game, another school would be "chosen" to take its place, CHSAA commissioner Bill Reader said.
Earlier this month, the Colorado High School Activities Association, which governs sports and other high school activities, rejected the team's request for a schedule change.
At the end of morning debate in the state Senate on Wednesday, Majority Leader Ken Gordon, D-Denver, called on the CHSAA to be more flexible.
Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said the CHSAA's decision was ironic because it has a rule barring games from being played on Sunday for religious reasons.
Sen. Tom Wiens, R-Sedalia, said there must be a way for the CHSAA to accommodate the team.
"It just seems like the bureaucracy has run amok here," Wiens said.
Bruce H. DeBoskey, mountain states regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said the group was disappointed by CHSAA's decision.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Oops.
