Playing against prejudice: Teams from FLDS area face plenty of obstacles

http://deseretnews.com/

By Ben Winslow
Deseret Morning News

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — The insults hurled at the kids were cruel.
"Plyg kids!" they would shout. "Go home to your wives!"
The players on the El Capitan School basketball teams just ignored it.
"They'd try to pick fights at us and throw snowballs at us," said 14-year-old
David Hammon. "I don't really mind, 'cause it makes me play better."
This year, no one is making fun of them.
That's because the boys and girls teams have dominated the competition with
an 11-5 season for the boys, and a 13-2 record for the girls.
The El Capitan Eagles are playing with numerous obstacles in their path. They
come from an area notorious for polygamy and a lot of negative publicity
accompanying it. Their school district is under financial control of the state
of Arizona — more fallout from the multi-state crackdown on the Fundamentalist
LDS Church and its leader, Warren Jeffs.
Both inside and outside these communities, some don't want these kids to
play.
"This is one of the most positive things that has come out of this community
in a long time," said boys coach Joel Heaton.

A new game
Up until a few years ago, Colorado City never really had a sports program.
Culturally speaking, athletic competition is often frowned upon in these
fundamentalist communities.
"I went to school here, and I loved sports," said Carol Timpson, the
principal of El Capitan. "I would have loved to have the chance these kids
have."
Girls team coach Natalie Zitting pushed to bring athletics to El Capitan.
"They told us we could do it as long as the school really didn't have to come
up with too much money because they're in receivership and on a tight budget,"
she said.
The Colorado City Unified School District was taken over by the state of
Arizona after a 2005 raid amid allegations of financial mismanagement — tied to
the FLDS Church. That makes funding an athletic program of any kind difficult at
this school.
There is no alumni. There is no booster club or cheerleaders.
"It's really kind of a miracle we have a program at all," Heaton said.
Zitting volunteers her time. Heaton receives a small stipend and drives from
Hurricane early in the morning to hold practice. For many kids, this is their
first exposure to the world of high school athletics.
"When I first came to school, I didn't expect to play," said Curtis
Blackmore, 17.
When she first started, 18-year-old Lestie Williams couldn't steal the ball
away without offering a meek "excuse me" or "I'm sorry." She's since learned to
be more aggressive.
"I didn't even know how to dribble a ball," Williams giggled. "I just got so
excited and I put myself out there and tried my best. I love playing."

Prejudice
The Eagles are not afraid to dream big.
"Our goal is in four years to be going to a state championship," said Heaton.
"That would be really great if we could compete with the likes of Valley High
School, Panguitch, Paiute, Bryce Canyon. We beat Milford this year."
For now, they have to be content with playing unaffiliated teams. For their
last game of the season, they played the Diamond Ranch Academy, a nearby school
for troubled teens.
Zitting has tried to book games with other schools. After learning where El
Capitan is, some suddenly became too booked. When they would get a game, Zitting
recalled hearing things like "Hang the prophet" and "Inbreds" being shouted at
the kids.
"The sad thing is nobody ever stopped them," she said. "The coaches never
stopped them. The principals didn't stop them."
Williams said they have had to earn respect from everyone they played.
"You can't make fun of someone that beat you," she said.
The girls played for three seasons without a win. Last year, they turned it
around.
"They've just blown them away," Timpson said, smiling with pride.
To watch the Eagles play, you are stuck by how much they give. Racing up and
down the court, the kids aggressively hustle for the ball.
"We're kind of short on the height, so we have to get ourselves in there. We
have to do what we can," Williams said. "And play a good game."
Zitting said her girls play like they have nothing to lose.
"They have so much heart," she said. "They're so used to being underdogs."

Community support
Most players are FLDS dissidents or members of the neighboring fundamentalist
community of Centennial Park, Ariz.
"We're all equals on the court," said Marcus Zitting, 15. "We do have a lot
of different religions mixed on our team. We just play."
El Capitan serves kindergarten through 12th grade. The entire student body is
about 450, and it has rallied around the home teams.
"These teams are really leaders in our school. They're all pretty good in
academics," Timpson said.
Family support also comes in big numbers and packed bleachers.
"We feel like the basketball is also leading these kids to better things,"
said Jethro Barlow, who was at Friday night's game to cheer on his son.
Being a player isn't cheap. They have to pay for physicals, jerseys,
insurance, trips and other costs.
"That's tough in a community that's in a high poverty area," said Timpson.
"It amazes me when parents say, 'I value this' and put money into it."
Not all parents are supportive. Some frown on their children playing sports
with more important things to worry about.
"To their credit, they've allowed their children to make that decision,"
Heaton says.
Asked if he'll return next year, 15-year-old Jared Hammon shrugs.
"It depends what my dad thinks," he said. "He's really not good with this. He
never comes to our games."
"We have responsibilities at home," adds his brother, David.
"We have a big family," said Jared. "Here, we have to respect my dad."

Fund-raising
Basketball is the only sport offered at El Capitan. They had baseball — until
they lost their coach.
"We're really limited in who we can get to coach. If we can get a coach, we
can put a program together," Timpson said, adding that she would love to offer
wrestling and volleyball.
The school desperately wants to be a 1A team in the Utah High School
Activities Association, but they have many hurdles.
"We've got to get a new gym," Heaton said.
The UHSAA requires a gym that seats 500 to 700 spectators. The tiny El
Capitan School gym seats maybe 150 at most. To build a new gym, the coaches are
doing a lot of fundraising. Heaton contacted the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns
for money, equipment, anything to help grow a basketball program. He asked
another high school to let him copy their gym plans.
Their current gym doesn't even have a permanent scoreboard. Zitting is
reaching out to the rest of Utah and Arizona for help.
"I want to challenge people from around the surrounding communities to say,
'We aren't prejudiced. We'll donate to you guys,"' she said. "Wouldn't it be
incredible to get a gym? It's not support for Warren Jeffs, it's support for the
kids."

Game time
In a pre-game huddle inside a tiny classroom near the gym, Heaton gave his
team a pep talk.
"It could be next year we don't have a program, so this is our focus, this
game right now," the coach said. "This year you are what?"
"EAGLES!" the boys shout back.
The boys shared warm-up time with little children who would run across the
tiny gym floor or try to shoot some baskets of their own. The opposing team
showed up, looking stunned to see a cramped gym.
"They don't even have a scoreboard!" laughed a player for Diamond Ranch.
The boys took the court and annihilated the Diamondbacks, 79-35. The girls
won 45-17.
Each time the Eagles would score, the crowd roared.
"Go Eagles!" kids would shout.
"This is such a positive thing," Heaton said. "We haven't had any good come
out of this community for so long. This basketball program is one that if we can
get it to stay — and that's a big if — we need some help. We really do."