By:

Alia Amanda
Aisyah Salsabilla

Binus school basketball team was excited to participate the national semifinals in a
week. Coach Jeff has strictly given instruction to practice on time and regularly. Brad and
Mike, apparently, came late in purpose for the practice. Since they have disobeyed coach
Jeff, the school authorities believe that they should be suspended from the team. However,
we believe that kicking them out the team is ridiculous. Brad and Mike still deserve the
chance to stay in the team for several sensible reasons.

People make bad decisions and mistakes, but everyone does deserve a second
chance. Brad and Mike are ordinary students like any of us. Students may sometimes be
lazy, careless, and inappropriate. According to a study in University of California, a
teenager’s brain only uses 38% of its energy for making any decisions. This is why they do
not think twice before they act. Our action is something we can control, however acting that
way is a common behavior among teenagers. Therefore, it is not fair for them to be given a
tough punishment for a simple mistake they made. Moreover, although the boys ended up
late for the practice, Brad and Mike still show their will to participate in the practice. “It is
better late than never”, according to Matthew Henry, an English Clergyman.

Being late purposely or accidentally do not determine success or failure of a

particular competition. A research by Department of Education in the UK shows that
tardiness has a very minimum effect on a student’s achievement. 4 out of 10 who are
regularly late to class, has similar average GPA with those who came on time. Other factors
are way more influential than lateness. From this evidence, we can say that Brad and Mike’s
lateness can still carry the team as a champion. In addition, the school relied on them on this
basketball final. Audiences have high expectations on our basketball team. Both of them are
known as the big players of the team, who will bring home the golden trophy for the school.
They will be part of Binus School history, and will bring a great reputation for us all. If they
are suspended, it would be a waste to miss this golden opportunity, as this competition only
occurs once in a lifetime.

We are aware that being late for the practice purposely when the finals are in one
week will bring great stress for coach Jeff. However, being late for just once and still
attending the practices is not a valid reason to suspend the boys from the team. Instead of
suspending them from the team, there are many other lighter punishments that are more
reasonable for this case. A suggestion is that they may still be in the team, however they will
be the backup players who plays less compare to the main players. This is reasonable
because they attend less time for the practice, and so ended up playing less on the big day.
This life mistake can be an opportunity for the boys to learn to be more responsible on
managing their time, and to be more respectful to other people. People learn from their
mistakes, and mistakes will develop a person wisely.

In conclusion, suspending Brad and Mike from the basketball team just because they
were late for once is not an acceptable punishment. They deserve to be part of the team for
their capabilities and dedication. Suspending them from the team brings more harm than
good as we highly expect our school champion to strive the best on the national basketball
semifinals.