There's Now Crying in High School Basketball

Lake Clifton's Antoine Allen wipes away tears. Crying, once considered a sign of weakness, is now accepted and common during playoffs. (Preston Keres -- The Post)
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Gradually, attitudes started to shift.

Several coaches pointed to N.C. State coach Jim Valvano running around the court in 1983, looking for someone to hug after his team won the NCAA championship. Another cited Michael Jordan in the locker room after his first NBA title in 1991, clutching the trophy, his body convulsing as he sobbed.

Since then, Terrell Owens has cried on camera after playoff wins and playoff losses. Last week, Brett Favre's tear-soaked retirement news conference was broadcast live across the nation.

Unfettered emotion has become a central component in sports' iconic moments. The movement from "hold it in" to "let it out" has permeated society.

"We're constantly telling people to be more in touch with their feeling and express themselves," said Ivan Thomas, whose T.C. Williams boys' team is in tonight's Virginia AAA final. "Basketball and sports in general is an emotional roller coaster. You have guys who work so hard up until that point, and win or lose, it's an emotional feeling you just can't really control. We're all human."

Crying is not only accepted from boys these days, it is widely thought to be a positive sign.

"As a coach, that's what you want to see," said Millbrook Coach Scott Mankins, whose boys' team defeated Blacksburg last night in the Virginia AA semifinals. "You want someone to care that much."

Gwynn Park senior Harold Washington has no problem wearing his emotions on his cheeks. Last season, when Largo bounced the Yellow Jackets from the postseason, he never considered what he should or shouldn't do. He just cried.

When asked if he thought crying might show weakness, Washington said: "I don't believe that. If you can show emotion, I believe that makes you a stronger person. You're not scared to be you."

Nearly everyone, coaches and players alike, suggested that crying is a healthy reaction. But it's not that simple, according to Patrick Cohn, a sports psychologist and founder of Peak Performance Sports in Orlando.

Cohn said crying is the sign of an athlete who is highly motivated and cares deeply, and he understands if the tears are coming from the finality of a senior's career or a team's season. "But if they look at it as failure, that 'there's something wrong with me,' then [those feelings are] not healthy," he said.

On the flip side, Cohn said, there's never anything wrong with tears after triumphs. "That's coming from a positive emotion," he said. "The crying is coming from joy."

Washington, whose team plays tonight in the Maryland 2A semifinals, is all but certain to become emotional one way or the other this weekend. If Gwynn Park's season ends with a loss, his career will be over. If the Yellow Jackets win a championship, he'll likely use his jersey to wipe away tears.

"I can see it happening," he said. "It's like when you're a little kid with the toy you can't get, and when you finally get it, you're so happy. I've been chasing a championship for four years, and when you finally get that, I don't think you can help but cry."