Birmingham, Ala.---The two teams were brought together for a "summit" at Fair Park Arena. There - they listened to a sports attorney from Montgomery talk about sportsmanship. The Tarrant and Wenonah football teams met on the field two weeks ago. That game ended in the second quarter when a fight broke out between the two teams.
When the players met Friday, it went well. Players even shook hands when it was over. But before they could do that they heard some tough love from a sports attorney who's had to do this before.
Attorney said to players, "That's the kind of conduct that can get you killed."
It was some tough talk and tough love over a two week old fight during the Wenonah, Tarrant football game. It started just after Cartez Pickett was pushed out of bounds.
Wenonah Football Captain, Cartez Pickett said, "He just started pushing me towards the fence and I just held my hands up to just walk away, and the ref came and I thought that was going to settle it down and when I turned around just seen Tarrant players on our sideline and everything just erupted."
Tarrant Football Captain, Daniel Bethune said, "As it happened, I really didn't think, I didn't think in the moment, I just went on instinct, I seen somebody coming, I just reacted. I really didn't think"
Disappointment and regret but also forgiveness and friendship filled the Fair Park Arena by way of sports attorney, Donald Jackson.
Sports Attorney Donald Jackson said, "Every last one of you, when I look at you, I don't see kids that are engaged in fights."
Here these football players sat among each other, retelling what happened and how they don't want it to happen again.
Bethune said, "It was just wrong, it really shouldn't happen."
Pickett said, "We just learn from our mistakes and hope it don't happen again in the long term in the future."
Tarrant’s Coach, Eric Johnson said, "The most important thing is, our guys are hearing the same thing from different people and maybe it'll stick that way if they hear different people saying the same thing everybody can't be wrong."
As Jackson put it real courage is when you can walk away from a fight as well as when you can shake an opponents hand which is what these players did when the summit was over.
So many Tarrant players were ejected from that football game two weeks ago, Tarrant forfeited. Wenonah went on to the playoffs but lost in the first round. Both high schools were fined for the fight.
Wenonah Principal Regina Carr Hunter brought the players together Friday for the summit.
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