Is it possible to win a game by too much? Apparently, yes.

In California, Arroyo Valley’s girls high school basketball team beat Bloomington High School with a staggering score of 161 to 2. Arroyo Valley’s coach Michael Anderson was suspended for two games for being “unsportsmanlike.”

Should the coach have been suspended for doing his duty by winning the game?

In my opinion, absolutely not.

The purpose of playing a game is to win. As much as people want to believe playing a game is only about having fun, it’s not. There is no award for playing a game and losing. There are only awards for beating other teams.

I don’t think a team should have to play down to make another team look better. Was Arroyo Valley supposed to throw the ball around to each other the whole game, so they wouldn’t run up the score? Was this going to make the other team feel better? Letting the other team score more points gives neither team satisfaction. No one wants to be played down against, and no one should. Sports are about playing to your best ability.

And how is Arroyo Valley supposed to get better without shooting? A team is never great. Arroyo Valley may have been better than Bloomington, but there is always room for improvement.

The real coach who should be looked at is the coach for Bloomington. It’s one thing to lose by a lot, but by 160 points. Maybe the losing team’s coach should be questioned. He isn’t doing his job to the best of his ability with losing by 159 points.

Coach Anderson does not deserve to be suspended for winning his game. I am not saying he should be awarded for beating a team by so much, but he should not be punished.