FOOTBALL AND PRISONS
“Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
– Vince Lombardi”
“By doing our best and applying that effort to a larger goal that benefits everyone, either directly or through a ripple effect of kindness, we make the world a better place.”
Prisons, unlike football teams, are not designed to demand individual commitment to a group effort. Instead what we have is a top-down, us versus them culture……the coaches on one side, and the players on the other. Each trying to outwit, or control the other. A better use of the coach’s time is to bring out the best in each player so the game can be won.
Recidivism is losing the game.
When too many games are lost because individual players are not living up to their true potential, the owners will demand a change……sometimes even the coaches get the pink slip.
Winning, or the best effort to achieve it, does not happen spontaneously. It requires sticking to a plan. Prison staff have been using the same game plan for decades. While innovation is a feature of American life, prisons have been seemingly immune to change.
As one of the investors in the prison game, I want to see a correctional team that works together to win. Hunger strikes by the players send a signal. Ten thousand documented major uses of force in one year send a signal. When those released from the team have a difficult time adapting, that sends a signal. That signal says…….time for a new plan.
We need a time out!
We are guaranteed the same results if we keep doing what has always been done. That’s not a winning strategy. Let’s huddle and figure out how to re-invent prisons. A second huddle could focus on the conditions that nourish dysfunctional behavior. A third could focus on figuring out how to ensure everyone charged with a crime has the best defense……a right enshrined in the 6th amendment……etc.
Unlike the super bowl which will start and stop, prisons go on and on and on. As long as we have them they should at least do what they are supposed to do…….promote positive behavior.