Jewish Baseball News

Teammates at Beren Academy, an Orthodox high school in Texas, celebrate schedule change that will allow them to play in a state semifinal game (Photo: Houston Chronicle)

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — An Orthodox high school’s dream of competing for a state basketball title seemed over when the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools refused to reschedule a semi-final game that was slated to occur during the Jewish Sabbath.

But thanks to a threatened lawsuit from several players and parents at Houston’s Robert M. Beren Academy, the Beren Stars’ Class 2A game against Dallas Covenant has been rescheduled for 2:00pm today (Friday, Mar. 2). The match originally had been set for 9:00pm.

“We are thankful to (the Texas Association) for ultimately making the right decision,” Beren Academy said in a news release Thursday. “We regret that it took a (threatened) lawsuit filed by parents to bring about this decision.”

So far this season, the Beren Stars are 23-5 and have won their last 7 games. (One of its five losses came against another Orthodox team, Yavneh Academy.) The team’s #1 ranking in Texas’ Class 2A division (and #2 win-loss record) seems somewhat improbable. Its 11-man roster draws from a high-school class of just 71 students. Eight of its 11 players are under 6’0″ tall. The Stars didn’t even join the division until last year, and as recently as two years ago, the team finished with a 1-7 record.

Both sides in the Sabbath dispute had compelling arguments. Click here for the Texas Association’s point of view, and here for more on Beren Academy’s reasoning.

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