Bashed, criticized and talked down by our own school. The slick comments, the laughter, the smart remarks, the sarcasm.

Former coaches bashing the way we play. Former players quitting on us when they could have helped; who when they were here were all about “Cane Spirit and Pride,” and how they would never turn their back on the team. Others with remarks like, “You guys going to win tonight?” — then laughter follows the question.

“I feel like they should come to the field because they think it’s easy,” said Leonard Trevino,  a junior in Web Design on the team. “I feel we can use the insults to make us better. Feels like the comments destroy the players’ confidence.”

Yet there are comments such as, “Why would I come to your game if you are just going to take another L?”

Stop it!

That’s fake pride, that’s fake support. If you’re going to support us, then support us 100 percent of the time, whether we win or lose — or don’t support us at all, and keep your mouth shut!

What do you get out of being so negative? Besides sending the team that represents the school into the game, doubting themselves because there is no support where we need it the most — at home. It can hurt some players and destroy their confidence, even though on the field you hear us say: “Win on 3.”

“It makes me feel less as a person,” said Antwuan Dixon, a senior and wide receiver. “It makes me feel like no matter how hard I try, I am not going to go anywhere or reach the goals I set for myself.”

The negativity has to end somewhere. It’s bad enough we hear it in public or see it on social media. It’s worse to have to remember and not be able to escape, when our escape is supposed to be here at Inlet Grove. The team should be able to come to school the next day and hear support! No one wants to bring a “W” to a home that doesn’t accept us.

Give us a break. This is our first year with a new coach and without some players who might have made a big impact.

Success takes time, support and hard work. We are not going to beg for your support, we’re going to war with or without it. What we don’t want to hear is bashing and joking about a team that plays its heart out for you all. You have heard the saying, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.” Same rules apply here.

“If I had a low mindset, I would be affected by the hate,” said Edward Smith, a junior who plays tight end. “But I keep my head high and the haters low.”

“It motivates me to do better,” said quarterback David Wooten, who is in the Medical Academy, “because when we taste the first sweet victory all those who opposed us are going to try to join us. And when we have the opportunity to stop them and say, ‘Where were you when we needed you,’ it’ll make the W 10 times better.”

At the end of the day Coach Timpson has a point in saying:

“It all depends on the person. Some people don’t care what you guys have to say. I don’t care what other people say. I’m not here to satisfy people.”