What role does the game play in the lives of these characters, and in what ways does this sport allow them to come together as a team? How is the team changed after the att

Sports is used as a symbolic reference to mirror the progress that of society on social issues. The purpose of sport evolves as the novel progresses- what was once a place to escape from the pressures of society later becomes a place where these pressures are illuminated. The first and most obvious example of this is the basketball team at the high school. Coach uses practice as a way for students to ignore the racial discrimination that has become the focal point of conversation within the school, and they are urged, instead, to focus on their own futures and work hard to get noticed for scholarships to college. The students, most notably Quinn and Guzzo, are not able to keep their differences of opinion aside, and eventually end up in a physical alteration on the court. The authors use this situation to show that sport can be used as a platform to push social ideals, and moreover, that it should not be a place for social ignorance.

The authors also frame the act of observing sport as a way to escape the problems of society, and specifically the issues that relate to racial discrimination. In two separate situations, sport is used to distract people from the events surrounding the arrest of Rashad. The first example happens when Rashad initially finds out his arrest is on television, and he demands his family changes the channel to something else. They decide on football, and Spoony begins comment on how it is one of "America's favorite pastimes, besides baseball, and beating the brains out of-" before he is interrupted by Rashad (100). A similar instance occurs when Quinn is over at the Galluzzos house for a barbecue, and the family is in the living room watching football. The family enjoys the game until it is interrupted by a news anchor who says officer Paul Galluzzo's arrest will be discussed later on TV. The Galluzzo family is white, and it is clear the authors are trying to make the statement that ignoring racial issues is a regular occurrence in white, American households.