Basketball Team Raised the Trophy—Then Handed It Back

After learning of scoring error, Oklahoma girls team proves 'there are still good people'
Posted Oct 15, 2025 8:27 AM CDT
They Raised the Trophy —Then Handed It Back
Stock photo from a girls' basketball game.   (Getty Images/Alvarog1970)

A high school girls' basketball team in Oklahoma is getting great applause—not because they technically won a championship, but because they returned the trophy after discovering their win was due to a scoreboard error. The Academy of Classical Christian Studies, based in Oklahoma City, initially celebrated a dramatic 44-43 win over Apache High in the state tournament. But after the game, Academy coach Brendan King felt uneasy about the outcome and reviewed footage at home, only to discover a mistake with the scoreboard early in the game, per the Guardian. The official score should have been 43-42 in favor of Apache.

According to rules set by the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association, the score is supposed to stand once a game is declared finished. But King brought the error to the attention of his team, which unanimously agreed to appeal their own victory and hand over the title—something that had never been done before, according to CBS News. "It would have felt wrong, I think, to have taken the trophy, regardless," one Academy student told the outlet. Though she was happy about the victory, Apache coach Amy Merriweather said the Academy's move meant more. "It showed us, you know, there are still good people in this world," she said.

Read These Next
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X