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Coach Carter Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: PG-13 (for violence, sexual content, language, teen partying and some drug material) Theater release: January 14, 2005 by Paramount Directed by: Thomas Carter Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes Cast: Samuel L. Jackson (Ken Carter), Rob Brown (Kenyon Stone), Ashanti (Kyra), Rick Gonzalez (Timo Cruz), Robert Ri'chard (Damien Carter), Antwon Tanner (Worm), Denise Dowse (Principal Garrison) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

Years ago, back in my sportswriter days, I did a special investigative report called "Body and Mind," examining the relationship between academics and athletics for high school athletes. One thing that stood out in my study was the fact that sports kept many "borderline" kids in school—students who might otherwise drop out and hit the streets. Sports was an incentive to stay in school and make decent grades.

That thinking certainly applied at Richmond (CA) High School in 1999, though it played out in stark ways—and before a national spotlight—when boys basketball coach Ken Carter adopted a tough shape-up-or-ship-out academic policy for his players. There's nothing unusual about coaches, schools and/or school districts setting minimum academic standards for athletic eligibility, but Carter took it a unique—and controversial—step further: He demanded that every member of his team hold at least a 2.3 grade-point average, or he wouldn't let any of them play.

Samuel L. Jackson is terrific in the title role as Coach Ken Carter

The players thought it was an idle threat until their report cards came in, and several of them fell short of the 2.3 minimum. Even though the team was undefeated (13-0) and one of the best in the state, Carter stuck to his word: He called off practice, locked the gym, and canceled all future games until every player had reached the standard. The players were shocked, and the community was in an uproar. Even Carter's colleagues at the school—his fellow educators—thought he'd gone too far. Word spread, and eventually the national media picked up the story. Carter was both lauded and lambasted for his refusal to budge.

And with that, you pretty much know the story of Coach Carter, a stirring film starring Samuel L. Jackson in the title role. But even though you know how it turns out—and I haven't given away anything here that the film's promotional materials and trailers don't already tell you—it's well worth watching to see the portrayal not only of a man who sticks to his principles, but of life at a struggling inner-city high school, complete with all of its typical disadvantages—truancy, gangs, drugs, poverty, low graduation rates and even lower academic expectations. It's also an honest, in-your-face look at the teenagers involved—from the few high achievers who can't wait to go to college and get a head start on a better life, to the many who are resigned to the endless cycle of poverty, crime, and the streets. Director Thomas Carter (Save the Last Dance) did a fine job capturing that difficult environment and the almost hopeless despair it often brings.

Cruz (Rick Gonzalez), Worm (Antwon Tanner) and Kenyon (Rob Brown) lead the team

Jackson excels in his portrayal of a man who is the walking definition of "tough love." It's clear that Carter—who had been a star player himself at Richmond High—is doing more than just demanding decent grades of his players. He wants to give them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have-to go to college, to escape poverty and a troubled neighborhood, to make something of their lives. He wants them to respect one another—and to respect themselves. He calls each of the players "Sir," and insists on the same respect in return. He wears a tie every day, and insists his players wear ties on game days. He preaches the concept of "team," and eventually the players—many of them naturally selfish and egotistical—get it. We see the essence of "team" played out not just on the basketball court, but off it as well, as the players band together and look out for each other.

In an interesting cast choice, one of Richmond's star players, Keynon Stone, is played by Rob Brown. It's essentially a role he's played before—high school hoops star who is also academically gifted, wants to go to college, and leave poverty in his rearview mirror. Where have we seen Brown play this role before? In the little-known gem Finding Forrester (2000), where he's mentored by an eccentric writer (Sean Connery). In Coach Carter, Brown's character is involved in a gut-wrenching subplot: He has big aspirations post-high school, but his girlfriend, Kyra (the radiant R&B singer Ashanti) is holding him back: She's content to stay where they are, doesn't really want him to go off to college—and she's pregnant. She's simply resigned to continuing the cycle, but Kenyon would like to find a way to work it out—to have the baby and go to college and start anew. You'll have to watch to see how that subplot turns out.

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Just Call Him "Sir"	Printer view
Ken Carter made headlines when he benched his high school basketball team for failing to make the grade, a story told in Coach Carter, opening Friday. We talked to Carter about the film and his journey.