In response to a parent’s complaint, the Putnam City (Okla.) school board voted April 16 to pull the young-adult novel Shots on Goal from the shelves of the district’s two middle-school libraries. Their decision overrode the advice of two committees that had both recommended the book’s retention; however, Shots on Goal will remain available in the high-school collection.
“I’m not the type of person who believes in much censorship at all,” complainant Larry Newman said in the April 23 Oklahoma City Daily Oklahoman. The father of an 11-year-old, Newman challenged the book last fall after he stopped reading it out loud with his son out of concern that it contained age-inappropriate material. Newman cited the novel’s depiction of teenagers using tobacco and liquor, as well as swearing, stealing, and violating curfew laws. The book follows the evolving relationship of two 10th-grade best friends on and off the soccer field.
Newman reinforced his case by phoning Shots on Goal author Rich Wallace. According to Newman, Wallace agreed that he wouldn’t let his own children read the novel before age 13.
Posted April 30, 2001.