And The Black Card Goes To…

Tim Ma! Yes that�s right, a black card. Never mind witnessing a black card, but have you ever even heard of a black card? We�ve all seen the yellow card and the odd red card, but never in my years of playing badminton have I ever witnessed anyone ever receiving a black card. That all changed on Friday, February 2 during the Nationals at the Red Willow Club when Tim Ma, after losing his mixed doubles match, proceeded to relieve his frustration by punching a hole in the wall behind the court. Of course this brought the hall to silence as none of us ever thought of Tim as being an angry person.

For me however, it was when the umpire brought out the black card that caught me off guard. I�ve never even heard of it, never mind seen it. I later learned that if you are given a black card, you are disqualified from the tournament. So in this case, Tim Ma was not allowed to play consolations. I don�t think he was too upset about it seeing as that he was already eliminated from the rest of the events. And in case you�re wondering, Tim did offer to fix or pay for the damages but the owners of Red Willow were kind enough to let it slide. Tim Ma was not nominated for the sportsmanship award.