Coach Carter
Miles and Lillian Cahn · 2005
Coach Carter (2005) dramatises Ken Carter’s 1999 suspension of his undefeated Richmond High School basketball team for failing to meet academic benchmarks — including a 2.3 GPA, front-row classroom seating, and mandatory progress reports. He locked the gym and threatened resignation at a school board hearing if the lockdown was lifted. The team met the terms. The film frames this as a triumph of personal responsibility. It does not address Richmond’s chronic underfunding, curriculum gaps, or staffing crises — nor does it claim to.