SPORTSMANSHIP - GOOD AND BAD

Opponents carry injured home run hitter around the bases
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Associated Press
With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of
Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she
had never done, in high school or college. Her first home run cleared
the center-field fence.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=183197

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I was going to post a diatribe about the state of sportsmanship in youth sports until this story, an early ESPY favorite in the tear-jerker category came out. And it's really a great story. I can safely say you would not have seen anything of the sort happen on the men's side, say at Omaha for instance.

The survey cited below from the Josephson Institute concludes that there are gender differences to account for in athletes perceptions and actions regarding sportsmanship, cheating and fair play. Having umpired and refereed both boys and girls basketball and baseball/softball, again I can vouch for that. So there are gender differences now and hopefully there always will be and for that I say "Viva la difference". As I'll try to illustrate in a future post, we're different sometimes for very good reasons and at times we just need to recognize that for what it is, not so much good or bad--it just IS.

But to get back to my original reason for writing the blog on this subject and the appearance of this story, I had to re-think my premise a bit. Is it possible that due to the fact that this incident happened somewhat off the beaten path, away from the bright lights and cameras influence the behavior? Would this have happened during the College World Series of Softball if it were broadcast on ESPN?

Does the increased intensity of the competition and the lure of the perceived prize, whether it be a national or regional championship or a potential college scholarship, lead to a decreased emphasis on this type of behavior?

I think it does. Coming from Florida, where youth travel teams are more prevalent than Palmettos bugs, to Illinois, where the travel team phenomena is still in its relative infancy, I've found the premise I've just outlined to in fact be the case.

True, this is just one person's observation. And I would like to see what the effect is on sportsmanship in this area as the travel team phenomena grows and spreads. But until I see a story like this in a high-profile, high-stakes environment, I'm afraid stories like this will be more the exception than the rule.

Below the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has put together a great web-site with some documents you can download to learn how to improve the climate within your program. It has great advice for administrators, coaches, parents, players, officials and fans. They have really covered the topic well.

The NASO site highlights some of the years low-lights regarding incidents where sportsmanship took a turn for the worse with tragic consequences for parents, players and/or officials.

And finally, the Josephson Institute survey “What Are Your Children Learning? The Impact of High School Sports on the Values and Ethics of High School Athletes,” highlights gives an overview of the state of sportsmanship and values at the high-school and youth levels.

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MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOL WEB SITE - SPORTSMANSHIP
http://www.miaa.net/student-services/sportsmanship.htm
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Poor sporting behavior incidents reported to National Association of Sports Officials
http://www.naso.org/sportsmanship/badsports.html

Every day in America and around the world, sports officials are physically and verbally harassed. Most incidents do not require police or medical assistance, but in some cases, the harassment turns violent.

The fact that such behavior occurs at sporting events involving youth participants is appalling in itself, but the frequency in which these reports now occur is even more disturbing.
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NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPORTS OFFICIALS WEB SITE

http://www.naso.org/

NASO receives more than 100 reports annually that involve physical contact between coaches, players, fans and officials. The nearly 18,000 member organization is not the "clearinghouse for bad behavior," says NASO President Barry Mano, but it is the belief by NASO that the reports it receives is only the "tip of the iceberg."

The following are examples of some incidents.

• Pennsylvania (Basketball) — A parent body-slammed a high school referee after he ordered the man’s wife out of the gym for allegedly yelling obscenities during a basketball game. The referee was treated at a hospital for a concussion and released after the Feb. 6 attack. Charged with simple assault, assault on a sports official, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct is Peter J. Dukovich, 47, Hampton, Pa. (Contributing source: CNN.com) UPDATE: RaeLynn Dukovich was levied the maximum fine of $300 and court costs for her involvement in the incident. (Contributing source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Pennsylvania (Basketball) — A parent body-slammed a high school referee after he ordered the man’s wife out of the gym for allegedly yelling obscenities during a basketball game. The referee was treated at a hospital for a concussion and released after the Feb. 6 attack. Charged with simple assault, assault on a sports official and disorderly conduct is Peter J. Dukovich, 47, Hampton, Pa. (Contributing source: CNN.com, 2/10/04)
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Survey of high school athletes: 2006
Are coaches teaching our young athletes the right way to play?

http://josephsoninstitute.org/sports/programs/survey/index.html

According to a national survey of high school student-athletes by Josephson Institute, the values of young athletes are dramatically impacted by their sports experience.

The report, “What Are Your Children Learning? The Impact of High School Sports on the Values and Ethics of High School Athletes,” a biennial national survey conducted by Josephson Institute, contains both good and bad news for parents and school administrators.

“The good news is, the majority of high school athletes trust and admire their coaches and are learning positive life skills and good values from them,” said Michael Josephson, founder and president of the Institute. “The bad news is, many coaches – particularly in the high-profile sports of boys’ basketball, baseball, and football – are teaching kids how to cheat and cut corners without regard for the rules or traditional notions of fair play and sportsmanship."

Among the highlights:

* Major gender differences. There are dramatic differences in the attitudes and behaviors of male and female athletes. On virtually every question, girls expressed a deeper commitment to honesty and fair play than boys and were much less likely to endorse cheating or other questionable practices in the pursuit of victory.
* Hazing is widespread. Nearly one-third of the boys and 21 percent of the girls say that degrading hazing or initiation rituals are common at their school.
* Some sports are worse than others. Boys engaged in baseball, football, and basketball are considerably more likely to cheat on the field and in school and to deliberately injure, intimidate, or break rules than boys involved in other sports. Likewise, girls involved in basketball and softball are more likely to engage in illegal or unsportsmanlike conduct than girls involved in other sports.
* Athletes steal less. Twenty-seven percent of the male athletes admit stealing from a store in the past 12 months compared with 32 percent of the boys not involved in sports. Female athletes measured the same: twenty percent of them engaged in theft compared to twenty-three percent for all high school girls.
* Athletes cheat more. Nearly two-thirds of the boys and girls participating in sports say they cheated on an exam in the past year compared with 60 percent of the total high school population.
* Athletes respect coaches. The vast majority of high school athletes say their coaches “consistently set a good example of ethics and character” (90%) and that their current coach “wants them to do the ethically right thing, no matter what the cost” (91%).
* Coaches teach negative lessons. Despite athletes’ positive views of the character and intentions of their coaches, they’re often taught negative lessons about cheating and bad sportsmanship.

o Two-fifths of the boys and one-fourth of the girls see nothing wrong with using a stolen playbook sent by an anonymous supporter before a big game.
o Thirty percent of all boys and 20 percent of girl softball players think it’s okay for a softball pitcher to deliberately throw at a batter who homered the last time up.
o Fifty-four percent of male football players, 49 percent of male basketball players, and 18 percent of females in all sports approve of trash-talking.
o Thirty-four percent of all the boys and 12 percent of all the girls approve of a coach trying to pump up the team by swearing at officials to get himself or herself thrown out of a game.

The report is based on written surveys administered by randomly selected high schools throughout the country in 2006. It includes responses from 5,275 high school students. The margin of error is +/- 3 percent.
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THIS ISN'T GOOD - THE COACH LAYS HIS HANDS ON THE UMP - THEN IT LOOKS LIKE THE UMP GIVES HIM A MASK IN THE FACE - H.S. PLAYOFFS