Sportsmanship: Pre-Game Handshakes

IF YOU DON'T SUPPORT ACTS OF SPORTSMANSHIP, YOU PROBABLY LACK THE OTHER TWO QUALITIES LISTED - ETHICS AND INTEGRITY


Are you kidding me? We can't get together as leaders (coaches and officials) of young people and implement something as simple as a handshake? The mandate is supposed to be to build up these student-athletes in areas that transcend their athletic gifts.

Here we see where the competing interests fail once again to see the big picture. The fact that several NCAA teams declined to participate says all you need to know about the coaches involved and my hope is they get killed on the recruiting trail as a result. This "football game as war mentality" is one of the most foolish relics of the era of "old-school" coach mentality that is out there.

The fact that the University of Connecticut and West Virginia will get together, on their own volition--to remember and respect a fallen teammate and opponent--should give the knuckle-dragging cretins who oppose this "intrusion" into their pre-game motivation strategy all the perspective they need.

Sadly, most of them will still not get it.

THE COACHES DEBATE: (from the athleticmanagement.com story linked below)

To Shake or Not to Shake?
Some teams decided to answer Teaff's question and find out what happens when teams don't start the game by wringing hands. In one of the weekend's marquee games, Oklahoma State University decided against shaking hands with University of Georgia players.

"Our first concern was (we'll) have 115 guys out there and they'll have 70, it just takes one guy to pop off," OSU Head Coach Mike Gundy told The Oklahoman. "Then I don't know how you're going to break it up. How do you control something like that?"
But many teams participated in the sportsmanship initiative without incident.
"It's just another gesture to send a message that football is not a gentle sport by any measure but gentlemen can play it," Marshall University Head Coach Mark Snyder told The Herald-Dispatch
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Coaches React
At Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, every game is followed by a handshake, an act that is not likely to change because a college football player several states away punched an opponent. Montgomery County coaches view the incident as isolated and have seen much worse. In 2007, a James Hubert Blake High School player in street clothes carried a knife into the handshake line and cut three opposing players' hands.

"Ever since then, we've been able to use it as a teaching tool," Tony Nazzaro, Head Coach at James Hubert Blake, told The Gazette. "In that case, the person gave no indications beforehand of what he was going to do. But I've had kids who should be held out of the handshake because their emotions are still running too high ... Those type of incidents are few and far between, so we shouldn't let a couple of bad incidents ruin what is still a positive experience 99 percent of the time."
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MORE FROM THE NCAA AND THE AFCA:

http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2009/10/01/handshake_headlines/index.php

Handshakes and Fisticuffs
By Kyle Garratt

When the NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) named the first round of college football games "Respect Weekend" and encouraged teams to shake hands before each game in a show of sportsmanship, they probably didn't envision what would actually follow. The first game of the college season ended with a player punching one of his opponents, several teams declined to shake hands, and many were not shy to voice opinions for and against the pregame formalities. As it turns out, would-be friendly handshakes can turn quite volatile.
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Shakes Turn to Swings
Perhaps it was bad luck that the first game, and first pregame handshake, of the 2009 season packed more emotion than a typical non-conference contest. The University of Oregon was attempting to avenge a loss to Boise State University in which the Broncos knocked the Oregon quarterback out of the game. Senior running back LeGarrette Blount created bulletin board material before the game and a fiasco after. Blount used colorful language to imply his team owed Boise State revenge, rushed eight times for negative-five yards in the game, punched Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the face before attempting to start fights with teammates and Boise fans, and was suspended from the team.

AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff did not blame the handshake for the ugly events after the game.
"I thought to myself, 'What would have happened if they hadn't shaken hands before the game?'" Teaff told ESPN. "This wasn't a fight. This wasn't a brawl. I was impressed by the coaches and players who showed restraint and self-control last night."
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THE REPORT CARD

From Indystar.com 9/9/09

The NCAA and the American Football Coaches Association kicked off the 2009 season with a “Respect Weekend” in which all teams were encouraged to hold a pregame handshake ceremony to promote sportsmanship.

How did it go?

How did it go?

First, the players. With players cranked up before the opening games of the season, the concern was that one player saying something could mutate the handshake line into a riot. Didn’t happen. Not one pregame incident anywhere. A

Second, the spectators. On talk shows and sports blogs around the country, the majority of fans were fervently against pregame handshakes. When teams met in the middle of the field across the country, would they be drowned out by a chorus of boos? Didn’t happen. On TV screens across the country, stadium crowds spontaneously stood and cheered. A

Third, the coaches. With so many coaches growling at the formality, the concern was that colleges would refuse to do it. Didn’t happen. Other than Oklahoma State and Illinois, the vast majority of schools complied graciously.
For every Joe Paterno (Penn State) saying he didn’t need handshake ceremonies to instill sportsmanship, there was a Jim Tressell (Ohio State) saying the opportunity to shake hands with Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy “was something our kids will probably never forget.” B

Fourth, the aftermath. The NCAA and AFCA hoped the pregame gesture would reduce bad sportsmanship and carry over the camaraderie to the postgame atmosphere. Didn’t happen. After the Boise State-Oregon game, victorious Boise State players taunted Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount for making comments about them earlier. Blount retaliated with a sucker punch, for which he was suspended for the entire season. C-

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THE OFFICIALS POINT OF VIEW:

http://www.boston.com/sports/schools/football/articles/2008/12/12/referees_lose_on_handshake_rule_in_court/

Referees lose on handshake rule in court
By Dave Nordman
Worcester Telegram &Amp; Gazette / December 12, 2008

Official Protest
The football field hasn't been the only home for recent handshake debate. In October 2008, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) adopted a rule requiring basketball officials to stay on the court during the postgame handshake. The Massachusetts State Basketball Officials Association (MSBOA) objected to the rule on grounds that it put officials in danger of fans or coaches who were upset by calls during the game.

"Anyone who picks up a newspaper knows that we're living in a violent society," Alan Goldberger, lawyer for the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials, told The Boston Globe. "The rule is so absurd as to border on delusional."
The MSBOA filed a temporary injunction with the Worcester Superior Court, and the MIAA fired back.

"There is no merit to their case," MIAA lawyer James Long told the court. "We haven't had any problems. It's history vs. speculation."
Ultimately, the court ruled the officials must stay on the court until the handshaking is done.

As a high-school official in basketball, baseball and softball I can tell you I have always found the officials position of turning tail and retreating into the locker room after a contest to be one of the most chicken-hearted (I cleaned that one up) pieces of advice given to us at various clinics and from officials associations.

If you are afraid of abuse from fans you probably did not do a good enough job on the floor. The school is still required to provide for your protection even if you are required to stay longer to observe the post-game handshake. It is simply an extension of your job from the moment you hit the floor, which is to enforce sportsmanship and fair play from the get go. To duck and run after the final horn reflects a lack of seriousness and sincerity to that #1 priority of your job. What a poor image to reflect to fans, players and coaches.

I have stayed after games to watch friends work a higher level game and have never had a problem with fans, players or coaches, in fact quite the opposite. You can sometimes have an opportunity to explain rules or calls after the game in a less pressurized environment and help educate those that have never been there, done that.

At issue was a ruling by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association that referees, part of the Massachusetts State Basketball Officials Association, not leave the court until teams have exchanged the traditional handshake. In the past, the referees left the court immediately after they signed the score book.

After hearing arguments in a courtroom filled with referees, high school administrators, and MIAA officials, Judge Christine M. Roach ruled against the MSBOA. During the two-hour hearing, the group argued that the rule might cause physical harm, expose them to added liability, and interfere with their contractual relations.

The MIAA countered by saying there has never been an incident in which an official has been assaulted during a post game handshake.

From personal experience, I agree with the MIAA here, in fact the only incident I have had was with a parent, well after the game, outside the gymnasium. I don't see much risk in taking part in a school sanctioned, high-school association approved act of sportsmanship. And the officials association should have backed it to the hilt. So shame on us as well.