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| Sportsmanship needs imporvement |
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| behavior issues rampant at local games |
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Sports in the United States are in trouble right now. It is getting difficult to get enough officials to cover all the games, and sportsmanship issues are becoming both more common and more serious.
Darrel Rothenbucher called earlier this week representing the Central Oregon Basketball Officials Association, asking for help getting new officials. There are currently fewer basketball officials in central Oregon than there were in the mid to early 90's. And basketball is not alone in experiencing a shortage of officials.
One of the problems is player and spectator behavior. Professional athletes have gotten away with trash talking, complaining about calls, and generally poor behavior during games for years. This behavior has trickled down to high school and even junior high teams.
Who would want to officiate a game when the athletes are constantly complaining and griping about calls? No one wants to take that kind of abuse, especially for the small amount of money high school officials make.
And the problem isn't isolated to players. Spectators seem to have left the stands in greater and greater numbers and are getting closer and closer to the teams and the field.
In the past month I have witnessed an official send a coach to tell a spectator to quit coaching from the sideline, or he would be ejected. I have observed spectators being openly and loudly critical of their own team and coach, and spectators yelling obscenities. I have seen a blog on the Internet highly critical of a coach from another school that is doing the best job they possibly can in a very difficult situation. The participants in this blog not only have their facts wrong, but they have gotten downright nasty and personal in their attacks. Some of the behavior I am witnessing is embarrassing and none of it is productive.
Ask yourself a couple of simple questions. If you were an official and one team complained about your calls and the other team didn't, how is that going to affect your calls?
And if you are a player are you more likely to play your best if spectators are encouraging and supportive, or if they are badmouthing your coach and some of your teammates?
Grow up people. Everyone wants to win, but let's be realistic. Our coaches were hired because the administration believed them to be the best applicants available for the job. Win or lose they still have the exact same qualifications.
Just look to recent events in professional sports and this becomes really clear. Marty Schottenheimer led the San Diego Chargers to a 14-2 regular season record last season, but the Chargers lost in the first round of the playoffs and he was fired.
Schottenheimer has more than 200 regular season wins in his career but is only 5-13 in the playoffs. San Diego management knew this when they hired him and he did exactly what they wanted. He took over a bad team and made them into a powerhouse just like he has done everywhere he has coached. So now management has replaced him with another coach who has had no playoff success, and has far fewer regular season wins.
The New York Yankees are another good example. Joe Torre was statistically a mediocre manager when the Yankees hired him 12 seasons ago. Since then, with all the players money can buy, he has gone to the playoffs 12 years in a row, and won four World Series championships, but when the Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs he was forced out as manager.
Neither Torre nor Schottenheimer have changed. They are exactly the same people and coaches that they were when they were hired, and that is the point. Coaches are hired because of their qualifications, temperament, background, coaching experience and fit with the community. They invest themselves heavily into the athletes they work with and are attempting to instill discipline, work ethic, and values as well as win on the field. If we as fans and parents would let them and the officials do their job, and be a class act and support the players, coaches and officials everyone would be better off.
If you honestly think that you can be a better official or coach than the ones who are there now instead of complaining about their performance step up and do the job, otherwise knock it off and let the players play, the coaches coach, and the officials officiate, and do what you came for - be a spectator and enjoy the game.
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