braffordproj.htmlTEXTMOSSh0p?

The Trashing Of Sportsmanship
 
 

By Kevin Brafford
Knight Foundation Fellow
Fall semester, 1998
 

 This is an era in sport when actions sadly speak as loudly as words. Athletes routinely disrespect their opponents. Basketball players thump their chests after dunks. Football players celebrate every successful play. Baseball players stand at home plate admiring their home runs. A Ruthian blast, maybe, but a very un-Ruthian attitude.

 Examples of poor sportsmanship are on the rise. In the United States. The most fervent examples are found in basketball and football, high-profile team sports where attitude is no longer qualified as being either ``good or ``bad.  Rather, if a player has ``attitude, he has moxie, a swagger, a vehicle, hell tell you, from which to gain respect.

 In a Nike television commercial that initially aired last winter, a fictitious Fun Patrol, led by Seattle SuperSonics star Gary Payton, wanders up on a group of bored girls playing basketball. They decide to add a little flavor. ``Were going to try trash-talking, OK? Payton says to two of the girls. ``Come strong or dont come at all! one girl yells at the other. ``In your face! the second girl screams back. The Fun Patrol drives off, accompanied with this voice-over: ``They may not remember the messenger, but theyll remember the message.

 That they do. But in case they dont, reminders are often no further away than the next ESPN SportsCenter:
 -- University of North Carolina center Makhtar Ndiaye, who is black, accused University of Utah guard Britton Johnsen, who is white, of a racial slur during last Marchs Final Four. Johnsen denied the incident occurred; Ndiaye later admitted to having made it up.

 -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Hardy Nickerson spit on Carolina Panthers fullback William Floyd during an NFL game on Oct. 17. Eleven months earlier, Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski had spit on San Francisco 49ers wide receiver J.J. Stokes.

 -- Another Panther running back, Fred Lane, made headlines even more recently for an obscene gesture directed at New York Jets fans after Lane scored a first-quarter touchdown. He was suspended for one game by the team.

 -- Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell choked and threatened to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, last season. Sprewells actions were defended by the NBA Players Association, which successfully had Sprewells contract reinstated and a one-year suspension reduced to seven months.

 Those are just some of the recent incidents that received national attention. Isolated examples of bad sportsmanship abound in most every sport. The most famous spitting incident of all, for example, took place in baseball in 1996 when Baltimore Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar showed his disgust for umpire John Hirshbeck. Soccer isnt immune, nor are hockey, wrestling, boxing, and tennis. Among the so-called high-interest sports, the lone exception is golf, a game whose heritage is ground on exemplary behavior, and one where players are battling the course more than each other.

 The boundaries arent confined only to male athletes, either. Last January, North Carolina basketball player Jessica Gaspar pulled Dukes Naz Medhanie to the ground by the neck, apparently upset by what Gaspar perceived as an illegal screen. Nor are they confined to pro and college athletes. Last February, a referee in New York state was punched seven times by a high-school hockey player. Spectators cheered the player as he was led in handcuffs to a patrol car. In North Carolina, a Mount Tabor High School soccer player spit on an opponent during a 1997 state championship game. After being ejected, he kicked over his teams bench.

 Still, it is generally accepted that the overall decline in sportsmanship is mostly blamed on the actions and attitudes of male athletes, specifically those playing basketball and football on the professional and Division I-A levels. Most everyone seems to agree that these athletes are the ones who set the tone.

 ``It has reached other levels, admitted Charlie Adams, executive director of the North Carolina Athletic Association and past president of the National Federation of State High School Associations. ``But the brunt of it, and certainly where it began, was in those sports. Everything else has fed from there.

 Is sportsmanship indeed now the exception rather than the rule? If it is on the decline, then why? And what, if anything, can be done to reverse the trend?

Defining sportsmanship

 Perhaps it is a sign of the times that most people are unable to arrive at a simple definition of sportsmanship. In November 1997, ESPN examined the issue on its web site, ESPN SportsZone, and on its cable network. When athletes and coaches were asked their definition of sportsmanship, most could only offer examples of what they believed to be good sportsmanship, such as shaking hands following a game or match.

 ``Its difficult to define, said University of South Carolina mens basketball coach Eddie Fogler. ``Are you a good sport if you help a player up during a game? Are you a bad sport if you dont? Are you supposed to stop in the middle of a game, while the clock is running, and help an opponent up? I dont think thats what its all about.

 Diane Stevens, an assistant professor of sports psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agreed that a definition isnt clearcut. ``Sportsmanship is something I talk a lot about, but Ive never thought about the best way to conceptualize it, she said. ``Treating competitors and teammates with decency and respect. Thats certainly a part of it.
 A definition offered by pro tennis player Jim Courier gained acceptance from ESPN SportZone users. ``Sportsmanship, for me, is when a guy walks off the court, and you cant tell whether hes won or lost, Courier said. ``Its going out and giving your best and honoring your opponent by giving your best all the way through, and shaking his hand at the end of the battle and saying, `That was good warfare, but we can still go have a beer afterwards.

 In an accompanying article, SportZone columnist Tom Farrey said the definition has changed and is dependent on numerous factors. ``In todays diverse world, there is no longer any single definition of `sportsmanship that applies ... but rather many definitions, each shaped by the nature of the sport, the relative pressure to win, the personality of the individual and even the culture that the person springs from, he wrote.

 To be sure, acceptable levels of behavior vary by sport. In an NBA playoff series last May between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks, stars Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson exchanged punches. They were thrown out of that game and suspended for the following game. A similar incident in an NHL playoff game might only bring a five-minute stint in the penalty box. On the other hand, hockey teams traditionally meet at center ice following the end of a playoff series and shake hands. Basketball teams generally do not.

 Rules for celebrating vary as well. In baseball, when a batter hits a home run, it is customary for that batter to immediately begin trotting around the bases. Standing at home plate and admiring what youve just done is taboo. ``No pitcher wants to be shown up, said Atlanta Braves right-hander John Smoltz. ``Thats just not the way youre supposed to play the game. When someone stands at the plate and watches where the ball lands before running, well, you remember that. Thats guys liable to get a pitch thrown near his ear at some point.

 It is OK for a soccer player to display great emotion and play to the crowd following a goal. Do the same, however, in a college football or basketball game and youll draw either a penalty or a technical foul. ``Theres a lot of gray area in there, a lot of room for interpretation, said best-selling author John Feinstein, a former sports writer for The Washington Post. ``Thats part of what makes sportsmanship so difficult to define.

 Gray areas exist elsewhere, too. Is cheating unsportsmanlike? Rubbing an illegal substance on a baseball, setting an illegal screen in basketball, holding a defensive lineman in football -- all are examples of men behaving at a level that is often frowned upon. ``I dont know how you determine where the line is drawn between a clean hit and a not-so-clean hit, said Texas Christian University football coach Dennis Franchione. ``If youre about to hit the quarterback, and at the last second he moves a fraction one way or the other, you can turn a clean hit into a malicious one. Then you get a penalty flag for a personal foul.

Has sportsmanship really declined?

 Yes, said Adams. ``I dont think theres any question about it, he said. ``I see things I didnt see 10, 15 years ago. Everyone wants to get in someones face. Its not enough to make a good play and just be satisfied anymore.

 A nationwide survey of sports editors, writers and broadcasters conducted by the Institute of International Sport at the University of Rhode Island in 1997 supports Adams contention. Almost 79 percent of respondents said they believed sportsmanship on the pro level had reached a low point. Seventy-three percent said the same was true in college sports.

 Billy Packer is the lead college basketball analyst for CBS. He also occasionally still works games for the Atlantic Coast Conference network, where he got his broadcasting start more than 20 years ago. Hes observed first-hand changes in the game during that time and even before as a player at Wake Forest University. ``Everyone tells you there is more emotion in the game than there used to be, and thats why you see players acting like they do, he said. ``But you cant tell me the players are any more intense today than they were when I played. If some guy had pulled some of the stuff they do today back then, he would have been hammered.

 Stephen Cash is neither a writer nor a broadcaster. But the Chapel Hill, N.C., resident is a huge sports fan. He owns a satellite dish, and he watches every football and basketball game he can. Hes often disgusted by what he sees. ``Im only 42, but I can remember when players didnt worry about playing for the camera, he said. ``Everyone went about their business. If I had acted that way growing up, my daddy wouldnt have let me play sports. Now, its all about image, about showing off. The games wouldnt be nearly as long if everybody would just play.

 ESPN SportZone conducted its own study. In one of its surveys, more than 81 percent of respondents indicated they believed sportsmanship had declined in the past decade. That led SportZone columnist Greg Garber to write: ``In the world of todays professional and major college sports, sportsmanship is nothing more than an abstract, moral concept. Taunting and trash talking are up. Respect and decorum are down.

 Joe McIntosh was an all-ACC running back at North Carolina State University in the early 1980s. When he scored a touchdown, he handed the ball to an official and shook hands with his teammates. When he ran for a first down, he got up and headed back to the huddle. There was no show, no flair to his game. Nor anyones he played with or against. ``That wasnt how you played the game, he said. ``You didnt celebrate because you were just doing your job. You werent out there to show anybody up.

Whats the cause?

 The factors most often cited during this study were a less stringent society, increased media attention, lack of control among coaches, money and changes in attitude toward sports. ``They all feed off each other, said Feinstein. ``Theyre independent, yet together they only enhance the problem. Its a vicious circle.

 Research indicates that todays societal views are more lax with regard to behavior. There are more single-parent households, and in most two-parent households, both parents work. Thus, children arent given the same attention. ``There is not as much family time as there was when we were growing up, said Franchione. ``Kids are given more responsibility at an earlier age. Thats based in part on whats going on around them.

 Advancements in technology have accelerated the growing process, creating more opportunities for teen-agers to ``spread their wings. That has helped weaken parental control, giving teens, particularly athletes, more of a feeling of invincibility. ``They are brought up to believe the rules that still do exist do not exist for them, said Feinstein of athletes. ``When they do misbehave, they are quickly told that they will be forgiven. Thus, the foundation is laid in junior high that they are special.

 Helping fuel that attention are recruiting services that cater to fans through the media. Relatively young in their existence, these ``experts provide rankings of national high school stars, some as early as their sophomore years. ``The recruiting services have helped things get out of hand, said University of Washington mens basketball coach Bob Bender. ``To rank one sophomore from California above another sophomore from Pennsylvania as the 18th- and 19th-best sophomores in the country is absurd. Former University of North Carolina mens basketball coach Dean Smith pointed more to the actual wooing of players. ``The recruiting process has made them bigger than life. Thats been a big change over the years.

 Still, recruiting services succeed because fans want to know how their universitys incoming freshmen class ranks against a rival universitys class. Newspapers, in kind, feel obligated to report that as news. Television newscasts pick up on it, as do radio sports talk shows -- along with Internet chat rooms, the newest forms of this frenzy. ``When a sophomore in high school can read his name in a national magazine, its out of hand, said Feinstein. ``How can a kid not think hes special -- that the rules arent the same for him -- when everybody is telling him he is?

 Less than a decade ago, only the championship game of baseballs Little League World Series was televised. This year, every game was televised either on ESPN or ESPN2, save for the title game, which was still carried by ABC. ``Its crazy, Feinstein said. ``The Toms River (N.J.) team was on the top half of the front page of The New York Times. I saw a postgame news conference with a 12-year-old. Can you believe that? Where does it end?

 Packer laid part of the blame on the hand that feeds him. ``Television is the single biggest reason that sportsmanship has gotten out of hand, he said. ``The highlight shows have created a very damaging effect. Over and over, you see dunks, touchdowns and celebrations. If theres a fight in hockey, thats the highlight of the evening. Any time a guy gestures, hes gone over the line. And its all created by someone watching TV.

 These athletes have become so much larger than life that some admit not to caring what anyone thinks. Charles Barkley, the outspoken forward for the NBAs Houston Rockets, has said repeatedly through the years that he has no desire to be a role model. Its an attitude that infuriated Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports columnist Terrence Moore. ``Charles Barkley bothers me because I think all of us have people looking up to us, Moore told the NCAA News. ``That role applies to ministers, politicians and athletes. Some student-athletes have had a misconception that they could do what other students do and no one should care. If you are the quarterback for the University of Georgia, you have arguably the most visible position at Georgia outside of being the coach or the president of the university. Is that unfair? Yes. Is that the way it is? Yes. If this is too much pressure on you, then you should quit the team.

 Collegiate athletes should have a role model in their coach, a person who can create an environment conducive to good sportsmanship. In this instance, Smith said there is a clear separation between football and basketball, at least when it comes to on-field behavior. ``Football coaches get away with murder. They can scream and holler and run up and down at the referee. If a basketball coach does that, its a technical foul, he said. Smith said college coaches still ultimately control their players. ``Who substitutes? The coach does. If a player doesnt do what hes told, the coach can take him out. I think thats the ultimate control.

 ``The way a coach behaves can help shape a player, Franchione said. ``If you look at the programs throughout the country that have never had a negative image, youll probably find that most of them have great coaches who have set high standards. And a lot of that comes from the way that coach and his staff conduct themselves.

 How then, to explain Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight. His temper is legendary; he once hurled a chair across the court in protest of an officials call, an incident that years later is still among the first cited as evidence of poor sportsmanship. Yet his teams show exemplary behavior. ``Bob will curse at his players, yet he wont let them curse, said Smith, who considers Knight a good friend. ``What he does works for him.

 Because of the tremendous salaries, its not as easy in pro sports for coaches to affect their players behavior. ``How can you be expected to control a player whos making three times as much money as you are? asked former NBA coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. ``The short answer is you cant. You hope theyll pay attention to you and act responsibly, but if they dont, theres not a whole lot you can do about it.

 Dan Reeves is the coach of the NFLs Atlanta Falcons. He has been involved in pro football either as a player or coach for four decades. ``When I got to the NFL, players werent paid very much, and certainly less than their coach, he said. ``Most of us kept other jobs in the off-season to help pay the bills. Nowadays, everyones a millionaire and everyone thinks theyre a star, that theyre elite..

 Stevens said even team sports have become more individualized. ``A lot of athletes have performance bonuses, she said. ``You might have a base salary of 500,000, but you can make up to $3 million depending on how you play. How you play, not the team.

 While college athletes arent drawing regular paychecks, money nevertheless plays a role. Schools make millions from television and licensing contracts. Only one North Carolina basketball game is not being televised this season. Duke will appear on ESPN alone more than 20 times. For the first time, every ACC conference game will be televised live. Less than one week after heralded recruit Ronald Curry signed to play football and basketball for the Tar Heels, sporting goods stores were stocking merchandise bearing his name. ``A college star is bigger than life, Packer said. ``You used to just be the big man on campus. Now you have little kids running around wearing your jersey.

 To that end, the disciplining of men behaving badly has become a hit-or-miss proposition. To a college athlete, a suspension is serious business. To many pro athletes, its merely some time off. ``A college athlete is trying to get to the next level, to the big money, Feinstein said. ``And their seasons are shorter, more precious. They dont want to sit even for one game. To some pro athletes, a big fine just means maybe they dont buy that fifth car just yet. Its a slap on the wrist. A few years ago I remember some athlete got suspended and he said that was fine, that he needed the vacation. They make so much money that they just dont care.

 Some pro athletes now see themselves as entertainers as much as athletes. The leagues themselves only enhance that behavior by having their own entertainment divisions. The NBA, in particular, pushes that aspect shamelessly in its promotions. Television ads highlighting upcoming games or the league itself are filled with highlights of dunks, fancy passes and displays of emotion. ``Fans want to be entertained, said Payton. ``Basketballs just a part of it.

 An understated part, Packer said. ``Thats the easy route to creating a fan, and thats what the NBA did. Pro basketball was reborn during the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson era. Then Michael Jordan came along shortly thereafter and has carried the game for years. But the league has marketed the entertainment aspect more than the basketball aspect. I told somebody a while back that the way the NBA was going, with the lack of respect for the game, that pro basketball as we knew it would no longer be there a few years from now. I dont think thats beyond the realm of possibility.

 Pro football has changed as well. Whereas touchdown celebrations have been an accepted aspect of the game for more than 20 years, players now routinely play to the crowd after every play. If a receiver catches a pass, he celebrates. If a cornerback breaks up a pass, he celebrates. If a lineman sacks a quarterback, he celebrates. ``The same defensive back who gets beat for a 40-yard gain the play before begs for the crowds approval after he knocks down a pass, Feinstein said. ``Its ridiculous.

 Reeves admitted emotion is a necessary part of football. And hes OK with some celebrating -- hed have to be, since his Falcons ``dirty bird touchdown dance was all the rage in the 1998 season. But he doesnt understand the other fuss. ``To me, all it does is slow the game down, he said. ``We try to teach our players to do their job and be professional about it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt.

 David Thompson is arguably the most prolific basketball player in ACC history. He led North Carolina State to an NCAA championship in 1974 and had a tremendous pro career, first in the now-defunct American Basketball Association and later in the NBA. His high-flying talents transcended the sport at the time. As an entertainer, his feats were unparalleled; only he regarded himself as a player. ``A guy will make a play thats not really spectacular, an average play, and theyll respond like they just won a championship, he told the News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. ``Just the way they react to routine plays is comical at times. When I was playing, if I made a great play, I thought it was more effective if you made it seem routine, like it was no big deal.

 Smith agreed. ``I was watching this pro football game, and a guy scored. I was so happy because he acted like hed done it before.

 Playing to the crowd isnt as prevalent among college sports, partly because the rules are stricter and partly because of a coachs control. ``Unsportsmanlike conduct penalties are called when things get out of hand, Franchione said. ``Thats a quick deterrent. And we dont tolerate that stuff anyway. Neither does Bender, who played for Knight and was an assistant for Duke University mens basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, also a strict disciplinarian. ``We teach our kids to play with class, he said. ``We dont show the other team up. You can play hard and still play the game the right way. A lot of kids today dont seem to understand that.

What can be done?

 Most people agree that for sportsmanship to reverse its downward trend, help will have to come from many sources. Russell Gough, a professor at Pepperdine University and the author of ``Character is Everything: Promoting Ethical Excellence in Sports, said effecting change should begin with self-examination. ``I think we point the finger at others a little too much, he told the NCAA News. ``We probably ought to be looking in the mirror.

 Robert J. Minnix, the associate director of athletics at Florida State University and chair of the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct, said it will take time. ``Everybody thinks they have to pour money down into a black hole to fix sportsmanship. Its not about money, its about what are you as an individual going to do about it? Its everybodys responsibility.

 There are plausible remedies on the professional level. While players laugh off a fine or suspension after the fact, most attempt to adhere to the rules during a game. When the NFL outlawed players removing their helmets while on the field, the act stopped. When the NBA legislated stricter disciplinary measures for fighting, the number of incidents dropped drastically. ``Those things have helped, but its only the tip of the iceberg. I also think its unrealistic to expect them to exact many more measures.

 It is generally agreed the most significant impact can be felt long before an athlete gets to college. ``By the time they get to a university, the star quality has long been in place, Feinstein said. ``If an athletes behavior hasnt been shaped in a positive way by then, theres not as much that you can do about it.

 Since it is extremely difficult to control whats going on at home, change must take place at school. ``You never for sure know what a kids home life may be like, said Eric Roanhaus, the football coach at Clovis (N.M.) High School, a perennial power and a past state sportsmanship winner. ``And there are certain lines that you just cant cross. So what you try to do is have as much influence as possible while theyre in your control. You want the football team to be family as well.

 North Carolina, under Adams direction, has been on the cutting edge of change with regard to whats acceptable and whats not on the high school level. Last season, he instructed referees to bring rival captains together before games to read a message deemed both a reminder and a warning: No trash-talking. No taunting. No baiting. No cursing. No disrespecting an official. And no celebrations that demean the opponent.  ``Weve instituted a system that has very clear limits, said Rick Strunk, the associate executive director of the NCHSAA and Adams chief aide. ``Maybe the approach we take is superior to what others take. We feel this is extremely important.

 If players misbehave to a point being ejected, the punishment is severe. A first ejection during a school year costs an athlete not only the rest of that game, but any played during the following six days as well. A second ejection means youre done for the season. And if you get three in any combined sports in a calendar season, youre through for good.
 Team penalties also have been instituted. If any six players in a sport are ejected during the season, the team is ineligible for the playoffs. The same holds true for any four who are ejected for fighting. ``That has caused coaches and administrators to take it seriously, Strunk said. ``There are a lot more people paying attention to it now than there used to be.

 A handful of other state high school athletic associations have taken similar stances, and still others consider such programs works in progress. Adams said that if sportsmanship is to improve, it must begin at this level. ``High school athletics are the last pure form of amateur athletics left in society, he said. ``Its where the majority of the kids are playing for the fun and love of the game. And sportsmanship isnt something you can put on a shelf and leave it alone. Its something you have to renew, that you have to re-evaluate constantly.

 If acceptable behavior is taught and reinforced to athletes at a younger age, there is a greater opportunity for sportsmanship to improve down the line, Feinstein said. ``You have to get to them at an early age, and you have to stay with it. Teaching them the difference between right and wrong should extend to the playing field. Its OK for a star athlete to know he or she is special, just as long as he or she realizes that the same rules apply -- as they should.