Is Sportsmanship A Thing of the Past?

We’ve all seen them: bad calls or no-calls by referees at basketball games, as well as games that have gotten “out of control” with athletes sustaining serious injuries as a result. We’ve also seen athletes display inappropriate behavior, coaches bullying or intimidating student athletes, and parents and fans shouting at referees and reacting poorly to perceived – or even obvious bad calls.

As a society, we have seemingly decided that it’s okay to behave badly at sporting events – and seldom do we apologize for it or even take responsibility for the results of our behavior.

This season alone, I have personally witnessed flagrant fouls going unnoticed by the officials, coaches yelling at their own players, unacceptable conduct by players during games, and more than one fan ejected because of their behavior.

Along with the several athletes I have personally seen laying on the court writhing in pain, friends have reported serious injuries to athletes - including concussions, whiplash, and stitches - as a result of some pretty physical competition.

There were a few bright spots in a season seemingly riddled with unsportsmanlike conduct.

The administrators at St. Labre and Plenty Coups handled recent incidents swiftly and with class, reprimanding fans and assigning sanctions for past and future misconduct.

The Plenty Coup Booster Club penned a public apology to the Broadview/Lavina boys basketball team, coaches and fans for the behavior of Plenty Coup’s fans during a game on Feb. 20.

Excerpts from the statement included: “ ...we had no control on Saturday of the tremendous volume of Plenty Coup Warrior Fans who were not from our community and school. We will not tolerate the misconduct of booing and taunting the opposing teams. We were very embarrassed and upset with this behavior, along with our athletes and coaches. We will be addressing this behavior during our pep assembly and during future sports activities,” and “Please accept our apology, as we are very sorry this took place at the tournament.”

The letter was signed by members of the Plenty Coup Booster Club and the two boys basketball team captains.

In another instance, the executive director of St. Labre Indian School, Curtis Yarlott used social media to address some apparent misconduct after a championship game in Colstrip.

A statement attributed to Yarlott was posted on the St. Labre Braves Facebook page Feb. 25 and quickly made the rounds on the social media site.

The statement outlined circumstances surrounding the conduct of players and fans after a loss to Colstrip on the same date as the incident in Plenty Coup. Yarlott discussed consequences for behaviors demonstrated by a specific player who is a senior on the team. In addition to a written apology to the Colstrip team and the referees, the senior athlete was given a two-game suspension going into the divisional tournament.

Yarlott’s statement also defined the consequences if similar misconduct is repeated at the then upcoming divisional or state tournaments – misconduct by either players or fans: “If the behavior of our players/fans at the district tournament is repeated at the coming divisional tournament (and state tournament, should we advance), we will pull our team from the floor, forfeit the game and possibly forfeit the tournament.”

Yarlott reinforced his position by stating, “There are consequences to our actions in life, some positive, some not so positive. In this instance, the student earned his consequence through his chosen actions at the end of the game against Colstrip.” Referencing the defined consequences for repeated behavior, Yarlott stated, “It is the fans and players who will choose, through their actions, whether or not that consequence will happen.”

A follow-up post on March 1 explained that the discipline for the referenced athlete was revised following an appeal filed by his parents. It was decided to allow the student to play in the second game of the divisional tournament, which translates into a one-game suspension instead of the original two-game suspension.

Understandably, both schools have received overwhelming positive feedback, and I could find only a sprinkling of negative responses on the posts.

During the recent divisional basketball tournament in Choteau, my friend and I personally experienced some direct hostility from an elderly Choteau fan. Prior to our arrival at the game, she became angry with Scottie supporters for encroaching on what she thought was Choteau’s designated section of bleachers. It was reported that she threw her jacket at one Scottie fan and struck another with a back-handed swat. Unaware of the conflict-in-progress, my friend and I climbed the bleachers to happily choose our seats, which infuriated the hometown fan even more. She glared at us and spit out, “I can’t believe you people from the East,” unabashedly expressing her disdain. She eventually apologized for her behavior, but the damage was done.

With all of the good things that I experienced at the tournament and the incredible hospitality shown by the school’s representatives, this one negative incident is what I will remember of the weekend.

There is no doubt in my mind that people are enthusiastic and sometimes overzealous about high school sports.

The questions for me are: When does it become a coach’s responsibility to pull a player out of the game if they are demonstrating unsportsmanlike conduct? At what point should a parent or guardian step up and remove their athlete from a game due to poor behavior? What resources or avenues are available to address ineffective or biased reffing? How does a school district curb fan behavior, if they can at all?

Plenty Coup and St. Labre did the right thing. I hope others will follow their lead and address poor conduct with as much integrity.

As individuals, we can represent our community and set an example for our athletes by maintaining high standards of conduct and demonstrating good sportsmanship. Any effort we make will yield only positive results and minimize negative impressions left on our guests.