Decline of Sportsmanship

[DownTownTonyBrown]

Originally posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.
I don't want to even get started on sportsmanship. BUT it starts at home. Parents are a child's first teachers. The reason that we see poor sportsmanship is just part of the general lack of civility in our society today. ... students at her [school] were not required to exhibit good manners because they were not taught it at home therefore it would not be required of them in school.

I couldn't agree with you more, Mark. But don't you feel that part of this decline in civility and thereby, also in sportsmanship, is due to NO PENALTY for these poor actions. Our society does not impose any repercussions on those displaying poor citizenship. We just ignore them and they find some other low-lifes to associate with.

As a whole we need to not accept poor sportsmanship on the court and more readily penalize those acts.

Our tolerant society however has an additional characteristic - enforcement actions, such as a T, must be justified. For example, I call a technical foul on a player. Coach wants to know why. So I justify. Coach questions my justification and this is allowed, or even worse, felt to be the coach's responsibility to question my authority. So "justified" becomes your justification must meet the approval of everyone involved. And if it doesn't, or it is questionable, then your penalty was inappropriate.

That makes for a terrible situation that we, as officials, can't possible win - at least not every time.