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On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS
May 27, 2013 #438 Up next..."While you were sleeping..."
After further review... Thomas
L. Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer prize winner and New York Times
columnist, wrote in his best-selling book "The World Is Flat,
3.0" that America essentially was "sleeping" when it
failed to understand the impact of emerging globalization. In essence
Friedman was asserting that we Americans thought we "had it
all" and thus became complacent with our status quo.
A similar scenario is happening
in the world of sports. A recent episode on HBO's award-winning
"Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" highlighted violent attacks
that have been occurring against sports officials in a number of
settings. We officials have foreseen such events for decades, while the
public in general has been dozing on the issue. "Unsportsmanlike
Conduct" focused on the death of 46-year old Ricardo Portillo, a
soccer referee. Portillo yellow-carded a 17-year-old player who then, in
a fit of anger, punched the referee in the head. Portillo fell to the
ground unconscious, later lapsed into a coma, and died.
Violence against authority has
been escalating for decades, yet we as a society have consistently
ignored it. "Kill the umpire!" is an old time ball park
refrain, originally intended to get the message across but would stop
short of the actual crime. It was a common expression that caused more
chuckles than missed heartbeats. Nor any more! In fact, from this point
of view, it never was funny. Disregard for authority seems to have
mushroomed as the "me-first" attitude has dug into our culture.
But while we all want maximum freedom, we must also accept the
responsibility that accompanies it. Violence is often born in the
disconnection between these two principles. Should teachers fear
repercussions for insisting on "law and order" in the classroom
and school grounds? Can students overcome the atmosphere of homes with
poor character guidance?
In the "Real Sports"
story National Association of Sports Officials (www.naso.com)
president Barry Mano stated "Sports is life with the volume turned
up". It seems here that the proper place to begin turning this
phenomenon around is in everyday life--our individual corners of the
world. We cannot expect our young athletes to display proper behavior
when their sports idols do not show exemplary behavior, or when they see
supposedly responsible adults challenging authority at every whim.
Will you as a parent, teacher
or coach set a proper behavior pattern for our young to follow?
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