Why Sacrifice Sportsmanship so that Thugs can Play Sports?
25 Nov 2005
Since it has become an occasion for fisticuffs instead of a show of sportsmanship, principals in the Northern Neck District of Virginia have eliminated the post game handshake at all athletic events. No longer will teams line up to shake hands with each other after a game. Fearful of teenage thugs exploiting this opportunity to practice good sportsmanship by throwing punches rather than shaking hands, principals have decided to throw out this post game tradition in order to prevent outbreaks of violence. I guess it never occurred to these principals that another alternative was to throw the thugs off the teams.
As a former high school and college athlete, I’ve got some questions I’d like to ask. Why should sportsmanship be sacrificed so that thugs can play sports? Why not keep good sportsmanship on the field and bad sports off? When did sports cease to be a character-building activity and become an activity for bad characters? And when did school principals start getting pushed around by unprincipled student athletes into doing away with post game handshakes?
In 2000, the Supreme Court outlawed prayers before high school ball games. Now, high school principals in Northern Virginia are eliminating post game handshakes. If this is the sad state of high school sports today—no handshaking after the game and no prayer before—then maybe its time to cancel the games all together. After all, we don’t need anymore obnoxious professional athletes; we’ve got plenty.
Don Walton
| 