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Saw This On Facebook This Morning From Our Superintendent


Stoney

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As we move into the Spring sports, the UIL has wanted us to remind fans of proper behavior at games.

I attended a University Interscholastic League update in late January. The UIL director shared there have been 13 basketball game-ending incidents involving players, coaches and fans. These games were suspended before completion of the contest.

Discussion also centered on the growing number of fan ejections at UIL sporting events. These incidents are not good for UIL sports. Everyone needs to understand the importance of sportsmanship in the athletic arena. These types of negative occurrences at sporting events portray schools in a negative light. We need to avoid these types of situations at all costs. Responsible behavior at athletics events is a top goal of UIL and they have provided a letter to the fans.

Dear Fan:

You walk up to the stadium or field ready to see a clash between your high school team and your most hated rival. You pull out your hard-earned cash for that ticket, that golden ticket that allows you to a seat where you plan to help your team with constant berating of the opposing team and officials. You feel it is your duty as a fan to do everything you can for your team, and your role is to call it like you see it from 50 feet away in the stands. What you dont understand is that your verbal abuse does nothing more than a tear at the fabric of high school sports. The players on the athletic field, court or diamond are not being paid to play; they are not professional athletes that have to deal with fans like you on a daily basis. It is a privilege, not a right, for these athletes to compete as much as it is a privilege for you to sit in the stands and watch. But what about your golden ticket that you paid good money for, doesnt that entitle you to something? Yes, you get the opportunity to watch two schools show off their skills and what they have learned in the athletic classroom. Other than that, your ticket gives you little more than a first-come-first-served spot on a crowded row of bleachers. Contests could not exist without rules, and just as the players have to abide by rules on the field, you too have to follow the rules in the stands. Its not all your fault; you probably had someone much like yourself at your high school games.

Hopefully its not the case, but you may never have seen proper spectator decorum. The UIL has a few basic tips that can help steer you in the right direction.

1. The field of play is the athletic classroom for student-athletes. Instead of math and science they learn teamwork and group responsibility in addition to dealing with success and overcoming adversity. You wouldnt dare interrupt a teacher giving a test to his or her students, yet you do it to coaches and student-athletes routinely in their classroom.

2. Your ticket does not entitle you to disrespect or degrade others in any way. Everyone who is a part of high school athletics gives their best effort and that commitment to educational athletics should be celebrated.

3. Understand that the student-athletes you are watching will make mistakes, and no participant should be ridiculed at any time because of their efforts. Many of them are still learning the games they play and can easily be disheartened by a rogue fan attacking their performance.

4. High school coaches are actually full-time teachers first and coaches second. Anyone who tries to reverse this order is taking the first step to destroying a program. No one wants a program to fail, but the merciless pressure you put on him or her as someone who had nothing to do with the building of the program can bring it down.

5. Officials are present to promote the game and the student-athletes involved. They make judgment calls in good faith based on their knowledge and extensive training. A lot of time and effort has gone into making sure that they know the rules better than you. Respect their decisions.

6. Finally, you are a guest of the school and should act like one. Winning is an admirable goal of competition, but it is nothing if it comes at the expense of morals, ethics, and common sense.

#ALL IN

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As a player, I never listened to it, because I was more focused on the game than what was going on in the stands. When I did attend games, I did hear it, but didn't pay attention to it because I was watching what was happening in the games, and usually didn't care who won or lost because I wasn't playing. Maybe it's just that people weren't as sensitive before the 00's. Today, many take things to heart for some stupid reason. While I haven't attend but a few high school football games in the past 30 years, I can't determine if it's worse than when I was growing up.

 

I have heckled a few professional players in my life, and the only one that responded was Ken Caminiti. He had struck out three times in the game, and me and a friend brought up his admitted steroid use. He flipped us off, and we applauded him for doing so. I've joined in on the chorus of boo's when AFraud came to bat against Texas as a Yankee, and thought nothing of it. I'm a Yankees fan, and still don't like the guy. He did hit one homerun that game in his first at bat, and I booed some more. On the professional level I see it more as a part of the game. With 30,000+ people in the stands I'm sure many players don't hear it, and they block it out by focusing on the game. I still think the Bob Barker scene made "Happy Gilmore" worth watching a golf movie.

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I agree +1000000000000%....Many parents are re-living there "glory days" OR living out the dream THEY never had thru their child....and when some "bum" calls a foul on THEIR child or their child's team....they think that just because they are there...they have the right to berate the coach, the official, or the other team. Maybe the UIL needs to do to the fan what they do to coaches that are tossed....they must appear before the UIL and explain their behavior....and then if found guilty....BANNED....kinda like a "red badge of stupidity"...no wait.....THAT would be degrading the person and someone would take the UIL to court for "holding them back" from their "god given right" to attend the game.....might need to do what some schools have done and play the game in front of an empty stadium and let NO ONE IN!!!

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I agree +1000000000000%....Many parents are re-living there "glory days" OR living out the dream THEY never had thru their child....and when some "bum" calls a foul on THEIR child or their child's team....they think that just because they are there...they have the right to berate the coach, the official, or the other team. Maybe the UIL needs to do to the fan what they do to coaches that are tossed....they must appear before the UIL and explain their behavior....and then if found guilty....BANNED....kinda like a "red badge of stupidity"...no wait.....THAT would be degrading the person and someone would take the UIL to court for "holding them back" from their "god given right" to attend the game.....might need to do what some schools have done and play the game in front of an empty stadium and let NO ONE IN!!!

Schools have the right to ban spectators from attending events on their school grounds...you dont have to go to UIL

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I've watched quite a few football games where the officials leaned toward the home team, but it's nothing like the few years of watching basketball. It's usually not as bad in your area or District, but sometimes on longer non-district games, it can get akin to highway robbery. Anyway, most basketball teams have an advantage at home.

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  • 1 month later...

This is a problem in spring sports as well! Baseball parents also lack self control when losing as well. Sad that fans get ejected, for the school and the kids to see adults yelling at umpires and law officers getting involved at a high school baseball game! ALL please take note and be a role model!

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