What Happened to Sportsmanship?

For those of you who follow baseball you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Red Sox  and Rays brawl that happened last week. This among other recent events have got me thinking, what has happened to sportsmanship? What happened in Boston is simply unacceptable for America’s Pastime. There used to be some class to the sport, but it seems to have vanished. When I was a young girl I played slow pitch softball. The whole point of the youth leagues were supposedly to build confidence in the kids, teach them about teamwork and sportsmanship, and to basically have fun. Sure whoever won the game would have a little celebration, but only after they won the game. And it was always a tradition of the “Good Game” line up at the end of every game. Where did we go wrong?

Last month while my favorite baseball team was playing a series against the Yankees, Joba Chamberlain did a double fist pump and yelled after striking out David Dellucci of the Cleveland Indians (see one of the many articles on this event here).  The Yankees see nothing wrong with what Chamberlain did, but is that truly sportsmanlike behavior. Is charging the mound after being hit by a pitch sportsmanlike? (Yes, the throw was intentional, but you’d think someone showing true sportsmanship would have risen above something like that) It’s not, plain and simple. Manny Ramirez’s habit of standing at home plate for a brief period of time after hitting a home run is also unacceptable. Run your bases and go receive the congratulations of your teammates after that. The fans already appreciate what you’ve done.

So where has sportsmanship gone? Personally I think it’s been killed by the win at all costs, you’re nothing if you don’t win, winning is all there is mentalities that are now being instilled in children by their parents. We’ve taken the fun out of sports. The basics of youth sports programs have been replaced by the idea that the only reason why your child is out on the field (whatever type of field it may be) is to be the best. No longer is it “Win or lose, it’s how you played the game.” or ” Go out there and have fun.” I think that’s sad. The chances of a child ever becoming a pro athlete are very slim, so why shouldn’t they just go out there and have fun. And like it or not pro athletes are role models for kids. Kids idolize their favorite players, so what they do on the field sets the tone for how these children behave.

I say to the adults show some maturity and set a good example. Children learn from example, and if we as adults are telling them life is only about winning and making an ass of yourself, I really don’t want to see what the future holds.