A Message From the Executive Director …

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Sportsmanship received significant attention at the April meeting of the Athletic Union Board of Directors.  This month, I am using our column to talk about ongoing concerns this area, and outline some options the Board of Directors may consider in the near term.

There were many concerns voiced following this year’s state basketball tournament regarding poor sportsmanship on the sidelines, and by fans in the stands.  Historically, crowd complaints have been focused around behaviors of students.  This year, the number of complaints we’ve heard about the conduct of adult spectators exceeded the complaints from student conduct.  One thing is very clear, if inappropriate conduct of coaches and spectators is allowed to continue, we send the message it is acceptable.  However, it isn’t acceptable and cannot be allowed to continue.

This isn’t to say the tournament, or high school athletics in general, have been overtaken by poor sports.  There are still a majority of coaches and crowds who display sportsmanship that would be deemed appropriate for an interscholastic athletic event.  However, problems are increasing.  Coaches, participants and fans create an image of their team, school and community.  When inappropriate decorum is displayed, it reflects negatively on everyone.  Corrective action in a circumstance such as this comes in the form of a rule or a regulation, or a change in existing policy.   

In May, the Board will consider changing the coaches’ bench decorum rule.  One option includes requiring coaches to remain seated throughout the game with limited exceptions that include congratulating a player leaving the game or cheering an outstanding play.  This rule would be identical to the bench decorum rule currently in place in the boys’ game in Iowa.   Playing rules in any sport are changed not because of the actions of the many, but rather by the actions of a few.  There is no doubt the actions of a few coaches have forced the need for tightening of the bench decorum rule.  

The sideline concerns are not limited to comments or actions toward officials.   The treatment of players, both verbally and physically, by several of the coaches in this year’s tournament causes us great concern.  The Athletic Union doesn’t have authority to discipline a coach for the manner in which he/she treats students.  That authority lies solely with the administration of the school that employs the coach.   Coaching is solely about education.   At no time is education about berating and intimidating.  The trend of some coaches to grab players, swear at them and personally berate them in game situations will be addressed promptly with school administrators, and also used as an example for what coaching is not about when we hold our annual June licensure workshop for new coaches.

Our concern is not limited to coaches.  Some of our most highly respected officials ignored repeated unsportsmanlike conduct of coaches in this year’s tournament.  One of the reasons this happens is officials are worried about their evaluation by coaches, as it is that evaluation which determines how far an official advances in the tournament series.  Poorer officials have long been accused of ignoring unsportsmanlike conduct of coaches in order to avoid a bad evaluation from a coach.  Now, we see some of the best officials in the state ignoring this part of the playing rules.  As a result, we are working to modify the official’s evaluation process in a way that will help ensure the game is called as expected. 

The Board’s attention will also turn to the spectators.  Sportsmanship awards are offered in two sports, volleyball and basketball.  After awards were given this year, some members of the media and others associated with the tournament remarked that in two of the four classes, the awards were an embarrassment, but that “at least the schools which were least bad” did receive the award.   This caused us to ask a few questions.  First, why present sportsmanship awards?    Is there cause for rewarding behavior, which should be the norm?  Is “least bad” an acceptable standard for determining the most sporting school?  Doesn’t receipt of the award imply crowd behavior is judged as acceptable, when in reality, it isn’t?  If you win a sportsmanship award despite the fact your crowd swears in unison during a game (which happened this year), how do you convince the crowd that is not the acceptable standard?  In one game, the opposing crowd booed the sportsmanship winner after the championship.

We will continue to seek ways to keep interscholastic athletics in their proper educational perspective.  In so many ways, the Pursuing Victory With Honor program within Character Counts shows added relevancy each day in the sports world.  The six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring & Citizenship have to remain in focus for spectators, coaches and participants so the 70,000 female students who participate in interscholastic athletics have the opportunity to learn the most from their participatory experience.

The responsibility of the Athletic Union is to help insure, through our policies and regulations, that students do indeed have the opportunity to thrive educationally through their participation in the sport programs of our 392 member high schools.  The concerns of coaches’ bench decorum and spectator behavior are valid in that each hinders the educational environment.   As a result, the Board of Directors and our staff are committed to finding the remedy.