On the TUNNEYSIDE of Sports September 14, 2015 Up next… Lacking Moral Compass!
After further review… It is disturbing to consider how much anger exists in our society, and how many people with failing self-control skills are walking among us, liable to erupt at any moment. Do television and the motion picture industry encourage the violence that has become so commonplace, with the steady stream of violent content that they produce? Does our society really want to allow, and can it endure, this behavior? The images of Sandy Hook, Ct., Columbine, Co., and other equally brutal random killings will remain with us for a lifetime.
Is the sports world culpable? Some sporting events are, by design as well as by nature, violent. Yet they do not have to be vicious. Our game of American football is currently under serious attack by those who decry its controlled violence, but it doesn’t have to be, and it shouldn’t be, provided we deal with this essential question: Are we raising a younger generation with the mindset to hate opponents? And does a “win-at-any-cost” attitude sap the character from the games we play?
Herm Edwards, former NFL player, head coach and current ESPN analyst has been quoted as saying “You play to win the game!” Having closely observing both his playing and coaching days, I can confirm that Edwards treats football as a game, but a game in which you give your best and honest effort every time, every play. Edwards never resorted to nor allowed his T*E*A*M the use of foul language or abhorrent behavior.
This brings us to a high school football game played between John Jay HS and Marble Falls HS, in San Antonio, Texas. Near the end of a recent game, two defensive players from John Jay HS targeted one of the officials. The first player violently and intentionally blindsided that official hitting him in the back and knocking him to the ground, after which the second player “speared” him as he lay helplessly on the ground. If you’ve seen the viral video, you probably couldn’t believe your eyes either.
What in the world would cause such aggression toward an official? Well, it seems that a Jay HS assistant coach was unhappy with the officiating and encouraged his players to get-even and thus that cowardly assault. (Two other JJHS players were ejected earlier in that game for unsportsmanlike acts, and JJHS ultimately lost 15-9). Of course, you play to win the game, but losing is part of any game — as it in life. Thus, the importance of a moral compass!
“Keep coming back and though the world may romp against your spine, Let every game’s end find you still on the battling line. For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name He writes – not that you won or lost – but how you played the game!” Thank you, Grantland Rice.
Will you treat your opponents and others with the same respect you desire?
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