Fan Entitlement

Posted on June 7, 2021 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

Fan throwing popcorn at Russell WestbrookOn the TunneySide of Sports June 7, 2021 #851 Up next… Fan Entitlement

After further review… In the movie “Finding Forester” William  Forester (played by the late Sean Connery) asks Jamal Wallace (played by actor Rob Brown) if, at the end of his high school championship game played in Madison Square Garden, when Wallace had two free throws, which he missed, but would have won the game, “Did you miss ‘em or did you miss ‘em?” as if on purpose. For Wallace, it was a matter of integrity.

Let’s pose the same question for our professional athletes. Did the professional athletes miss not having fans in the stands while the pandemic kept them sheltered in? Or did they miss them? While it was widely said that NBA players and professional golfers would prefer to have the stands and fairway sidelines packed with fans, were they really missed? Did the players play with less intensity or effort without the fans? Is this an integrity issue as the one faced by Jamal Wallace in the aforementioned movie?

Let’s make the case that it is an integrity issue! Why is that? Did the raucous golf crowd at the PGA Championship in Kiawah Island make it uncomfortable to compete fairly for Phil Mickelson or Brooks Koepka on the walk up the 18th fairway? Yes, you can make the point that although Mickelson was leading and did win. How uncomfortable were they in a crowd that, at least on television, looked out of control? Were the fans entitled to be on the course?

It’s been a U.S. Open policy to allow fans (most PGA golf tournaments do not) to follow the leading golfer(s) up the 18th on the final round. This “mob” (as the late sportscaster Jack Whittaker would have said) appeared to be out of control. The players were even jostled as they walked toward the 18th green. Surely, that U.S. Open policy is being examined.

On another fan issue. The Philadelphia Sixers ejected a Sixers fan and later denied his admission to the Wells Fargo Center, the home arena of the Sixers, for throwing popcorn at and onto Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards as he exited the game. The Sixers lost that game.

Further, a disgruntled fan threw a water bottle at Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets star point guard as Irving was leaving the playing floor following the Nets 125-119 win over the Celtics at the TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics. Whether the fan was angry at Irving for stomping on the Celtics logo or not, throwing objects at players is way out of line!

Will you log-in about the entitlements of fans at sporting events?

—————

Jim Tunney had an exemplary career in sports. A former high school coach, teacher, principal, and district superintendent, he had a 40-year career in officiating football and basketball. Thirty-one of those years he was “The Face of NFL officiating” working a record twenty-nine post-season games including three Super Bowls (two back-to-back), ten NFC/AFC Championship games, six Pro Bowls and twenty-five Monday Night games, when MNF was THE game of the week. He officiated some of the most memorable games in NFL history, including “The Ice Bowl”, “The Kick”, “The Snowball Game”, “The Final Fumble”, “The Fog Bowl”, and “The Catch”. His book “IMPARTIAL JUDGMENT: “The Dean of NFL Referees” calls Pro Football as He Sees It”, chronicles his NFL career. See the website for all products.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

Posted in Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged | Leave a comment

Zero Tolerance

Posted on May 31, 2021 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports May 31, 2021 #850 Up next… Zero Tolerance

After further review… Thoroughbred racing has always been exciting to me. Perhaps because my family was involved for some 75 years — on the administrative side, not ownership or training.

I love watching those magnificent athletes run at some 40-45 MPH and compete for a victory. The Triple Crown comprised of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes (to be run next Saturday, June 5th) has always been a favorite.

The 146th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico race course in Baltimore on May 15th featured an upset with Rombauer ridden by jockey Flavin Plat and trained by Michael McCarthy, not the Dallas Cowboys head coach – he’s busy getting ready for the season. Rombauer came from 11th place to outrun Midnight Bourbon and Medina Spirit, who won the Kentucky Derby a couple of weeks earlier.

Oh yes, Medina Spirit still is this years’ Derby winner although the horse tested positive after the race. The use of betamethasone has been used to enhance a horse’s running ability, which was not found in ‘Spirit, but a medication used to treat dermatitis did show a positive drug use. Remember it’s not the horse’s fault that the use of a drug shows up in a urine sample.

This was not trainer Bob Baffert’s first “rodeo.” And this is not an accusation of his guilt. Baffert has won 7 Kentucky Derbies (a record) as well as 2 Triple Crowns (2015 and 2018). Baffert’s horses have failed drug tests for over four decades including four in 2020 and although he is in the Lone Star Park’s and the National Museum’s Halls of Fame his “leafy credibility,” as some have claimed, has caused damage to his outstanding accomplishments.

Here’s where my family enters this picture. My dad, Jim Sr., was a high school administrator in the mid-1940s when he was recruited by the California Thoroughbred Horse Racing Association to join them as a Patrol Judge and then as a Steward at their 3 California racetracks. Thoroughbred racing at that time was having problems with “fouls” being committed during the race. Mind you, dad had never ridden or even been on a horse – let alone a thoroughbred.

However, he was an outstanding sports official (football and basketball) and not only knew a foul when he saw one but had the integrity to enforce it when it occurred. He served in that capacity for 20 years until he passed away in 1965. Along with fellow stewards, his presence, experience, and integrity corrected those problems. Further, his son, Peter, served as General Manager of Golden Gate Fields in Albany, California for 30 years. His grandson, Michael, worked at the Del Mar Race Track (California) for 40 seasons.

Will you serve with integrity as your first and foremost quality?

MEMORIAL DAY – Never Forget

—————

Jim Tunney had an exemplary career in sports. A former high school coach, teacher, principal, and district superintendent, he had a 40-year career in officiating football and basketball. Thirty-one of those years he was “The Face of NFL officiating” working a record twenty-nine post-season games including three Super Bowls (two back-to-back), ten NFC/AFC Championship games, six Pro Bowls and twenty-five Monday Night games, when MNF was THE game of the week. He officiated some of the most memorable games in NFL history, including “The Ice Bowl”, “The Kick”, “The Snowball Game”, “The Final Fumble”, “The Fog Bowl”, and “The Catch”. His book “IMPARTIAL JUDGMENT: “The Dean of NFL Referees” calls Pro Football as He Sees It”, chronicles his NFL career. See the website for all products.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

Posted in NFL, Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Are You Crying?

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

no crying in baseballOn the TunneySide of Sports May 24, 2021 #849 Up next… “Are you crying?”

After further review… You could hear Jimmy Duggan, played by Tom Hanks the manager of the Racine Belles, the All-American Girls Professional Softball T*E*A*M (AAGPBL) as he yelled at Evelyn when she threw to the wrong base that cost the Belles that game. “Are you crying?” Duggan repeated. Then he followed with “There’s no crying in baseball!” I disagree!

Wouldn’t you think that there was a tear or two in Mickey Mantle’s eyes as he circled the bases after hitting #536 in his last home game against Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg on September 20, 1968 – one month shy of his 37th birthday. Or how about on October 8, 1956, when Don Larsen pitched that perfect game retiring all 27 batters in that World Series game? Larsen said afterward, “When it was over, I was so happy. I felt like crying.” My guess is he did!

This brings me to 24-year-old Tom Burns who won his first major PGA Championship at Innisbrook in Palm Beach, Florida earlier this month in the Valspar Championship. What’s unusual about Burns’s victory is that this was his first time being atop the leader board after 72 – that’s right – 72 PGA tournaments! As his wife and parents poured onto the 18th green, Burns was seen wiping away a face full of tears. A championship after 18 tries! Wouldn’t you? That victory was worth $1,242,000 or about ½ million more than second-place finisher Keegan Bradley, who, incidentally, helped Burns’ victory by double-bogeying number 12 in that final round.

Two weeks later at the Byron Nelson Classic in McKinney, Texas, Burns was the leader all three rounds but shot a 70 on the final round losing out to K.H. Lee who won his first PGA event.

Tears-in-your-eyes can take many forms. It happens in victory and in defeat. I remember holding a towel to cover my face sitting on the bench as our chance at a high school basketball championship faded away. Sports are played with passion which builds emotion that is sometimes unable to control. To those in defeat or victory, tears become a release.

Tears in victory are easy to understand. When you work so long and so diligently for something and then it happens– well, you have every right to release those emotions. You deserve that.

However, don’t forget your opponents! They have the right to release their emotions as well. “Be humble in victory and gracious in defeat,” said Christopher Earle. By doing so you will display a strength of character and a level of honor.

Will you show strength and honor in your victories or defeats during your sporting life?

—————

Jim Tunney had an exemplary career in sports. A former high school coach, teacher, principal, and district superintendent, he had a 40-year career in officiating football and basketball. Thirty-one of those years he was “The Face of NFL officiating” working a record twenty-nine post-season games including three Super Bowls (two back-to-back), ten NFC/AFC Championship games, six Pro Bowls and twenty-five Monday Night games, when MNF was THE game of the week. He officiated some of the most memorable games in NFL history, including “The Ice Bowl”, “The Kick”, “The Snowball Game”, “The Final Fumble”, “The Fog Bowl”, and “The Catch”. His book “IMPARTIAL JUDGMENT: “The Dean of NFL Referees” calls Pro Football as He Sees It”, chronicles his NFL career. See the website for all products.

To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com  or email jim@jimtunney.com.

Posted in Sports, Tunney Side of Sports Columns | Tagged | Leave a comment