Civility Lost!

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

Civility Lost

On the TunneySide of Sports September 7, 2020 #812 Up next… Civility Lost!

After further review… Have we lost our moral compass in the United States of America?

Sure, I believe that Black Lives matter simply because we are all part of humanity. Do I treat Blacks any differently simply because their skin is darker than mine? Absolutely not… unless one’s behavior calls for it! As a teacher in the classroom or coach or referee on the field/court if one’s behavior was beyond the rules, I must abide by them and provide the necessary discipline. All should expect that since we all want discipline when we are the offended ones. That’s only fair!

The abhorrent treatment of black men on the streets needs to be dealt with by  authorities. That’s what justice is all about. Justice by vigilantes only leads to retaliation and that’s not what our country needs! Will we see more Rittenhouse-type responses? Perhaps. That’s not what our country needs! Have we lost our moral compass? It appears so. Civility is needed.

Then the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks decided they were “gonna take their ball and go home,” then followed by other NBA teams “in the bubble,” followed by MLB, MLS, and a few colleges and others. Unless reason happens and this “refusal to play” comes to its senses, it would not be unexpected to see high school teams follow in big-brothers footsteps. Professional athletes must understand their responsibility to our youth and lead in a positive direction.

This BLM movement is not new in our country. However, the major tenet behind its power is for fair justice, not equal justice. “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.” If you observed what has happened on our streets, it is easy to see that many who were not involved have suffered needlessly.

Sports have often served a purpose during difficult times, as a healing element. This is a call to those leaders in all sports to bring people together to work toward fairness for all. We need to stop fighting each other and work together.

Will you be part of the problem or the solution?

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

Jim’s Bobblehead and books are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3).

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Equal Opportunity!

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

Passion Led Us Here

On the TunneySide of Sports August 31, 2020 #811 Up next… Equal Opportunity!

After further review… “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.”

Now before your blood pressure gets beyond its normal limits, let me offer this. It’s the opportunity to live, grow and achieve that needs to be equal for everyone, yet not always.

It was my good fortune to be raised in a family with both mother and father who not only showed me how to live, grow and achieve but taught me to help others have that same opportunity. At an early age, I decided I wanted to be a coach. Undoubtedly, my father who was in that job had an influence on that decision. Following in his path was not so much his words that made a difference, but it was his manner and demeanor that created a worthiness I admired. Not everyone has that privilege.

My dad taught at Abraham Lincoln High School in East Los Angeles which, in the 1930s, was primarily a mixture of Eastern Europeans, Mexican Americans (as they were called then), and a variety of other ethnic groups. One of whom was an African American named Kenny Washington who went on to be the first of his race to play for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League. Kenny, who I got to know better later in his life, gave credit to my dad for not only teaching him to be a stand-up citizen but helping him get into U.C.L.A. and on to professional football.

When I was a senior at Occidental College, I was assigned to do my student teaching at that same Lincoln High School, which had become largely Hispanic/Latino along with a variety of ethnic groups. I coached a basketball T*E*A*M that hadn’t won many games in years before. In my four years, we went from last place in our Northern League to first place and an undefeated season my final year.

My goal in those four years was to give those players an opportunity to succeed. Every player on that squad of 12 players was not equal. They were a mixture of young men who hadn’t succeeded much earlier. Were they equal in size and talent? Far from it, but they got a chance to be successful by working together. They all couldn’t shoot the basketball as well as “Cheo” (our best shooter) who was 5’8”, but they all had an opportunity to do so and to be part of a T*E*A*M. Only two from that team went on to play college basketball.

Will you give everyone an equal opportunity to succeed?

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

Jim’s Bobblehead and books are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3).

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To Play or Not to Play?

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports August 24, 2020 #810 Up next...To Play or Not to Play?

On the TunneySide of Sports August 24, 2020 #810 Up next…To Play or Not to Play?

After further review… To play or not to play remains the question in the thinking of most people —at least most people in our U.S.A.  At this writing, I’m not aware of what other countries are having to face, and, frankly, it’s not a concern here. The COVID-19 Pandemic is “alive and well,” if that’s an apt term here, in America with more than 5.5 million being directly infected. Businesses, large and small, as well as schools have been government-ordered “shelter-in-place” by closing their doors. How do we have T*E*A*M sports in schools without players?

Most high school districts have decided to cancel fall sports fearing the gathering of students in the usual environment would spread the coronavirus, since physical distancing may not be possible. Some schools chose to remain open by creating innovative ways to maintain some sort of distancing in the classroom. Let’s hope those methods work effectively.

How do you teach/coach football – a traditional fall sport – and create or maintain distancing? Football, by its nature and definition, is a contact sport as we have heard coaches shouting, “Ya gotta knock somebody down!” How do you teach blocking and tackling and maintain physical distancing? You can’t! At least I’ve never seen it done that way. Further, football is a team sport (as are most others). Gathering together is an essential element – e.g., the huddle.

Many college football conferences have canceled their fall sports with football seemingly being of the greatest concern. Not only do student bodies need to rally in support of their team, but the financial revenue is vital in the financing of football as well as their other college sports. In canceling these fall sports, the paramount issue is – and should be – the health and welfare of their students. In all school activities parents entrust the faculty and staff to ensure the well being of their students — thus the expression “in loco parentis” meaning “school personnel assumes the rights and duties of a parent” with the added word responsibility.

Some schools have moved their football program to the spring semester, assuming that the COVID-19 will be under control. This raises the question of the usual spring sports. How do they fit them in the scheduling? If football is played in the months of April, May, and June, do the usual spring sports get canceled? Is that fair to them?  Although it may affect only a few, what about those double-sport athletes who will not have that opportunity?

Will you log-in your thoughts on how to manage sports in our schools in these Pandemic times?

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

Jim’s Bobblehead and books are available at Jim Tunney Youth Foundation (501c3).

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