Violence In Sports

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports
October 3, 2022 #920
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After further review… “Ya gotta knock somebody down.” I could hear Head Coach Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers yell from the sidelines as I refereed games during my 31-year career as an NFL referee when I officiated games in Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Lombardi, one of ‘The Seven Blocks of Granite’ of Fordham University’s 1930s football team, was shouting to encourage his players that they must block and tackle during the game if they want to win. Lombardi’s method of blocking and tackling was solely with their shoulders and body – never with their helmets or head. Of course, in those days players helmets were of made of leather.

Today’s NFL players are using Riddell helmets made of plastic as are college and high school players. That often gives the players a false sense of safety which they believe allows them protection from injury. Blocking and tackling with the crown of the helmet is an unsportsmanlike conduct foul (15-yard penalty) and can often be called “targeting” leading to disqualification. Further, and more importantly, that type of contact can lead to cervical and spinal injuries with life-threatening results. The use of the helmet for tackling and blocking is highly discouraged at all levels of football.

Football is not the only sport that lends itself to aggressive play. Soccer, which is more frequently called football elsewhere, is a popular sport in the U.S. as well and is considered a contact sport.

These players are not wearing football-type uniforms yet make physical-type contact while the ball is in play. Further, soccer players often use their heads as use of their hands while the ball is in-play is illegal. The ball is often traveling some 30 plus MPH when contacting a player’s head. No foul is called for use of the head.

Basketball must be labelled a contact sport as well. I heard a former NBA and now Hall-of-Fame player who is a current NBA announcer say on television, “Ya gotta knock somebody down.” No, it was not Coach Lombardi. But he was sincere in his commentary. Do fans want to see that type of play in basketball? Evidently, they do as the NBA style is fast-growing and adopted by colleges and high schools.

Violent events are displayed by television programs that fill a large majority of our days. Do we want to accept this as normal or acceptable behavior?

Will you do all you can to avoid and even prevent violence in your world?

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

Jim’s Bobblehead is available for $30. and includes ONE book FREE from his website & free shipping.

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Jim’s Bobblehead is still available for $30. He has added one of his books (your choice – you pick one from his website www.jimtunney.com) at no extra charge. 

Shop here.

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

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Don’t Widen The Plate

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports
September 26, 2022 #919
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After further review…

You may have heard the story about Coach John Scolinos before, but as we move into the MLB playoffs, I’m reminded of it as rule changes are contemplated.

Some 4,000 baseball coaches were in attendance at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee for their annual convention when one name, John Scolinos, kept resurfacing.

“Oh man,” said one, “I look forward to hearing him.” Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and had been retired from college after coaching for more than 40 years. As he shuffled onto the stage, he wore a string from which a full-sized, stark-white home plate hung around his neck. After speaking for about 20 minutes, the crowd began snickering about that home plate and thought Scolinos had perhaps forgotten he had it still hanging there.

Finally, he said, “You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing this home plate?” He didn’t wait for their answer, but continued, “I stand before you about what I’ve learned in my 78 years about home plate.”

Scolinos then asked, “How many Little League coaches are in the room?” Many hands went up.

“And how wide is the home plate in Little League?” Someone shouted, “17 inches.”

“That’s right!” And then he said, “How many Babe Ruth coaches are here? How wide is that home plate?”

“17 inches” was shouted.

“How many high school coaches and how wide is that home plate?”

“17 inches,” came the answer.

“And those of you who coach in college?”

A prominent college coach said, “17.”

“And in our major leagues, it is 17 inches,” coach Scolinos shouted back.

“And what do they do with a big-league pitcher who can’t throw the ball over 17 inches? They send him to Pocatello! What they don’t say is ‘Ah, that’s OK, Jimmy. If you can’t hit 17 inches we’ll just widen the plate to 18 or 19 or 20 inches. Just let us know what you need.

“What do we do when our best player shows up late to practice? Or he gets caught drinking?  Do we hold him accountable? Or do we change the rules to fit him? Do we widen the plate?”

The coaches were astounded to have come to a convention, perhaps to learn about curveballs and bunting and how to hold better practices, but learned something far more valuable – from an old man with a home plate strung around his neck. They were all learning something about themselves, and about their responsibilities as a leader.

Will you hold yourself accountable to those 17 inches in all that you do?

To see a video of coach John Scolinos’ presentation visit YouTube.

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Jim’s Bobblehead is still available for $30. He has added one of his books (your choice – you pick one from his website www.jimtunney.com) at no extra charge. 

Shop here.

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

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Sound Fundamentals

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Jim Tunney Ed.D

On the TunneySide of Sports
September 19, 2022 #918
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After further review…”Don’t do that!” With the preseason now out of the way and the 2022 NFL regular season going strong, you hear coaches still screaming to their players to NOT tackle or block leading with the crown of their helmet. Too many players still drop their heads when they prepare to tackle or block. Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula – 33 years in the NFL – always coached his players to “see what you hit.” Helmet-to-helmet contact is often called “targeting” and is subject to disqualification. Runners will often lower their heads when about to be tackled thereby bracing themselves for the impending blow. This makes it difficult for the oncoming tackler to avoid head-to-head contact.

Many players have suffered life-threatening cervical spine injuries with helmet-to-helmet contact.  For many, playing football becomes out of the question. Football at all levels is full of physical — some say brutal — contact. At the NFL level with the size of today’s players, contact between players does make the word brutal come to life. All sports that involve contact have that risk and perhaps risk even disability. The NFL constantly conducts tests to determine how to better protect its players. In 2022 (even earlier behind the scenes) the NFL has put into use a protective headgear that fits inside the helmet to further reduce the physical impact of contact.

I belong to (was inducted into) the NFL Alumni “Order of the Leather Helmet.” That sounds funny today, but I did wear one in high school. Leather helmets didn’t provide much protection from blows to the head. So most players avoided using their heads for contact and thereby tackled and blocked with their shoulders. That’s why “see what you hit” still makes a lotta sense.

Enter Riddell, the maker, and supplier of today’s plastic football helmets. All NFL teams use the Riddell helmet. To Riddell’s credit, they are working feverishly to improve the inside of their helmets to reduce the impact of any blow. I fail to understand why a player slaps his teammate’s head to congratulate him for a touchdown, catch or sack. Every time the head moves the skull inside the head moves, causing the brain to contact the inside of the skull.  That is why the continuous improvement of the inside of the helmet is important. Football is here to stay. Let’s do all we can to reduce injuries.

Will you encourage others to play sports safely and wisely?

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Jim’s Bobblehead is still available for $30. He has added one of his books (your choice – you pick one from his website www.jimtunney.com) at no extra charge. 

Shop here.

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

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