Many would say we live in a sports-driven culture. Athletes are being recruited practically out of the womb; coaches who don’t make the playoffs will be fired in two shakes of a lambs tail; some parents are robbing Peter to pay Paul for sports camps and private lessons for their child; and fans have turned into fanatics.
With these kinds of attitudes and other factors, it’s no wonder why people are increasingly behaving badly while at sporting events.
Some say the best perspective of just how far people are going comes from the referee. Barry Mano, founder and president of the National Association of Sports Officials, said game goers acting out is certainly an issue he and fellow referees have had to deal with.
“People have become so invested in these sports to the point of obsessiveness. We like fans because without them, we don’t have sports the way it should be. But it can be problematic for the men and women who officiate these games,” said Mano, who was a basketball referee for 23 years.
He added that over the years, there have been sharp increases in physical assault of sports officials. At times assault happens due to fanatics’ views of the fairness of officials’ calls. Mano said officials don’t enjoy making wrong calls and maintains that good refs strive for penalty accuracy.
While bad behavior happens on all levels, Mano believes basketball coaches are most notorious for blow-ups and those who behave this way do so to simply get “noticed.” Many people recall the outrageous behavior of athletes such as the NFL’s Terrell Owens; the NBA’s Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley; and baseball’s Pete Rose, but Mano said soccer players still have the worst offenses.
“Sports is about superior athleticism, dominance and ego. You’re not in a civil state of mind. And for a ref to unfairly take that away from you, it makes you upset and you don’t care about anything else,” said Andrew Locke, who is proficient in multiple sports such as football, basketball and baseball. “Also, a lot of refs hold grudges toward certain players, teams or coaches.”
The good news, however, is that regulation of behavior is best at the college and professional level.
“There’s more security if fans get out of hand and coaches and players face stiff fines if they get too out of control,” Mano said.
The recreation and youth levels are a totally different story. Mano said there, the least skillful players, coaches and referees intersect. Add rabid fans or parents to the equation and that creates the perfect storm for anger and chaos.
Harold Grundy is a retired head wrestling and track and field coach at Arlington and Crispus Attucks high schools and is currently a consulting coach for the Northwest High School’s wrestling team. Throughout his tenure, he has been successful in his craft, which is evident by the state champions he’s molded, such as Jay Manson in wrestling and Reggie Cross in track and field.
Also throughout his tenure, Grundy said he has witnessed both sides of the coin – coaches who act with integrity and others who dishonor the profession.
“Good coaching requires a great deal of seasoning. It takes time and experience in handling ups and downs. It is a high stress job,” said Grundy, who himself wrestled at Shortridge High School from 1964 to 1968.
One of the keys he’s used to become a storied coach is having balance and having professionalism by remembering that he never knows who is observing him. He said unfortunately he has observed younger coaches who could use a lesson or two in professionalism.
“There’s a lot more to coaching than just telling the athletes what to do. You’re a mentor, leader, standard setter and you have a lot of people looking up to you. With these younger coaches, I think a lot of that is being lost,” Grundy said.
Coaches like Tommy Lasorda, Dennis Green and Bobby Knight are known for their outbursts. Grundy said there is a time and place for those antics. Also, society and athletes have changed, therefore these “angry” coaches’ behaviors may not be the most successful approach.
In addition to dealing with players, Grundy said he has had to tackle eager parents who desperately want their child to be No. 1. Parents who yell bad things about youth players must remember that those players’ parents are also in the stands. Furthermore parents should beware of being too hard on their child athlete.
An example of that is former football quarterback Todd Marinovich who many believed would become one of the greatest professional quarterbacks of all time. His father, Marv, became his son’s trainer and prescribed an incredibly strict diet and exercise regimen for Todd. Due to the high expectations of his family and pressure from the national attention, Marinovich became addicted to drugs like cocaine and heroin.
