All Over the Place... Ep. 105 - Resuscitating Sportsmanship (Livestream)

 

Remember when high school and youth sporting events allowed kids to be kids, and the sounds from the stands or sidelines pretty exclusively offered words of encouragement and cheers for the players, mixed with a little harmless peppering of the officials? I do ... and those days weren't all that long in the rearview. 

This weekend on AOTP..., we address the issues surrounding how and why those not-so-distant memories have morphed into too many instances of derogatory and demeaning comments issued not only at the officials, but at and from the players and coaches as well, increasingly far too often words devolving into physical violence. Fortunately the panel also offers several solutions to get the pendulum swinging back towards an atmosphere of civility and good sportsmanship from everyone.

Dana Pappas, National Federation of High School Sports' Director of Officiating Services, and Arizona Canyon Athletic Association's Shannon Eastin, not only the NFL's first female referee, but also a longtime advocate of building communities through sports, join the conversation. You’ll also hear from a few friends of mine who, thanks to our time as umpires, referees, assigners etc., invest our time maintaining an atmosphere to make the games as enjoyable and safe as possible for the student-athletes and kids playing them.