PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Here we are again, a few people act behave terribly. So instead of teaching a lesson of how not to act, just quit.
People, many of whom we all respect, say the handshake line in sports in antiquated. You spend a couple of hours competing against each other, you don’t want to shake their hand. Emotions are high.
I mean sports are so serious, especially amateur sports, that after a game it’s too much to ask to show respect for the other team. Even for just a few seconds, the game is so important there should be no interaction. Get rid of the toxic handshake line.
Maybe we should go a step further teams from one school should never be able to interact with kids from other schools. Ban AAU, ban travel teams, ban all-star teams because we are just asking for a problem putting rivals on the same team. Instead of them learning from each other and more about each other, rid yourself of potential conflict.
Same with the Olympics, so many stories of athletes interacting with each other. Why is that allowed to happen? Don’t people get national pride is a powder keg opening the door for international conflict? They should stay on their sides, eat in different areas. I mean the outcomes of these sporting events could create a world war. We are just lucky it hasn’t happened yet.
Here is another idea lost in the world of social media where disrespect for each other festers. After you play hard and represent your team, acknowledge that your opponent did the same. We’re not asking teams to hold international summits on issues in their lives. We are asking for players to act civilly.
The real shame with the Michigan-Wisconsin incident is it’s the second time a 49-year-old coach has had to be restrained this season. People are defending this coach by saying the problem is with the handshake line itself. Instead of holding the coach accountable, and kudos to the conference and University of Michigan for the suspension, the answer is to quit.
I get there are emotions in sports. I may have yelled at a ref in my life, but once the game is over. I’m not heading out to their car to throw a punch. I work in sports, feed my family because of sports. Even I don’t think the game is so big that it’s life or death.
I’m also apparently a dreamer, I think there are life lessons in sports. Many of them are about perseverance through adversity, working on a common goal with someone different than you. Another lesson is accountability-the best teammates are the ones not blaming others but that admit they are wrong and fix themselves.
Instead of saying a tradition of showing respect for your opponent after a game is antiquated. Just quit. Maybe that is the lesson now, when things get tough blame someone else and quit.
Let’s continue to lower the bar.