Sports Gone Wild
My son and I have been involved in a local sports program now for over 4 years. Although promoted as a non-competitive sports program, there is no good warm blood American parent that goes to these games without wanting to see their team win. However, there has been this undercurrent of over competitiveness that has been tainting the games. Coaches have been a little more on edge with players and more confrontational with each other. Tuesday night was the fire storm. After a week of brewing (murmuring, complaining, sarcastic remarks and rude comments), one seemingly bad play erupted into verbal attacks, cursing and coaches clearing the benches. One parent on the opposing team yelled, “punch him in the face”. In the end, the kids were upset and parents refused to return. It was an unfortunate event, but one that could have been avoided.