If so, it’s about time.
Over here in southwest Minnesota, fans are reminded before high school sporting events that it’s a privilege to watch, and sportsmanship is not just advocated, it’s mandatory. We accept that because we’re constantly reminded that prep sports is not just about the competition, it’s also about instructions on how to behave.
You’ve got to give fans the opportunity to vent, of course, but there’s no law that says they must be able to say or do anything they want. In a recent NBA game, for instance, a fan was not only ejected, but banned from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for throwing popcorn at Russell Westbrook -- which seems minor when compared to other infractions.
There are tough calls to make, of course. For instance, when a fan heckles a player throughout a game with insults no other man would take if he were on the street, what’s a player allowed to do? I remember several times in the past when a player just wouldn’t take it any more, so he yelled back at the fan -- or even jumped into the crowd to exchange punches.
In those cases, the player always gets the worst of it. It can be a stiff fine, and even a suspension. And yet, I often find myself feeling more sympathy for the player.
At least one commentator said recently that boorishness seems to be increasing. So if a few more fans were ejected and banned for heckling that goes beyond the line, maybe that will help clean things up.
People don’t talk about it much, but I know there are many parents who won’t take their kids to professional events because of so many obnoxious fans in the crowd. Tickets to games are expensive enough without having to expose them to that. For a lot of adults, too, unruliness is a huge turn-off.
Be honest. You might have thought that laws the rest of us must follow don’t exist in professional sports venues. For years, NHL hockey players have gotten away with things on the ice that would have required anyone else to be jailed. I mean, why should somebody be able to crack someone over the head with a hockey stick just because he’s got an NHL uniform on?
I know, I know. There are some who see the irony in cleaning up bad behavior in pro sports games at a time when many are calling for the defunding of police departments. And getting more unforgiving about unacceptable conduct makes one wonder, anew, what is permitted and what isn’t any more.
Recently, fans at a New York Yankees baseball game unfurled a large banner in the outfield seats that said, “Trump Won.” Imagine if pro-Trump banners become a trend this summer. I can’t imagine major league baseball, in the new woke phase that it’s adopted now, would be pleased at that particular form of protest.
But seriously, obnoxious, embarrassing displays aren’t confined just to fans. I’ve often complained to my TV set when NFL players celebrate sacks or touchdowns with elaborate dancing moves even when their team is trailing 35 to 7. The cameras always go in for close-ups when the dances commence, but I wish they would just focus on something else, for a change, and maybe such behavior will eventually stop.
At the same time, cameras rarely ever follow drunken fans who run onto the field. Why? Because they don’t want to encourage them. I think the policy should go both ways.
"behavior" - Google News
June 09, 2021 at 12:00PM
https://ift.tt/3x9rCqw
Doug Wolter: Why tolerate bad behavior at pro sports events? | The Globe - The Globe
"behavior" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2We9Kdi
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Doug Wolter: Why tolerate bad behavior at pro sports events? | The Globe - The Globe"
Post a Comment