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Hoops community signs on for sportsmanship
Men’s, women’s basketball administrators get behind effort to improve image of the game
Men’s, women’s basketball administrators get behind effort to improve image of the game
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By Greg Johnson
The NCAA News
The NCAA News
By his admission, DePaul University women’s basketball coach Doug Bruno is reformed.
There was a time in his coaching career when he concentrated too much on the job the officials were doing, and his critiques led to too many technical fouls. But the 21-year coach of the Blue Demons concluded that he was wasting energy and setting a bad example for his student-athletes.
Thus, when Bruno — the current president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association — saw an 18-page brochure from the NCAA national office with a pledge card asking for a commitment to sportsmanship on the court, he was the first to sign on.
Bruno is among thousands of coaches, officials, coordinators of officials, conference commissioners and athletics administrators to sign the pledge card from the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships and rules committees. It asks stakeholders in all three divisions to make a commitment in their own way for the betterment of the game.
“These things should be basics in our sport,” Bruno said. “How we as coaches behave affects how student-athletes and fans behave.”
The pledge states: “We are committed to our role as teachers and mentors in assuring our student-athletes grow through the experience of preparation and competition. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to the rules of the game and the way the rules are consistently applied.”
The pledge also calls for coaches to be aware of their bench decorum.
“As coaches, we are constantly on our players about being in control,” Bruno said. “We are constantly teaching and preaching to be under control; ‘Control your body and play with your eyes,’ we tell them. It is a constant theme of ours; yet we allow ourselves to get out of control.”
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees have observed bench decorum over the years and believe coaches don’t have to leave the coaches’ box or use demonstrative body language when they communicate with officials. The pledge seeks to minimize confrontations between a coach and an official, which can fuel a more hostile atmosphere in the arena.
“I think this is a positive step” said Oliver Purnell, men’s coach at Clemson University and the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. “Any kind of message that you send like that says we’re all in this together. It is our game and the example we set by our conduct is important. By putting it in writing, it sends a stronger message.”
Gary Walters, director of athletics at Princeton University and the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, also has returned his pledge card. He believes it calls for athletics administrators to do their part in respecting the game by supporting the game officials and working with coaches to fortify sportsmanship and ensure that the rules and points of emphasis are followed.
“The only way to do that is to connect your public commitment with your private actions,” Walters said. “That is what integrity is all about and why we’ve taken this stand.”
Walters joins the ranks of those concerned about the current climate in basketball arenas.
“One of the great things about competition is respecting and honoring your opponent by the way you play,” Walters said. “The easy part of this is getting the leadership on board. The difficult part is getting the fans to also conduct themselves in a way that creates a better climate.”
While the initiative doesn’t specifically address fan behavior, it prompts coaches to set an example by the way they react to officials.
“People are committing to acting with class,” Walters said. “All of us together have to make a commitment in this area so we will positively affect the game by the way our participants carry themselves.”
Michelle Perry, NCAA director of Division I women’s basketball, said officials and coordinators of officials are keys to the initiative.
The pledge says on-court officials accept the responsibility of being consistent at their jobs to ensure that the competition is conducted in a fair environment. In addition, coordinators are committed to supporting game officials and educating them on the rules and points of emphasis outlined by the NCAA men’s and women’s rules committees.
The idea is to provide a support chain that gives game officials the confidence to enforce rules of decorum without ramifications such as not being assigned to certain games or being admonished for issuing technical fouls.
The thousands of pledge cards coming into the national office show stakeholders are at least going to give the initiative their best shot this season.
Admittedly, it will take a challenging culture change.
In DePaul’s November 12 season opener against the University of Oklahoma, for example, Bruno disagreed with a call and let the official know it.
“I jumped up and down, so this sportsmanship thing is easier said than done,” Bruno said. “But what everybody wants from officials and coaches alike is the ability to clearly communicate. Sometimes we undermine the ability to clearly communicate by beefing on every call or using overstated body language.”
Bruno said signing the pledge card doesn’t mean he’ll never question an official, but he will try to take a more subtle approach from now on.
“The nonstop action of our sport requires you to have your mind under control, but you don’t want to be emotionless,” he said. “You don’t want to just sit there. You have to have some vigor and fire, but it has to be controlled vigor and fire.”
There was a time in his coaching career when he concentrated too much on the job the officials were doing, and his critiques led to too many technical fouls. But the 21-year coach of the Blue Demons concluded that he was wasting energy and setting a bad example for his student-athletes.
Thus, when Bruno — the current president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association — saw an 18-page brochure from the NCAA national office with a pledge card asking for a commitment to sportsmanship on the court, he was the first to sign on.
Bruno is among thousands of coaches, officials, coordinators of officials, conference commissioners and athletics administrators to sign the pledge card from the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball championships and rules committees. It asks stakeholders in all three divisions to make a commitment in their own way for the betterment of the game.
“These things should be basics in our sport,” Bruno said. “How we as coaches behave affects how student-athletes and fans behave.”
The pledge states: “We are committed to our role as teachers and mentors in assuring our student-athletes grow through the experience of preparation and competition. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to the rules of the game and the way the rules are consistently applied.”
The pledge also calls for coaches to be aware of their bench decorum.
“As coaches, we are constantly on our players about being in control,” Bruno said. “We are constantly teaching and preaching to be under control; ‘Control your body and play with your eyes,’ we tell them. It is a constant theme of ours; yet we allow ourselves to get out of control.”
The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball committees have observed bench decorum over the years and believe coaches don’t have to leave the coaches’ box or use demonstrative body language when they communicate with officials. The pledge seeks to minimize confrontations between a coach and an official, which can fuel a more hostile atmosphere in the arena.
“I think this is a positive step” said Oliver Purnell, men’s coach at Clemson University and the president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. “Any kind of message that you send like that says we’re all in this together. It is our game and the example we set by our conduct is important. By putting it in writing, it sends a stronger message.”
Gary Walters, director of athletics at Princeton University and the chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, also has returned his pledge card. He believes it calls for athletics administrators to do their part in respecting the game by supporting the game officials and working with coaches to fortify sportsmanship and ensure that the rules and points of emphasis are followed.
“The only way to do that is to connect your public commitment with your private actions,” Walters said. “That is what integrity is all about and why we’ve taken this stand.”
Walters joins the ranks of those concerned about the current climate in basketball arenas.
“One of the great things about competition is respecting and honoring your opponent by the way you play,” Walters said. “The easy part of this is getting the leadership on board. The difficult part is getting the fans to also conduct themselves in a way that creates a better climate.”
While the initiative doesn’t specifically address fan behavior, it prompts coaches to set an example by the way they react to officials.
“People are committing to acting with class,” Walters said. “All of us together have to make a commitment in this area so we will positively affect the game by the way our participants carry themselves.”
Michelle Perry, NCAA director of Division I women’s basketball, said officials and coordinators of officials are keys to the initiative.
The pledge says on-court officials accept the responsibility of being consistent at their jobs to ensure that the competition is conducted in a fair environment. In addition, coordinators are committed to supporting game officials and educating them on the rules and points of emphasis outlined by the NCAA men’s and women’s rules committees.
The idea is to provide a support chain that gives game officials the confidence to enforce rules of decorum without ramifications such as not being assigned to certain games or being admonished for issuing technical fouls.
The thousands of pledge cards coming into the national office show stakeholders are at least going to give the initiative their best shot this season.
Admittedly, it will take a challenging culture change.
In DePaul’s November 12 season opener against the University of Oklahoma, for example, Bruno disagreed with a call and let the official know it.
“I jumped up and down, so this sportsmanship thing is easier said than done,” Bruno said. “But what everybody wants from officials and coaches alike is the ability to clearly communicate. Sometimes we undermine the ability to clearly communicate by beefing on every call or using overstated body language.”
Bruno said signing the pledge card doesn’t mean he’ll never question an official, but he will try to take a more subtle approach from now on.
“The nonstop action of our sport requires you to have your mind under control, but you don’t want to be emotionless,” he said. “You don’t want to just sit there. You have to have some vigor and fire, but it has to be controlled vigor and fire.”
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