National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Unsporting conduct
Administrators and student-athletes collaborate to identify and curb bad behavior
Administrators and student-athletes collaborate to identify and curb bad behavior
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By Beth Waggoner
Winthrop University Special to The NCAA News
Winthrop University Special to The NCAA News
“Ain’t no way. He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?”
Marshall Mathers, also known as Eminem, the popular hip-hop star, uttered those lyrics — well known by teenagers and young adults around the globe — in his 2000 hit, “The Real Slim Shady.”
Under normal circumstances, the words, attitude and world of Eminem are a far cry from that of intercollegiate athletics, but when it comes to sportsmanship, some student-athletes are beginning to ask the same question of their fans, teammates and coaches.
Most people know what poor sportsmanship looks like: A student-athlete who gets yellow-carded in soccer for tackling a competitor from behind, a coach who too vehemently disputes a referee’s call or unruly fans who scream obscenities at the opposing team. But for student-athletes in today’s arenas, poor sportsmanship has escalated beyond traditional lines.
“I’d guess that many in our parents’ generation would think celebrating a dunk was poor sportsmanship,” said Michael Medina, a football student-athlete at the University of Wyoming. “That doesn’t really bother me. For me, the line is drawn at rubbing it in another player’s face.”
Such instances are all too common. A receiver points toward a defensive back he has beaten to the goal line; a basketball player who has swatted a shot glares cockily at the shooter; a lacrosse player points to the goalie he’s just beaten for the game-winner.
Medina said while it’s bad enough to be on the receiving end of such taunts, it’s worse when the behavior is directed toward a teammate.
“I can take it myself,” he said. “But when it’s directed at others, I get upset. That doesn’t make me more of a man — I just feel compelled to stand up for my teammates.”
Kerry Kenny, a former basketball student-athlete at Lafayette College, sees a more intense fan base as a growing source of poor sportsmanship.
“The fans today are ruthless compared to what they were in the past,” he said. “They attack individuals rather than teams. They are looking up information on the Internet about players and using it to get into their heads.
“There are kids at games and watching on TV. For college-age kids to be yelling that message is degrading, inappropriate and precedent-setting.”
Who cares?
Despite a generation gap and differences in opinion over what might constitute poor sportsmanship, a recent survey from the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct showed that all parties involved in college athletics placed a similar emphasis on the issue. More than 85 percent of respondents in each division felt that student-athletes and coaches should be held to a higher standard, and that the athletics director is the office most accountable for ensuring the proper game environment.
“Across the board, student-athletes, administrators and even presidents put the same two things at the top of their lists,” said Alan Patterson, commissioner of Conference Carolinas and chair of the sportsmanship and ethical conduct committee. “They all want to see sportsmanship and respect.”
The issue lies in balancing the emotions that make college athletics so exciting and the respect that reflects the NCAA’s educational mission. Part of the character student-athletes learn through participation in intercollegiate athletics is responding under pressure in ways that allow them to perform at the peak of their abilities, but yet in the most appropriate manner.
Once upon a time, people believed that players must seem to hate each other to stage a competitive rivalry at the elite level (the rivalry between NBA players Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas is an example). That theory doesn’t apply in college sports, though.
“Bad sportsmanship causes rivalries and affects every contest with an opposing team,” said Kristen Cohoon, a basketball student-athlete at Agnes Scott College. “But people who allow bad sportsmanship to affect them have lost touch with the true spirit of competition.”
Kenny and Medina believe the “hip-hop culture” has something to do with the showmanship and the “all-about-me” attitude that some student-athletes bring to the game.
“There is more emphasis on dominating an opponent and one-upping them,” said Kenny. “Things have become more focused on the individual rather than the team.”
Medina sees that attitude rooted in childhood, as youngsters look to athlete heroes and adult role models to show appropriate behavior. He said when young kids see superstars who model poor sportsmanship as a crucial part of being successful, they carry that belief through to their collegiate and professional careers.
Of all the stakeholders, many see student-athletes as the key group to break the cycle with how they play the game and respect the jersey they wear.
“Our student-athletes probably don’t know how big an opportunity they have to provide an impact,” Patterson said. “To me, it’s a matter of them taking ownership on something they believe is important. Our surveys indicate that it is important to students — the vast majority like to be treated with respect and hospitality.”
The sixth-man epidemic
In the 101 years that the NCAA has been in existence, fan participation has skyrocketed. Several football stadiums near or exceed 100,000 seating capacity now, and planners seek to create basketball arenas in which fans can exercise their perceived influence on the game by moving seating closer to the court.
“I see the biggest problem in schools as fans cheering against and harassing the opposing team, rather than cheering for their own team,” said Agnes Scott’s Cohoon.
“When you go into a stadium like ‘The Swamp’ at the University of Florida and have 90,000 fans screaming at you, it can really get under your skin,” echoed Medina.
Like Cohoon and Medina, about 40 percent of the sportsmanship survey respondents cited fans as the element of competition most threatening to sportsmanship. However, student-athletes have little control over the thousands of screaming supporters who fill the seats. Most student-athletes are looking to their coaches, administrators and officials to set the tone on acceptable fan behavior, as well as acceptable player behavior.
Cohoon said it’s a crucial step in getting both fans and student-athletes to support the home team without degrading their opponent.
“Many times officials take too long to acknowledge poor sportsmanship,” she said. “Maybe coaches and athletics directors need to be encouraging good sportsmanship more and penalizing bad sportsmanship more.”
Accountability 101
Chuck Mitrano, commissioner of the Empire 8 and engineer of the innovative “conduct foul” sportsmanship initiative, believes that in addition to administrators and coaches taking the lead in setting standards of good sportsmanship, student-athletes have to be involved in the process. He cites some of the most successful programs he has seen as the creation of student athletes.
“For an athletics director to tell a student that these are the rules and if you don’t follow them then you’re going to be in trouble, that’s one thing,” said Mitrano. “But if you have student-athletes who create their rules and they say this is how we expect you as my peer to act or behave or to uphold the image of the institution, there’s much more of a positive association with that behavior.”
“Coaches are crucial,” said Medina. “There has to be more emphasis on acting well and modeling the correct behavior from the beginning. But your teammates out on the field definitely have a huge impact on you. They’re wearing the same jersey and playing for the same prize. You can’t have each other acting a fool and making the university and the team look bad.”
Kenny also believes that while there is more urgency in an AD emphasizing sportsmanship, at game time, those ideals must be owned by the student-athletes and fans.
“In the heat of the game, I’m the first to make sure my teammates aren’t jeopardizing the game or the image of the institution,” said Kenny.
Though major incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior are relatively rare in NCAA competition, there has been a recent surge of activity to assess the state of sportsmanship in collegiate athletics and to find new ways to create a respectful competitive environment for all.
Thinking outside the lines
Mitrano’s conduct-foul program, which received an NCAA grant in 2003, tracks misconduct of student-athletes and coaches in an attempt to increase awareness about the issue and create a foundation for assessment and permanent attitude change.
Other innovative programs that involve student-athletes and fans include a program at the University of Maryland, College Park — which uses student-athletes to talk about expectations of fans at competitions and how to respect the opposing team while at the same time providing intense spirit. The University of Washington’s “Dawg Pack” — which treats fans as a sixth man and gives out scouting reports, holds members accountable to the same sportsmanship standards as players and regards them as an integral part of the team — also has been effective.
Since the inception of the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct in 1997, the NCAA has promoted the values of good sportsmanship in the form of an annual Sportsmanship Award. The Association also provides best practices and resources for interested parties through involvement with the Citizens Through Sports Alliance. Conferences and institutions in all three divisions also have emphasized best practices that work at a more grass-roots level. But for student-athletes, it’s all about developing a “best attitude” with the hope that it will be contagious.
“In the end, it’s up to us to act well and model the way for everybody,” said Medina.
Beth Waggoner is a recent graduate of Winthrop University, where she was a four-year letter-winner in volleyball. A former member of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and chair of the Big South Conference SAAC, Waggoner currently is a compliance/administration intern at the Big South.
Marshall Mathers, also known as Eminem, the popular hip-hop star, uttered those lyrics — well known by teenagers and young adults around the globe — in his 2000 hit, “The Real Slim Shady.”
Under normal circumstances, the words, attitude and world of Eminem are a far cry from that of intercollegiate athletics, but when it comes to sportsmanship, some student-athletes are beginning to ask the same question of their fans, teammates and coaches.
Most people know what poor sportsmanship looks like: A student-athlete who gets yellow-carded in soccer for tackling a competitor from behind, a coach who too vehemently disputes a referee’s call or unruly fans who scream obscenities at the opposing team. But for student-athletes in today’s arenas, poor sportsmanship has escalated beyond traditional lines.
“I’d guess that many in our parents’ generation would think celebrating a dunk was poor sportsmanship,” said Michael Medina, a football student-athlete at the University of Wyoming. “That doesn’t really bother me. For me, the line is drawn at rubbing it in another player’s face.”
Such instances are all too common. A receiver points toward a defensive back he has beaten to the goal line; a basketball player who has swatted a shot glares cockily at the shooter; a lacrosse player points to the goalie he’s just beaten for the game-winner.
Medina said while it’s bad enough to be on the receiving end of such taunts, it’s worse when the behavior is directed toward a teammate.
“I can take it myself,” he said. “But when it’s directed at others, I get upset. That doesn’t make me more of a man — I just feel compelled to stand up for my teammates.”
Kerry Kenny, a former basketball student-athlete at Lafayette College, sees a more intense fan base as a growing source of poor sportsmanship.
“The fans today are ruthless compared to what they were in the past,” he said. “They attack individuals rather than teams. They are looking up information on the Internet about players and using it to get into their heads.
“There are kids at games and watching on TV. For college-age kids to be yelling that message is degrading, inappropriate and precedent-setting.”
Who cares?
Despite a generation gap and differences in opinion over what might constitute poor sportsmanship, a recent survey from the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct showed that all parties involved in college athletics placed a similar emphasis on the issue. More than 85 percent of respondents in each division felt that student-athletes and coaches should be held to a higher standard, and that the athletics director is the office most accountable for ensuring the proper game environment.
“Across the board, student-athletes, administrators and even presidents put the same two things at the top of their lists,” said Alan Patterson, commissioner of Conference Carolinas and chair of the sportsmanship and ethical conduct committee. “They all want to see sportsmanship and respect.”
The issue lies in balancing the emotions that make college athletics so exciting and the respect that reflects the NCAA’s educational mission. Part of the character student-athletes learn through participation in intercollegiate athletics is responding under pressure in ways that allow them to perform at the peak of their abilities, but yet in the most appropriate manner.
Once upon a time, people believed that players must seem to hate each other to stage a competitive rivalry at the elite level (the rivalry between NBA players Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas is an example). That theory doesn’t apply in college sports, though.
“Bad sportsmanship causes rivalries and affects every contest with an opposing team,” said Kristen Cohoon, a basketball student-athlete at Agnes Scott College. “But people who allow bad sportsmanship to affect them have lost touch with the true spirit of competition.”
Kenny and Medina believe the “hip-hop culture” has something to do with the showmanship and the “all-about-me” attitude that some student-athletes bring to the game.
“There is more emphasis on dominating an opponent and one-upping them,” said Kenny. “Things have become more focused on the individual rather than the team.”
Medina sees that attitude rooted in childhood, as youngsters look to athlete heroes and adult role models to show appropriate behavior. He said when young kids see superstars who model poor sportsmanship as a crucial part of being successful, they carry that belief through to their collegiate and professional careers.
Of all the stakeholders, many see student-athletes as the key group to break the cycle with how they play the game and respect the jersey they wear.
“Our student-athletes probably don’t know how big an opportunity they have to provide an impact,” Patterson said. “To me, it’s a matter of them taking ownership on something they believe is important. Our surveys indicate that it is important to students — the vast majority like to be treated with respect and hospitality.”
The sixth-man epidemic
In the 101 years that the NCAA has been in existence, fan participation has skyrocketed. Several football stadiums near or exceed 100,000 seating capacity now, and planners seek to create basketball arenas in which fans can exercise their perceived influence on the game by moving seating closer to the court.
“I see the biggest problem in schools as fans cheering against and harassing the opposing team, rather than cheering for their own team,” said Agnes Scott’s Cohoon.
“When you go into a stadium like ‘The Swamp’ at the University of Florida and have 90,000 fans screaming at you, it can really get under your skin,” echoed Medina.
Like Cohoon and Medina, about 40 percent of the sportsmanship survey respondents cited fans as the element of competition most threatening to sportsmanship. However, student-athletes have little control over the thousands of screaming supporters who fill the seats. Most student-athletes are looking to their coaches, administrators and officials to set the tone on acceptable fan behavior, as well as acceptable player behavior.
Cohoon said it’s a crucial step in getting both fans and student-athletes to support the home team without degrading their opponent.
“Many times officials take too long to acknowledge poor sportsmanship,” she said. “Maybe coaches and athletics directors need to be encouraging good sportsmanship more and penalizing bad sportsmanship more.”
Accountability 101
Chuck Mitrano, commissioner of the Empire 8 and engineer of the innovative “conduct foul” sportsmanship initiative, believes that in addition to administrators and coaches taking the lead in setting standards of good sportsmanship, student-athletes have to be involved in the process. He cites some of the most successful programs he has seen as the creation of student athletes.
“For an athletics director to tell a student that these are the rules and if you don’t follow them then you’re going to be in trouble, that’s one thing,” said Mitrano. “But if you have student-athletes who create their rules and they say this is how we expect you as my peer to act or behave or to uphold the image of the institution, there’s much more of a positive association with that behavior.”
“Coaches are crucial,” said Medina. “There has to be more emphasis on acting well and modeling the correct behavior from the beginning. But your teammates out on the field definitely have a huge impact on you. They’re wearing the same jersey and playing for the same prize. You can’t have each other acting a fool and making the university and the team look bad.”
Kenny also believes that while there is more urgency in an AD emphasizing sportsmanship, at game time, those ideals must be owned by the student-athletes and fans.
“In the heat of the game, I’m the first to make sure my teammates aren’t jeopardizing the game or the image of the institution,” said Kenny.
Though major incidents of unsportsmanlike behavior are relatively rare in NCAA competition, there has been a recent surge of activity to assess the state of sportsmanship in collegiate athletics and to find new ways to create a respectful competitive environment for all.
Thinking outside the lines
Mitrano’s conduct-foul program, which received an NCAA grant in 2003, tracks misconduct of student-athletes and coaches in an attempt to increase awareness about the issue and create a foundation for assessment and permanent attitude change.
Other innovative programs that involve student-athletes and fans include a program at the University of Maryland, College Park — which uses student-athletes to talk about expectations of fans at competitions and how to respect the opposing team while at the same time providing intense spirit. The University of Washington’s “Dawg Pack” — which treats fans as a sixth man and gives out scouting reports, holds members accountable to the same sportsmanship standards as players and regards them as an integral part of the team — also has been effective.
Since the inception of the Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct in 1997, the NCAA has promoted the values of good sportsmanship in the form of an annual Sportsmanship Award. The Association also provides best practices and resources for interested parties through involvement with the Citizens Through Sports Alliance. Conferences and institutions in all three divisions also have emphasized best practices that work at a more grass-roots level. But for student-athletes, it’s all about developing a “best attitude” with the hope that it will be contagious.
“In the end, it’s up to us to act well and model the way for everybody,” said Medina.
Beth Waggoner is a recent graduate of Winthrop University, where she was a four-year letter-winner in volleyball. A former member of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and chair of the Big South Conference SAAC, Waggoner currently is a compliance/administration intern at the Big South.
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