Near the end of the January 9 Wild Card playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, players’ tempers began flaring, ultimately costing the Bengals the game.
Basically, two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties committed by two different Bengals led to 30 extra yards for the Steelers at the end of the game, allowing them to kick the game-winning field goal. Unsportsmanlike conduct has become a common phenomenon in almost all sports nowadays. There is no direct source of this conduct, and there is no one solution. These actions come from players, parents, coaches, and fans. These events are setting a bad example for middle school students, that needs to change and should change.

The stakes couldn’t have been higher for both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati going into the wild card game. A loss for either team meant elimination from the playoffs, and a win meant continuing on the road to the Super Bowl. With under two minutes left and down by one point, Pittsburgh was attempting to drive for the win when Cincinnati linebacker Vontaze Burfict led with his helmet on an attempted tackle and concussed Steeler wide receiver Antonio Brown. Burfict was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. Cincinnati cornerback Adam Jones then pushed a Pittsburgh assistant coach who was on the field after Brown was helped off by trainers. This was another 15-yard penalty which allowed Pittsburgh to kick the game-winning field goal.

After the game, Burfict refused interviews in the locker room, but then lashed out on Twitter in anger, cursing the referees. Events of unsportsmanlike conduct have occurred too many times in professional sports, and they do not seem to be stopping any time soon. Take, for example, Carolina QB Cam Newton who refused to answer any media questions at his press conference after his Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

New York Giants star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is an idol to many TBS students. In week 15 of the NFL regular season, when the Giants played the Carolina Panthers, Beckham and Panthers cornerback Josh Norman started pushing, shoving, and hitting each other after the whistle on several plays. Referees tried to break up their fights, but they both remained persistent. Beckham was suspended for his actions, and on Twitter he wrote a long apology that had a paragraph reaching out to children who idolize him. Part of it included, “A lot of kids look up to me as a role model. That is a responsibility I accept and take seriously.” Unlike Burfict and Jones, Beckham did take responsibility for his actions.

However, poor sportsmanship doesn’t just occur in the NFL, and it’s nothing new to sports. Light was shined on unsportsmanlike conduct after the actions of John McEnroe were seen by others. John McEnroe was a Hall of Fame tennis player, but was not well respected because his actions did not properly represent the refined and gentlemanly game of tennis. McEnroe would often throw tantrums when an official’s call did not go his way. To many, these actions resembled the behavior of an unruly toddler. With so many bad examples of sportsmanship in professional sports, how can Benjamin prevent their athletes from following their behavioral examples?

In the middle school, specific actions that the opposition takes can easily put one over the edge. Middle school basketball player Crystal Pauldo-Devine knows this all too well. Devine now looks back on the championship game in December where she lost her temper and committed a technical foul after being rough with an opposing player. According to her, she only retaliated after the opposing player elbowed her multiple times on purpose. “I would not say I wanted revenge,” explained Pauldo-Devine, “but I definitely wanted to take her out of the game.” Pauldo-Devine became so incredibly angry that she “took [the opponent] out instead of the ball.” She believes her emotions got the best of her, and says that “in the game, I was angry and it pushed me over the edge.”
How can events such as these be prevented in the middle school? Lower school physical education teacher Jaclyn Filia explains how she starts promoting sportsmanship as early as Pre-K. Filia explains how she “teaches the kids that winning and losing is not the most important; it’s that they tried their best and acted their best at the end of the game despite the outcome.” Filia also emphasizes sportsmanship as the head coach of both the seventh and eighth-grade volleyball team and the girl’s middle school basketball team. She explains how she “always has the kids say ‘good game’ and shake hands” with the opposing team after both lower school activities and middle school games.

Middle school athletic director Toby Harbeck agrees that the conduct of some professional athletes is not appropriate, even when those athletes celebrate a good play. “I know people get excited when they are involved in a big play, but they should put more rules in place for the way that professional athletes celebrate their accomplishments,” says Harbeck. He believes that students should focus on the good examples set by professional athletes, and believes that there are many athletes who conduct themselves the “right way, but we tend to remember the ones that do it the wrong way.”

Although sportsmanship can be taught in school, the example that parents set for their children is vital to the way that the children act. In Washington, parents of a thirteen-year-old girl were forced to watch her soccer game with binoculars from one hundred feet away. They were forced by the league to remain at least one hundred feet away from the field due to past unsportsmanlike actions. How can children act properly if the people they look up to aren’t good examples?

Harbeck defends Benjamin parents, explaining “Our parents are very classy people and know their limits.” He describes the role of a TBS parent as one who “root[s] positively for [their] child and the rest of the team.” TBS hopes to keep athletes, parents, coaches, and referees in check to make sure that everyone acts properly.

While sportsmanship remains a topic at the forefront of sports, Benjamin expects the very best from its athletes, parents, and coaches. Regardless of other opinions, Harbeck says that he always tells his players before games, “Win with dignity and lose with grace.”