WIAA

[imnofish]

People are offended by too many things.....this is going to far....let the students have fun, cheer for their team and show school spirit.....this nit picking directive from the WIAA is out of line......then to add in they are monitoring high school kids twitter.....get real...thats a parental issue not a WIAA.

What if the kid tweets a threat?

[lizard king]

It was NOT a directive, and not a rule.   Does everyone get that?

[Mack]

When this thread began, I was picturing the student section when our high school won state in basketball my freshman year.  The students had a blast cheering for their team. I think it was good, clean fun; the stuff great memories are made of.  I'm pretty sure at some point in all that cheering, the word "air ball" was yelled.  I didn't get the feeling then, or now, that any of the guys on the court that we were cheering for/against were hurt by the word "air ball".  

On the other hand, if we're talking about younger kids, who are not mature, confident or particularly talented, being taunted by fans, that's a different scenario.  

It would be cool if the WIAA could tell fans to just use common sense.  

[DocWrestling]

Then why did they send it out?  Someone at the WIAA obviously perceived a state wide problem to send the memo out to every school.

Why did they care if it was not a directive or a rule?   They wanted to remind all the schools?  Were there some schools that needed reminding?

I am pretty sure they knew these chants have been condoned at virtually every school in the state.  Were they trying to subtly tell everyone to squash them!

[crossface21]

The problem was the examples that were given were harmless. "Air ball" and "scoreboard" are fans having fun, along with just about all the other examples they gave.  Instead, if they had included examples that were offensive, nobody would've even noticed the story.

[bigG]

It was NOT a directive, and not a rule.   Does everyone get that?

The mere suggestion is a little ludicrous. If some crowd went overboard, deal with it case-by-case. Obviously, the folks on here (me included) don't care if it was a directive or memo. The suggestion is silly. Sounds like nothing looking for a problem.

[5799gb]

The conduct of a schools student section at a sporting event is the responsibility of that schools admin. An event or events in particular had to be the reason the the wiaa felt the need to address the issue. Imo the mistake made by them was to include all schools in addressing a "problem".
I do not understand what someone gets out of telling someone else that they should be offended. Warm fuzzys, a good night sleep. The memory of how a loss or failure feels to the individual is what motivates them.

[lizard king]

I agree that the problem was that the examples they gave were poor, however, the intent was not her is a piece of the email;

"Heading into the new year with the holiday tournaments and conference schedules ramping up, and the winter sports Tournament Series soon to follow, we want to identify a point of emphasis for sportsmanship this season.

As we reviewed the fall tournaments and the sportsmanship evaluations and observations, we want to address concerns with a noticeable increase in the amount of chants by student sections directed at opponents and/or opponents' supporters that are clearly intended to taunt or disrespect."

[DocWrestling]

I agree that the problem was that the examples they gave were poor, however, the intent was not her is a piece of the email;

"Heading into the new year with the holiday tournaments and conference schedules ramping up, and the winter sports Tournament Series soon to follow, we want to identify a point of emphasis for sportsmanship this season.

As we reviewed the fall tournaments and the sportsmanship evaluations and observations, we want to address concerns with a noticeable increase in the amount of chants by student sections directed at opponents and/or opponents' supporters that are clearly intended to taunt or disrespect."

And the WIAA specifically gave examples of chants that they seem to find offensive yet the overwhelming general public and the schools they represent do not find those chants to be offensive.  That tells me they are trying to spread some sort of agenda.

I just find the WIAA funny.  They were set up for the sole purpose of hosting and administering state championships and ruling eligibility.  They have always stated they only care about determining a champion and could care less about giving more kids a great experience by allowing more to qualify for state or to allow any sports to compete after they lost for maybe 3rd place, etc.  They have also routinely not cared about individual athletes with their rulings on eligbility.  Yet here they want to pretend like they care about all student athlete feelings.  I am sorry but I just do not support the WIAA and the way they do business and this is another episode.  3-4 individuals have all the power over the schools, the coaches associations, etc.

[Dale Einerson]

If an athlete can't take some ribbing by the opposing team's fans then how they heck can they handle getting on the bus after the game/match is over and the ref has declared you to be the loser!  Every competition makes somebody a LOSER! Every period, every play there is a winner and a loser!  Deal with it and learn from it.  And the truth is every athlete does.  They lost but internally they do not feel like a loser.  And if they do then they better get over that or life is going to beat them down.

If these cheers are a form of bullying than we can call "life" a bully because it is not going to make everyone a winner.

Should we stop raising the winner's hand after the match.  I mean doesn't that blatantly show that we are celebrating the winner and making sure everyone else knows the other wrestler is a loser?

I think facing that adversity and pressure and putting yourself on the line is what makes athletes more successful in many aspects of life.

I think the issue is what the students are learning as fans.  A loss of civility and respect in our society should be a concern for school personnel.  

I've been to hundreds of wrestling events over the years. I can only think of one time where I thought the crowd atmosphere "crossed the line". Although, I've never been accused of having a delicate sensibility.  

Yes, I've witnessed a few of those, too.  Once, at Regionals, our kid was headbutted by another kid and literally knocked out.  A fan literally ran up to the edge of the mat and cheered the kid for the head butt; subsequently cheering for him to "do it again."  Back then, no repercussions for his actions.  This was a great example for all those student athletes and student fans to follow, eh?

And there it is....we somehow think students, or fans, are going to follow the example of that one guy. 

I think there is a 1st Amendment issue.  I also think there is a tremendous juxtaposition in today's world, we live in a lawless society, often our elected leaders are separated from the truth; we are focused on the truly little things. 

[wraslfan]

Wraslfan, miss the political threads? 

Not really. I'm sorry if that "offended" you.  Liberals are the ones acting on this feel good garbage. Kind of hard to deny that. Just pointing out the obvious, if that's politically incorrect, I'm sorry.

[wraslfan]

People are offended by too many things.....this is going to far....let the students have fun, cheer for their team and show school spirit.....this nit picking directive from the WIAA is out of line......then to add in they are monitoring high school kids twitter.....get real...thats a parental issue not a WIAA.

I agree Aaron. Well said.

[bkraus]

This is not a new thing the WIAA just brought up.  They have had some sort of policy governing sportsmanship since 1997.  I talked with our AD about this and the WIAA sends out these memos a couple times a year.  This one happened to be about sportsmanship and gave examples.  I think it is unfair of everyone blasting the WIAA like they have been, and I have been outspoken about WIAA decisions in the past. 

I can tell you at our school, we had a PBIS initiative about sportsmanship and how to act at events.  It helped out the level of sportsmanship at our events a lot.  It made the students think about what they were saying and it did great things.  I just think that is what the WIAA was trying to do, just didn't get it across in the best manner.

[wraslfan]

"Actually it's the WIAA and (democrat voting)"  (absolutely no reason to make this claim)

Hmmm, supposedly no political stuff.  Now, someone will be accused of being too thin skinned or "not able to take a joke" or "too sensitive".
All this after they get their jab in.

To play devil's advocate... many think it is ok to yell "air ball".  How different is that than simply yelling "loser"?
I am guessing most would be ok with the former but not the latter.  There is no really good reason for distiction between the two.  The purpose of both is the same.  Something to think about.  We basically get down to splitting hairs as to what is ok or not ok. 
The WIAA is not banning cheering for your team.

It's quite different than yelling loser. God bless you, MNbadger.

[imnofish]

I agree that the problem was that the examples they gave were poor, however, the intent was not her is a piece of the email;

"Heading into the new year with the holiday tournaments and conference schedules ramping up, and the winter sports Tournament Series soon to follow, we want to identify a point of emphasis for sportsmanship this season.

As we reviewed the fall tournaments and the sportsmanship evaluations and observations, we want to address concerns with a noticeable increase in the amount of chants by student sections directed at opponents and/or opponents' supporters that are clearly intended to taunt or disrespect."

Interesting how taunting by athletes during competition is penalized, but so many are quick to defend doing it as spectators.