Due to unacceptable disruptive behavior at sporting events nationwide and within our city and surrounding area, the MASCC has prepared several teaching tools to assist organizations in preventing potential trouble.

• A customized ‘Sportsmanship Lecture’ provides guidelines and support examples for coaches, players, and spectators to promote positive sporting behavior. Presentations can be adjusted to fit your time frame.



• ‘Code of Behavior for Spectators’ poster: A colorful reminder to view sports as a community treasure that serves to unify groups of people together for enjoyment and pride within the realms of athletic competition and recreational play.

LECTURE TALKING POINTS:

The Coaches Role: The Key to Promoting Sportsmanship

• Communicate expectations for good sportsmanship to players and parents
• Teach players sportsmanship
• Establish team rules including consequences for inappropriate actions
• Recognize and / or reward players for demonstrating good sportsmanship
• Serve as a role model through the following examples
  1. exemplify the highest moral character, behavior and leadership
  2. show respect for the opponent and officials at all times
  3. win with dignity and modesty, and lose gracefully
  
• Abide by and teach the rules of the game in letter and spirit
  

The Athlete's Role: Promoting Team Sportsmanship

• Respect teammates and coaches
  - Demonstrate respect and pride for other players and coaching staff.
• Treat opponents the way you would like to be treated.
  - Congratulate them in a sincerer manner after the game following either victory or defeat.
• Accept and understand the responsibility and privilege of representing your organization.
  - Conduct yourselves in an exemplary manner.
  - Win and lose with dignity.
  - Refrain from making any unsportsmanlike comments or remarks to your opponents.

Sportsmanship for Parents

• Parental Role
  - Support coaches
  - Encourage all players
  - Be active in your children's teams
• Parents as role models
  - Set a wonderful example of good sportsmanship
  - Communicate and teach good sportsmanship conduct to children
  - Be supportive of the decisions made by coaches, officials and administrators regarding proper conduct
  - Encourage the enforcement of consequences for inappropriate actions
  - Help your child learn from his or her experiences

Should an Incident Occur

• Immediate deal with the situation in a firm but discrete manner
• Follow-up with a personal contact:
- One-on-one meeting with the individual outlining the error and what is not acceptable
- Phone call to individual if one-on-one meeting is not an option
- Letter to individual with date of incident noted (View sample letters)
• Follow-up with written communication summarizing agreed upon steps to improve sportsmanship
• Consideration should be given to taking away privileges of attending contests for a specified amount of time in negative activities continue. Examples:
  - Contest or contests/sports season/calendar year
• Allow for opportunities for meaningful dialogue from all involved.
  - Listen
  - Reflect
  - Arrive at a mutual resolution of concerns
• Inform athletic administrator of situation including steps taken to right the error

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GOOD BEHAVIOR EXPECTATIONS: (download pdf)

Of the Coaches..

• Exemplify the highest moral character, behavior and leadership, adhering to strong ethical and integrity standards. Practice good sportsmanship!
• Respect the integrity and personality of the individual athlete.
• Abide by and teach the rules of the game in letter and in spirit.
• Describe and define respectful and disrespectful behavior. Stress that disrespectful behavior, especially taunting, trash talking and intimidation, will not be tolerated.
• Set a good example for players and spectators to follow – please refrain from arguments in front of players and spectators; no gestures which indicate an official or opposing coach does not know what he or she is doing or talking about; no throwing of any object in disgust. Shake hands with the officials and opposing coaches before and after the contest in full view of the public. Demand the same of your players.
• Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials. The officials are doing their best to help promote athletics and the student/athlete. Treating them with respect, even if you disagree with their judgment, will only make a positive impression of and your team in the eyes of all people at the event.
• Display modesty in victory and graciousness in defeat in public and in meeting/talking with the media. Please confine your remarks to game statistics and to the performance of your team.
• Instruct participants and spectators in proper sportsmanship responsibilities and demand that they make sportsmanship the No. 1 priority.
• Develop a program that rewards participants and spectators for displaying proper sportsmanship and enforces penalties on those who do not abide by sportsmanship standards.
• Be no party to the use of profanity or obscene language, or improper actions.

Of the Student-Athlete..

• Accept and understand the seriousness of your responsibility, and the privilege of representing your school and community.
• Live up to the standards of sportsmanship established by the school administration and the coaching staff.
• Learn the rules of the game thoroughly and discuss them with parents, fans, fellow students and elementary students. This will assist both them and you in the achievement of a better understanding and appreciation of the game.
• Treat opponents the way you would like to be treated, as a guest or friend. Who better than yourselves can understand all the hard work and the team effort that is required of your sport?
• Refrain from taunting, trash talking or making any kind of derogatory remarks to your opponents during the game, especially comments of ethnic, racial or sexual nature.
• Wish opponents good luck before the game and congratulate them in a sincere manner that you would like to be greeted following either victory or defeat.
• Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials. The officials are doing their best to help promote athletics and the student/athlete. Treating them with respect, even if you disagree with their judgment, will only make a positive impression of and your team i the eyes of all people at the event.
• Win with humility; lose with grace. Do both with dignity. Avoid excessive celebrating after a play or end of a game.

Of the Spectators..

• Remember that you are at a contest to support and yell for your team and to enjoy the skill and competition; not to intimidate or ridicule the other team and its fans.
• Remember that school athletics are learning experiences for students and that mistakes are sometimes make. Praise student-athletes in their attempt to improve themselves as students, as athletes and as people as you would praise the student working in the classroom.
• Remember that a ticket to a school athletic event is a privilege to observe the contest, not a license to verbally assault others and be generally obnoxious.
• Lean the rules of the game, so that you may understand and appreciate why certain situations take place.
• Show respect for the opposing players, coaches, spectators and support groups. Treat them as you would treat a guest in your home.
• Refrain from taunting, trash talking or making any kind of derogatory remarks to your opponents during the game, especially comments of ethnic, racial or sexual nature.
• Respect the integrity and judgment of game officials. The officials are doing their best to help promote athletics and the student-athlete, and admire their willingness to participate in full view of the public.
• Recognize and show appreciation for an outstanding play by either team.
• Refrain from the use of any controlled substances (alcohol, drugs, etc.) before and during games, and afterwards on or near the site of the event (i.e. tailgating).
• Use cheers that only support or uplift the teams involved.
• Recognize and compliment the efforts of school and league administrators for their efforts in emphasizing the benefits of educational athletics and the role of good sportsmanship to the end.
• Be a positive behavior role model through you own actions and by censuring those around you at events whose behavior is unbecoming.

Acceptable Behavior

• Applause during the introduction of players, coaches, and officials.
• Shake hands with an opponent who fouls out while both sets of fans recognize the performance with applause.
• Accept all decisions of officials.
• Handshakes between participants and coaches at the end of the contest, regardless of the outcome.
• Treat competitions as a game, not a war.
• Coaches/players search out opposing participants to recognize them for outstanding performance or coaching.
• Applause at the end of the contest for all participants.
• Everyone showing concern for an injured player, regardless of team.
• Encourage surrounding people to display only sportsmanship conduct.

Unacceptable Behavior

• Taunting, trash talk, and other intimidating actions.
• Not admonishing those sitting around you who engage in practice of poor sportsmanship.
• Yelling or waving arms during opponent's free throw attempt.
• Disrespectful or derogatory yells, chants songs or gestures.
• Booing or heckling an official's decision.
• Criticizing officials in any way; displays of temper with an official call.
• Yells that antagonize opponents.
• Refusing to shake hands or give recognition for good performance.
• Blaming loss of game on officials, coaches or participants.
• Laughing or name-calling to distract an opponent.
• Use of profanity or displays of anger that draw attention away from the game.
• Wearing extreme/unusual clothing or excessive face or body paint with detracts from the action on the playing surface.

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CODE OF ETHICS PLEDGES FOR COACHES, PLAYERS AND PARENTS

PDF Downloads:

• Coaches
• Players
• Parents
• Players and Parents Combined

SAMPLE LETTERS FOR PLAYERS AND PARENTS (To be customized per situation and per person)

PDF Downloads:

• Coach letter to discipline a player or parent
• Disciplined player or parent's apology return letter to coach