NCAA’s focus on sportsmanship is long time coming…and welcome

Coaches bear the blame for players’ actions which led to the new rules

We’re being told by the NCAA that they’ve had enough and that they’re going to do something about it…finally.  Sportsmanship in men’s college basketball has declined significantly in recent years.  As players have been allowed to flail away unchecked, physically and verbally, following referees’ calls with which they disagree, fans and television viewers have had to endure the disintegration of good form front and center.

One would expect that coaches would have more control over their players, and to be fair, some do.  But, there are many hoops coaches that have turned a blind eye to their players’ boorish behavior obstensibly not wanting to dampen their players’ competitive spirit.  Hogwash.  The new rules being instituted are a result of coaches not having the chops to quell their players.  Instead, too frequently athletes get a pat on the butt, a minute or so on the bench, or a stern look.  But real discipline?  Not really.  Otherwise we would not see the need for the NCAA to act.  Nobody wants more rules, but sadly this move was necessary.

“The kids today are different” is not an acceptable excuse for permitting them to cross the traditional and acceptable line of good sportsmanship.  Competitive drive cannot be valued over a respect for the game and its officials.  And, coaches that make no sincere effort to control their seemingly uncontrollable players have forced the issue to the front burner.  We only wish that they would be held even more accountable by the NCAA, their conferences, administrations and athletic directors.

Granted, the NBA has set the stage, no doubt, by allowing its players to openly admonish game officials and displaying any number of histrionics without meaningful consequences.  They, too, bear responsibility.  Childish outbursts by overpaid professionals should not trickle down to college basketball, if for nothing else but to disavow those actions as grown men being stupid, but when there is no stopgap measure in place on the college level, well, you see the outcome.

The NCAA is taking action because coaches will not.  The game has suffered.  Fans have suffered.  And colleges have suffered from this erosion of one of sport’s founding principles – sportsmanship.  We applaud the NCAA for taking this stand and hope that officials will institute these guidelines firmly and consistently.