WIAA bans AIRBALL chants at HS basketball games

[LouisEly]

TV has created an unrealistic expectation of how good kids playing sports should be. People also emulate what they see on TV - because college students are doing something on TV makes it cool... but it doesn't make it appropriate in every setting. And the big picture is this - obesity and a general lack of fitness are huge problems in society, and a big part of that is because it is hard to get kids to play sports. It's hard to get kids to play sports because for many of them it's not fun when they aren't good, and the last thing they need is anything making the game even less fun. The last thing we need is anything that discourages kids from playing sports or causes kids to quit playing sports.

 

There are other much better ways to teach mental toughness. You teach it through setting goals and using positive encouragement and motivation and rewarding them for reaching their goals. Kids feel bad enough when they don't do well - the last thing they need is other people making them feel worse. Do people make fun of kids when they don't do well on a test? Does that teach mental toughness? Of course not. So why is it OK in sports? And chanting "airball" once isn't a big deal; but when it happens every single time it's the cumulative effect that makes the game not fun.

 

There is a time and a place for making fun of people when they don't perform, and I think that line is drawn at the point of playing for fun and playing for pay/performance. College kids are mostly on scholarship, so they are being paid to play, and they all were stars in HS. College is fine. But HS, in my opinion, is not.

[homer]

TV has created an unrealistic expectation of how good kids playing sports should be. People also emulate what they see on TV - because college students are doing something on TV makes it cool... but it doesn't make it appropriate in every setting. And the big picture is this - obesity and a general lack of fitness are huge problems in society, and a big part of that is because it is hard to get kids to play sports. It's hard to get kids to play sports because for many of them it's not fun when they aren't good, and the last thing they need is anything making the game even less fun. The last thing we need is anything that discourages kids from playing sports or causes kids to quit playing sports.

 

I think the big reason kids quit sports is because they're forced to play them from age 4 onward. Everyone needs a uniform and a referee nowadays.

[paul253]

There are other much better ways to teach mental toughness. You teach it through setting goals and using positive encouragement and motivation and rewarding them for reaching their goals. Kids feel bad enough when they don't do well - the last thing they need is other people making them feel worse.

 

Im not saying these chants should be allowed because it teaches kids mental toughness. Im just saying that teenagers shouldn't have to constantly be shielded from every little thing that might hurt their feelings. Doing that does more harm than good. By this age they should already have the mental toughness to get through this without having to go to therapy.

 

We are talking about HS athletes here. If someone was yelling "air ball" at a 6 year old playing little person basketball then yeah I'd have a problem with that. But we're talking about high school kids here. These kids by now are playing sports more so because they enjoy/are good at it and not because their parents make them so they can get some exercise, meet new people and/or see if they enjoy it like you do with little kids. And like I said most of these chants are rather tame. "Air ball". "You can't do that". "We can't hear you". Come on. Do you really have to "protect" a teenager from that? I feel sorry for any teenager that can't get over that because they are going to have a rough go at it when they grow up. Again, actual insults I'm not cool with. But discouraging chants like this is ridiculous.

[craigharmann]

Then there's this: http://usatodayhss.com/2016/jay-bilas-royally-trolls-the-wisconsins-decision-to-ban-chants-at-high-school-games

[adambr2]

In full support of this. What you should be ashamed of is kids negatively chanting at other kids playing a game...just trying to have fun. While some other kid sits on his butt making fun of him/her. There is no need for this at that level. So many kids are playing sports at that level for different reasons.

 

Once I saw a kid horribly miss a fly ball and everyone was making fun of him. His background? Foreign exchange student who never played baseball before.

 

Great example of HS sports becoming too serious. Not allowing negative chants is suddenly some kind of crime? Yikes.

 

I would never chant such a thing at a high school kid either, but to me it's not about that. High school is about preparing children to enter the real world as adults. Part of that real world experience is learning to cope with adversity and criticism. Which many children are ill-prepared to do these days, unfortunately.

[fondybrewfan]

The Jay Bilas tweets are pretty hilarious if you ask me

[FVBrewerFan]

Here's my question. Even if these chants are forbidden, what's the difference between chants and simply cheering after an opponent's bad play? If someone shoots an airball, boots a grounder, or drops a pass the opposing fans will cheer loudly right? Doesn't that hurt a kid's feelings too?

 

Personally, I have an issue with the creativity of chants more than hurt feelings. "You can't do that" was never very clever, now it's annoying. Although, here in the Fox Valley, my favorite chant is the one directed at Appleton North. When they're about to lose, opposing student section chants "start your Lexus." (ANHS perceived as the rich kids' school.) That one is still funny to me...

[1992casey]

I don't have an issue with this:

 

Any action directed at opposing teams or their spectators with the intent to taunt, disrespect, distract or entice an unsporting behavior in response is not acceptable sportsmanship.

But I think problems arise when the focus becomes hurt feelings rather than simple sportsmanship. And the idea of an itemized list seems weird to me.

[jerichoholicninja]

After talking to an AD and WIAA official about this, it is only a re-emphasis of rules that already exist. So like most things, the media has blown out of proportion and gotten people riled up over something that is a non-story.

[MrTPlush]

Are high school sports even suppose to be preparing kids for the real world? Is that why they exist? I don't really think so...so why is this such a tragedy? I really don't think we need to prepare kids through sports. That is what getting a part time job is for.

 

I opened that article immediately closed it when I saw, "Ruining the fun". The games aren't about the crowd. That is just sad and I bet the rest of that article is a bigger joke past that.

[stoutdude04]

Are high school sports even suppose to be preparing kids for the real world? Is that why they exist? I don't really think so...so why is this such a tragedy? I really don't think we need to prepare kids through sports. That is what getting a part time job is for.

 

I opened that article immediately closed it when I saw, "Ruining the fun". The games aren't about the crowd. That is just sad and I bet the rest of that article is a bigger joke past that.

 

 

I disagree. Everything we do is preparing kids for the real world. I didn't have a part time job when I was in school. I played 3 sports and learned hard work and dedication that way. I also learned about success and failure and the consequence of not working hard or doing my job. I also learned how to withstand ridicule and overcome adversity. I didn't need a job to teach me those things.

 

I also disagree about the crowd. The games ARE intended to be fun. It helps build a sense of togetherness and community through the school and city/town. Through support of school athletics and other teams/groups it helps build a sense of community. If you have that sense of community you are probably less likely to try to hurt or disrespect those within it.

[Outlander]

After talking to an AD and WIAA official about this, it is only a re-emphasis of rules that already exist. So like most things, the media has blown out of proportion and gotten people riled up over something that is a non-story.

I don't think so, it was a letter sent recently. If somebody feels there is a bad rule or law and wants it changed they should say something about it, doesn't matter how long the rule or law has existed. There are plenty of things in life that lie dormant for many years and there is an event or action that causes people to react.

[FVBrewerFan]

I really don't think we need to prepare kids through sports. That is what getting a part time job is for.

 

I opened that article immediately closed it when I saw, "Ruining the fun". The games aren't about the crowd. That is just sad and I bet the rest of that article is a bigger joke past that.

 

 

Part time job? So what happens when a McDonalds customer yells at poor little Johnny for getting the order wrong? Won't that hurt his fragile ego more than an "airball" chant?

 

And if games aren't about the crowd, why have bleachers? Of course games are about the students, their families, teachers and staff. That's who they're playing for, it's not AAU ball.

[FVBrewerFan]

After talking to an AD and WIAA official about this, it is only a re-emphasis of rules that already exist. So like most things, the media has blown out of proportion and gotten people riled up over something that is a non-story.

 

This was more than re-emphasizing rules, it's about re-defining them. WIAA blew it out of proportion by dictating what students can say. Yes, there were existing rules about sportsmanship. But "we can't hear you?" That's not even directed at players, it's directed at the other student section. If any kid is going to be devastated by a chant of "you can't do that" he has deeper issues his parents and school officials should have already been addressing.

 

Finally, nobody has answered this. The WIAA has said nothing about cheering a missed a shot or booting a grounder. Honestly, how is that any different than a stupid chant? Either way the fans are calling attention to the error the player made.

[Point Beer Is Best]

I guess I don't have a problem with them wanting to say, "If you can't say it in the classroom, you can't say it during a game." Clearly some of the things our student section chanted during basketball games in the late 90's would have crossed that line (those chants were directed at the officials).

 

On the flip side, trash-talking is part of any competitive situation, particularly sports. Obviously you want to avoid personal attacks and things that are vile and vulgar, but do we think our kids will cry when the opposing fans chant "Warm up the bus!" in the waning minutes of a blowout?

 

And then the girl who told the WIAA to eat doo-doo in a tweet gets suspended when they alert school officials. Is there even a precedent for that? Seems to be the social-media equivalent of walking past the WIAA building and giving them the finger. That gets you suspended from school and athletic activities when it doesn't happen on school grounds now?

[FVBrewerFan]

Clearly some of the things our student section chanted during basketball games in the late 90's would have crossed that line (those chants were directed at the officials).

 

My favorite when I was in HS (1980s) was "Elevator, elevator, we got the shaft!" Not sure if that made it to the late 90s ; )

[homer]

After talking to an AD and WIAA official about this, it is only a re-emphasis of rules that already exist. So like most things, the media has blown out of proportion and gotten people riled up over something that is a non-story.

 

 

Wait, you mean Jay Bilas took a story and blew it out of proportion without actually researching the issue? You don't say!

[LouisEly]

Part time job? So what happens when a McDonalds customer yells at poor little Johnny for getting the order wrong? Won't that hurt his fragile ego more than an "airball" chant?

I think you could make the argument that if you yell at a 16-year-old kid at McDonald's because he/she got your order wrong - and don't give the kid a chance to make it right - you are a lousy human being. It's also apples and oranges because you are getting paid to work at McDonald's - unlike HS sports it's your job, it's not for fun, and it's not going to help you develop habits that will support your physical health for decades to come.

 

I'm against the wussification of society too. (Don't get me started on this whole "give everyone a trophy for participating" crap.) But there's also a point where you draw the line, and there is a time and a place for everything. Should kids get yelled at? Yes, by their parents and coaches if they carelessly or deliberately screw up. And I think kids should get spanked if they deliberately misbehave. But it's about the intention - there should be negative consequences if the intention is bad. If a kid loafs it out on the court he/she should get yelled at because the intention is bad. If a kid is selfish and shoots a bad shot trying to rack up points instead of passing to an open teammate then he/she should get yelled at because the intention is bad. But if a kid is working hard and doing the best he/she can but physically can't make the play? No, because the intention is good.

 

It's about the intention. If you read books on people management and motivation they all universally say to reward good intention even if the outcome is bad and punish bad intention even if the outcome is good. You reward and punish not based on outcome but on intention.

 

There is a big difference between a chant started at a team for losing ("start the bus/your Lexus"), and a taunt directed at a specific person. And while most of the big schools (class sizes over 600 kids) usually have good players on the team, not all smaller schools (such as the one I went to that had less than 600 kids total in the four classes) have all good players on the team. Those are the ones I'm primarily talking about.

[paul253]

That's all good and well.....for the coach. Or the parent. But you can't expect the opposing teams fans to positively reinforce a players good intention. Their job is to try to help their team win by cheering them and motivating them and, yes, chanting and booing and getting under the skin of the other teams players. Fans don't chant air ball because they have something against that player personally. They do it because they want to remind the player that he or she screwed up, which will ideally make that person play worse and help their team win.

[FVBrewerFan]

I think you could make the argument that if you yell at a 16-year-old kid at McDonald's because he/she got your order wrong - and don't give the kid a chance to make it right - you are a lousy human being.

 

Of course. But a 16 year old kid doesn't get to choose who treats them well, or treats them like crap. You can't protect them from that. Sure, they get paid, but not sure what that has to do with it. They chose to work in a job where they may get verbally abused, just as choosing to be on a HS team opens them up for verbal assaults.

 

Frankly, these kids get a lot more crap from fellow teammates, their parents, sometimes coaches. What is HE doing on the team? Why is Johnny getting playing time? This stuff goes on all the time, and is the real problem.

 

Finally, let's be honest about when/where these chants happen. It's not at swim meets or golf. It's almost entirely boys basketball. In fact, VARSITY boys basketball. Not many people attend Frosh or JV games, and I've never heard chants. So, kids who are "the scrubs" don't play anyhow. In fact, they get positive response when they come in at the end of games.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Clearly some of the things our student section chanted during basketball games in the late 90's would have crossed that line (those chants were directed at the officials).

 

My favorite when I was in HS (1980s) was "Elevator, elevator, we got the shaft!" Not sure if that made it to the late 90s ; )

 

One of ours was "Nuts and bolts! Nuts and bolts! We...Got...Screwed!"

[BrewersSuperCollector]

A child who can't handle the airball chant probably won't have to hear it too many times. That child probably wont get that much future playing time.

[FVBrewerFan]

Clearly some of the things our student section chanted during basketball games in the late 90's would have crossed that line (those chants were directed at the officials).

 

My favorite when I was in HS (1980s) was "Elevator, elevator, we got the shaft!" Not sure if that made it to the late 90s ; )

 

One of ours was "Nuts and bolts! Nuts and bolts! We...Got...Screwed!"

 

Ohhhhhhh yea. I remember that one!

[Jimbo]

I'll chime in on this, since this is an issue that has gotten under my skin for many years now. People are making this a wussification of society, I prefer to think of it as installing a little discipline. Back in high school the hoops coach during a pep rally took the microphone and commented "if you feel the need to come to our games and do all your chants, then please stay away because you're an embarrassment to the team." And this guy was as conservative as they come. I used to enjoy going to games but now with the increasing uncivil behavior displayed at games I've lost my appetite.

[paul253]

People are grouping all chants and taunts into one category. That's the big problem here. Chanting "air ball" is not the same as yelling "nice shot loser". I'm all for punishing kids for legitimate insults. The problem is that the examples the WIAA cited are not even close to legitimate insults. That's why there is such wide spread reaction. This IS a wussification of society because the WIAA is going way too far. Had they simply said "refrain from using personal insults, abusive language and swear words during games" nobody would even be talking about this. But they took to a level that quite honestly included G-rated chants and that's why they are catching so much slack for this.