Poor sportsmanship

[CJ D]

Maybe I just don't get it

I would tend to agree with you. You just don't get it.

My daughter made what I consider a mistake and showed very poor sportsmanship one game. She smarted off to an umpire about a call on a steal to 2nd. The umpire told me about it. She went right back on the field and apologized for it. She found the umpire again after the game and apologized for it again, or else she didn't play the next game. Not having that. She owned her mistake.

This girl and everyone around her seem to be wanting to make excuses and justifications for her actions (I know the girl hasn't come out publicly). As you said...they were very bad mistakes at a minimum. Those around her are teaching her that you don't have to admit your mistakes or own up to them. That is the problem for me as much as the actions. Had the girl come out the next day and told of the emotion of the game, how she had gotten caught up in back and forth, etc, I would feel differently. I wouldn't feel better about what she did, but I'd say she at least learned something from it.

And for the 18th time, for the love of God, her foot is on the line. There is no play at the plate whatsoever. She is violating the rules of the game, as well as being a poor sport. The plate is entirely encompassed in FAIR territory. What many of you are saying is that the girls should have altered their direct line to the center of the plate, from foul territory already, to avoid a catcher who is violating the rules.....in a state championship game where every single run counts. This isn't pool play. Possibly the catchers TB coach and high school coach are not very good at teaching the rules of the game, I don't know. But you would think that somewhere along the way they would have told her that she can't block the plate without the ball.

 

[riseball]

...Those around her are teaching her that you don't have to admit your mistakes or own up to them. That is the problem for me as much as the actions. Had the girl come out the next day and told of the emotion of the game, how she had gotten caught up in back and forth, etc, I would feel differently. I wouldn't feel better about what she did, but I'd say she at least learned something from it...

This is dead on. Iincluding a statement to the effect that her actions reflected poorly on the sport that she loves, that she failed as a role model for younger players, and how she urges others to learn as she has may have turned this into positive exposure for her. Properly handled you can fall face first into a pile of crap and come out of it better off than before.

 

[Rocketech1]

Unfortunately, with the advent of smartphones, GoPros, and video cameras on every street corner, all of us need to be more careful with how we act in public. Welcome to the 21st century and technology. Our kids (we) need to adjust accordingly. If you don't want to be the next social media sensation, you don't do anything that will draw unwanted attention to yourself. There is a reason this video went viral. It's shocking even to the general public who don't have any interest in youth sports. This will die down in a day or two and social media will be talking about the Kardashians again.

 

[Crashsdaddy]

No, that is another story. The example cited is one where someone took what could have been a benign 1 day story, handled it very poorly and turned it into a decade of T-Shirt, Bumper Sticker, and late night talk show fodder. Had this incident been handled differently it would died within 24 hours. In fact it could have been turned into a win for her.

When you start discussing how a high school kid fails to handle national media relations ... well, you might be overreacting. Kind of like how people are overreacting to the video.

 

[AndyS]

This is dead on. Iincluding a statement to the effect that her actions reflected poorly on the sport that she loves, that she failed as a role model for younger players, and how she urges others to learn as she has may have turned this into positive exposure for her. Properly handled you can fall face first into a pile of crap and come out of it better off than before.

I guess I agree that the kid should be surrounded by crisis management experts especially the ones that apparently post on this board. And where was she supposed to put this statement out, ESPN, NBC News, call a press conference? How do you know what she has done? How do you even remotely know how she feels? Or are you all-knowing and figure you have it all deciphered based on what she has or has not put on facebook? How do you know what her parents have told her? How do you even have a clue about what her tb coach has told her in private? Do you even know what her tb coach has been saying on social media?

Again I hope your DD never ends up on the wrong end of one of these. Oh I know it could NEVER happen.

 

[NorthMS]

Since when did calling a dirty play a dirty play constitute a lynch mob or a witch hunt? Have some gone overboard? I bet, but WHO put themselves in this situation?

If this was my DD, I would be furious with her actions, embarrassed by video, and mortified by the spread of it, but at the end of the day, it would be on her. Would that change who she it? No, but it would take some blinders off me as to just what my DD is capable of. Let's quit acting like she's a 12 yo following the bad coaches orders. She's old enough to know better.

btw...whoever said they've seen much worse on the softball field.....really? This ranks right up there with the girls intentionally hitting the ump for me. I'm glad we don't play wherever you've been playing.

So, a 17yo can make TWO dirty plays in the same inning, her coach can go on record as to making excuses for her actions, and I'm the bad guy for saying it was a dirty play???? There are consequences for your actions. Since when does facing those consequences become out of style?

Ask yourself this, if this wasn't as egregious as some are trying to tell us, then why has the video gotten so much traffic nation wide?

 

[riseball]

I guess I agree that the kid should be surrounded by crisis management experts especially the ones that apparently post on this board. And where was she supposed to put this statement out, ESPN, NBC News, call a press conference? How do you know what she has done? How do you even remotely know how she feels? Or are you all-knowing and figure you have it all deciphered based on what she has or has not put on facebook? How do you know what her parents have told her? How do you even have a clue about what her tb coach has told her in private? Do you even know what her tb coach has been saying on social media?

Again I hope your DD never ends up on the wrong end of one of these. Oh I know it could NEVER happen.

I know some of what has been said, and I have a pretty good handle on what has not been said and unfortunately it speaks volumes. As to how to get a message out, it is not rocket science.

 

[dbronstein]

Had this incident been handled differently it would died within 24 hours. In fact it could have been turned into a win for her.

It's still going to die within a week or two. These stories usually die as quickly as they explode. What keeps them going is when the people involved don't explain - it fuels the speculation and keeps it going. A great example was when Tiger Woods had that incident with his now ex-wife. The media kept it going because he refused to come clean about what happened. Once the truth came out they moved on. It's the same thing here although obviously to a lesser extent. If she and her coach would come out and explain and/or apologize, this will blow over qucker. If they stay quiet, it will take a bit longer, but it will still blow over. Nobody will be talking about this in two weeks.

 

[riseball]

When you start discussing how a high school kid fails to handle national media relations ... well, you might be overreacting. Kind of like how people are overreacting to the video.

This is bigger than just the kid. There is a school district, a TB organization, and others in the line of fire. Maybe my expectations are too high since I have handled more than my share of these, but someone should have had the sense to handle it proactively.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

All players and coaches, can learn from this. For the next 15 years, when you google this young lady's name, this video is going to come up. The damage is done. Maybe a college coach won't care and she can hope that employers won't care. But life on the internet is a long time.

My husband used to tell all of his employees, "Before you act, think what it is going to look like on TV."