College athletic programs must display good sportsmanship
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When kids start playing sports, coaches typically dont ingrain the importance of winning over losing into a young brain, but rather, they teach the basic principles that create the foundation of participating in sports.
Among the core values that every athlete learns at a young age is to have fun, be honest, work hard and to play cohesively with teammates, but theres one principle that were missing, and in my eyes, its the most important: Respect your opponent, and have great sportsmanship.
On Sunday, in the womens basketball national championship game between Iowa and LSU, zero sportsmanship was on display, especially from the Tigers and sophomore forward Angel Reese as the clock ticked toward double zeroes.
Now, its not the action from Reese that upsets me, because Caitlin Clark did the exact same gesture toward Hailey Van Lith of Louisville during their Elite Eight matchup. What frustrates me so much is the lack of discipline from the LSU forward.
Reese made her point when she was standing next to Clark at the free-throw line and again later in the quarter, but as the clock wound down and the Tigers were about to be crowned champions for the first time in program history, instead of celebrating with her teammates, she decided to blatantly brag in the face of Clark as the Hawkeye walked toward her own bench.
Sunday was supposed to be an opportunity to expose womens basketball to fans who may have never watched one second of it and hopefully garner a new fan base to a sport rapidly growing in popularity but instead it was overshadowed by Reeses poor sportsmanship at the end of the game and even afterward, too.
Almost the entire country is talking about what Reese did to Clark, a good thing for the growth of womens athletics, but shouldnt there be other things were talking about, like what actually happened during the game?
LSU's Angel Reese reacts in front of Iowa's Caitlin Clark during the second half of the NCAA Women's Final Four championship basketball game Sunday, April 2, 2023, in Dallas. LSU won 102-85 to win the championship. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tony Gutierrez
Its impossible for people not to discuss what happened in the final two minutes and not the 38 minutes of play before that. I dont blame them, but can this occurrence spark a new conversation about the importance of sportsmanship, especially in Happy Valley?
I think so. Here at Penn State, the single-most important thing to fans, alumni, students, faculty and administration pretty much everybody is athletics, and to jeopardize its stature by being a poor sport is just silly.
Something thats so easy to teach, yet isnt etched into the character of many athletes, can be damning to a programs success.
Besides setting itself apart from the competition by dominating play on the field, blue and white athletics can improve its sportsmanship on the field, and it starts with the coaches.
As the leaders of a group of students, coaches need to lead by example both on and off the field because many athletes emulate the actions and words of them, as shown with Reese and LSU coach Kim Mulkey.
Throughout the game, Mulkey was visibly irate with almost every single play that didnt go LSUs way, and to show her frustration, the coach stormed on the court to the nearest referee, flailing her arms and legs while the games action was still going on.
On Sunday, Mulkey was even shown on video making direct contact with an official after becoming frustrated by a missed call. The referee needed to push the Tigers coach away from her so she could continue to call the game.
By rule, any contact with an official from a player or a coach automatically warrants a technical foul, and on this occasion, nothing was handed out, not even a bench warning like Iowa was handed later in the game.
Because of Mulkeys actions and her ability to get away with it in the moment, which have been prevalent all season, Reese emulated her coach and took it a step forward by following Clark to her bench as time expired and boasting the championship win in her face, displaying the LSU forwards true level of sportsmanship.
Blue and white coaches like James Franklin, Guy Gadowsky, Cael Sanderson and Mark Pavlik have already done a great job at instituting a culture that doesnt tolerate unsportsmanlike acts, but the ball cant just stop there.
Its like a fire; when you start it, everything is going well, but if you dont keep an eye on it and it starts to dissipate, the fire will go out.
If a coach creates a positive culture in the locker room but doesnt harp on that message every single day by leading by example, that culture will be extinguished.
Penn State coaches could learn a thing or two about LSUs antics on the court from Mulkey and Reese and no, its not to throw tantrums and brag in the opponent's face. Having high culture and leading by example through exemplary sportsmanship is bigger than any championship won on the playing field.
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Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7:00 am