[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1312-S1313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE TENTH ANNUAL NATIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP DAY

 Mr. L. CHAFEE. Mr. President, yesterday was the tenth annual 
National Sportsmanship Day--a day designated to promote ethics, 
integrity, and character in athletics. I am pleased to say that 
National Sportsmanship Day was a creation of Mr. Daniel E. Doyle, Jr., 
Executive Director of the Institute for International Sport at the 
University of Rhode Island. This year, over 12,000 schools in all 50 
states and more than 100 countries participated in National 
Sportsmanship Day. This is remarkable, since ten years ago this program 
only existed in Rhode Island Elementary Schools!
  Yesterday, the Institute held a day-long live internet chat room in 
which athletes, coaches, journalists, students, and educators engaged 
in discussions of sportsmanship issues, such as trash-talking, 
``winning at all costs,'' professional athletes as role models, and 
behavior of fans. I believe that the Institute's work in addressing the 
issues of character and sportsmanship, and its ability to foster good 
dialogue among our young people is significant.
  As part of the Day's celebration, the Institute selected Sports 
Ethics Fellows who have demonstrated ``highly ethical behavior in 
athletics and society.'' Past recipients have included: Kirby Puckett, 
former Minnesota Twins outfielder and 10-time All Star; Joan Benoit 
Samuelson, gold medalist in the first women's Olympic marathon in 1984; 
and Joe Paterno, longtime head football coach at Penn State University. 
This year, the Institute honored 10 individuals including Grant Hill, 
five-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons, and former All-American at 
Duke; Jennifer Rizzotti, head women's basketball coach, University of 
Hartford, and member of the WNBA Houston Comets; Jerry Sandusky, former 
defensive coordinator/linebackers coach, Penn State University, PA; and 
Mark Newlen, former member of the University of Virginia basketball 
team (1973-77) and presently physical education teacher and coach at 
the Collegiate School, Richmond, VA.
  This year, the Institute has found another avenue to promote 
understanding and good character for youngsters. A new program called 
``The No Swear Zone'' has been instituted to curb the use of profanity 
in elementary, middle and high school sports, as well as at the college 
level. In order for a school's athletic team to become a member of 
``The No Swear Zone,'' it must pledge to stop the use of profanity in 
practice and in games.
  I am very proud that National Sportsmanship Day was initiated in 
Rhode Island, and I applaud the students and teachers who participated 
in this inspiring day. Likewise, I congratulate all of those at the 
University of Rhode Island's Institute for International Sport, whose 
hard work and dedication over the last ten years have made this program 
so successful.
  Mr. President, I ask that the winning essays from this year's contest 
be printed in the Record.
  The essays follow:

                Always Try Your Hardest, Be Encouraging

(By Katie McGwin, a fifth grader at Quidnesset Elementary School North 
                             Kingstown, RI)

       To be a good sport means to be kind to others, play fairly, 
     never cheat, try your hardest and be responsible. You can be 
     kind to others by saying encouraging words such as ``You can 
     do it!'' and ``You tried your hardest! Maybe next time.''
       These simple words can convince people that they really can 
     do it and they tried their hardest and next time they will do 
     it well. You can play fairly by following the rules and never 
     cheating.
       You can try your hardest by being the best you can be. You 
     can be responsible by keeping track of your things, doing 
     chores, cleaning up after yourself, taking care of your pets, 
     bringing your homework into school and many other things.
       I try my hardest in my dance class. I do well, but I think 
     I could try harder. I show my responsibility by keeping track 
     of my things, doing chores and bringing my homework into 
     school. I sometimes encourage people. I always play fairly 
     and I never cheat. I am showing that I am a good sport. I do 
     well in school and I do well at home.
       Some people do not show sportsmanship. Those are the people 
     who do not care about the rules of the game. They do not show 
     responsibility. Those are the people who are not kind to 
     others. They do not cheer people on. They think that they are 
     the winners and the other team is just there to lose.
       Losing can be tough. I've been there, too. Don't get too 
     discouraged. The truth might be that your team will win next 
     time. So keep trying.
       You may have different ways of being a good sport. It 
     doesn't matter what you do to be a good sport; it matters 
     that you are a good sport. Remember this: Always keep trying!
                                  ____


                Children Learn Good and Bad From Models

   (By Patrick Kolsky, a 10th grader at Novato (Calif.) High School)

       In the modern era, sports have been rising in popularity 
     without opposition. Sports in the beginning were first seen 
     as something that could help someone relieve pressure, help 
     cope with stress, join families and communities together and 
     to expose oneself to a little friendly competition.
       Most of all, however, sports were mainly seen as a creative 
     outlet to relieve one's extra energy and recycle it into 
     something that was fun for everyone. In more recent years, 
     sports have escalated into something more.
       Professional sports focus on winning and salary, while the 
     original intentions of sports take a back seat. Younger 
     children are extremely influenced by professional athletes 
     and are well known to try and imitate their favorite player.
       Most athletes today don't really care whether they had fun 
     while playing a sport, but only if they won or lost. and why 
     should they? It is not their job to have fun or to set good 
     examples--their job is to win. But when the millions of 
     onlookers observe what ``real'' athletes perceive of sports, 
     it is almost inevitable that they themselves will follow the 
     lead of their role models.
       These unsportsmanlike ethics that people pick up on lead to 
     an unhealthy imbalance and lack of scruples in non-
     professional and non-profit-oriented sports today.
       I feel very strongly that sports for children should not be 
     a main focal point of their lives. Children's sports should 
     focus on team play, listening and respecting an opponent.
       It is unhealthy for children to be so focused on winning at 
     a young age that it will influence other aspects of their 
     lives. The majority of children do not become overly 
     competitive by themselves, but rather from examination of an 
     outside source. It is this outside source that is the most 
     crucial to any child's path to becoming a good sportsman.
       Children find role models at a young age; and whether that 
     role model is a professional basketball player or a 
     weatherman, they always end up being influenced by the person 
     that they admire. When these children grow up, they usually 
     carry with them the perception of what was ``said'' to be 
     acceptable and then apply that to other areas of life, not 
     just sports.
       This is exactly the reason why it is imperative that good 
     sportsmanship be stressed in children's sports as well as 
     higher-level sports. It does no good to a child when good 
     sportsmanship is stressed by one source, yet they look at 
     another source and see exactly the opposite.
       It is not uncommon in today's sports for the players as 
     well as the fans to become unsportsmanlike. It is OK for 
     people to become competitive as long as they understand the 
     real meaning behind sports and not get too caught up in 
     winning.
       Unfortunately, many people overlook this issue entirely. 
     Players trash-talk their opponents without remorse, and fans 
     will become overly excited and unruly in the stands. Of 
     course, there are consequences for all of

[[Page S1313]]

     their actions, but to the people who only care about winning, 
     consequences are just consequences, and nothing more. They 
     will continue to do whatever they can if they feel it will 
     help them win.
       Some people are so focused on instant gratification that 
     they don't care what the effects of their actions will be. 
     This is an extremely lethal setback to young onlookers that 
     see this kind of behavior. If their own role models do not 
     believe that they are doing anything wrong, why should they? 
     Every action has a consequence, but not every consequence has 
     the effect it should on the perpetrator.
       Sports is a huge industry, and there are so many fans, 
     young and old, who hold sports in high regard and are 
     influenced deeply by almost every aspect of the games. Some 
     people become blind to the fact that some of the idealism 
     that they are picking up from sports may not be in their best 
     interest. Winning at all costs is a poor example of how some 
     role models are supposed to behave in front of the people 
     that idolize them. Our children are watching--and they are 
     picking up every thing that comes their way.
                                  ____


           Parents Have an Obligation To Be Good Sports, Too

     (By Aroha Fanning, a senior at Jacksonville (Fla.) University)

       Sports are probably one of the most popular pastimes of 
     today's society, whether you are an athlete, a spectator or a 
     sponsor or whether you are pro or amateur, young or old, 
     disabled or physically fit. Athletics caters to everyone.
       But the people who benefit most from sports today are not 
     the professional basketball players or football players who 
     sign contracts of up to $30 million a year or more. They are 
     the little rugrats you can see running around a soccer field 
     on a Saturday morning, or the 3-foot-nothing munchkins who 
     take to the ice for little league ice hockey each season.
       Getting children involved in sports not only keeps them 
     active and away from the TV screen or computer monitor, it 
     also teaches them how to be a team player and how to interact 
     socially with other children. But what kind of sportsmanship 
     is being modeled to our children when parents are standing on 
     the sidelines yelling at referees and coaches and getting 
     into fights with parents of the opposing team?
       Whatever happened to phrases such as ``It's not whether you 
     win or lose, but how you play the game'' and ``Just go out 
     there and do your best?''
       All over the country, parents are being asked to shape up 
     or ship out of the ballpark, stadium or playing grounds. In 
     Jupiter, Fla., parents are now required to take a good 
     sportsmanship class before their children are allowed to play 
     a sport. Parents in Los Angeles are asked to sign a ``promise 
     of good behavior'' form.
       Perhaps so many parents push their children into 
     participating in athletics in hope that they will be able to 
     get a scholarship to college and will go on to the major 
     leagues and sign one of those $30 million contracts. Maybe 
     others push their kids into athletics just so they can brag 
     to their friends and family about how little Johnny is the 
     star of his soccer team. Perhaps parental expectations come 
     from unfulfilled childhood dreams of playing college 
     football, baseball, basketball or whatever the sport of 
     choice might have been.
       However you look at it, or whatever the motive for pushing 
     children into athletics, encouraging them to run onto a field 
     while yelling at them for making a mistake or losing isn't 
     going to make them love the sport. It is not going to get 
     them that college scholarship. It is not going to make them 
     the best on the team. And it is not going to fulfill the lost 
     dream of being a college athlete.
       The only thing that pushing your child beyond the true 
     purpose of the game--to have fun--accomplishes is to push the 
     child further away from the sport and, eventually, the 
     parent.

                          ____________________