Where Has Good Sportsmanship Gone? I Blame ESPN

This is something that has bothered me for some time now. I do not understand why it is so important to show all the bad behavior and poor sportsmanship in the ESPN highlights on television. Kids today have no one to look up to. They have no idea how to show respect or basic kindness to their fellow athletes. All they see are basketball players knocking each other down and then walking right over them, never even looking back. Let alone reaching out a hand to help them up!

They see football players that score a touchdown, and then proceed to try and rub it into their opponents face by dancing some egotistical dance that is supposed to disgrace them. I do not understand this behavior. Why can't they just be proud of themselves for a good effort? Why do they need to disrespect their opponent to feel good about themselves?

I am sure that part of the reason is they don't have any examples of good sportsmanship to follow. Part of the blame goes to ESPN, and part goes to the parents. We are all so busy in today's world that we do not take the time to teach our children how to be good sports. I am as guilty of this as anyone.

A good example is my youngest son. When he started playing basketball he was very young. He was great, and really enjoyed the sport. Then as he got older and began to watch sports clips on TV, he started to emulate all the bad behavior that was portrayed. This is when I realized that it was partly my fault. I had never sat him down and told him about sportsmanship. He did not know what I expected of him. So we had a long talk about what I thought was the way he should act on the playing field. Once he knew what I expected of him, he acted just fine.

I still remember the talk that my father and I had about sportsmanship. His basic advice to me was about football. He said that you should"play as hard as you can play, hit them as hard as you can hit, and then help them up off the ground." Never disrespect your opponent. Do your best and be happy with that.

Part of the reason I am writing about this today is due to a fight that broke out between two whole baseball teams a couple of days ago. ESPN played the footage of both teams brawling in the middle of the field. Not just once, but they played it all day long, over and over and over again. This is directed to you ESPN! I don't want to just see the bad behavior. I want to see some good sportsmanship for a change. Is there any to show? I don't know if you realize how much influence you have with today's youth. You have a huge responsibility and I hope you see that. I would love to see a special segment everyday about examples of good sportsmanship. So be responsible ESPN, and I will try and do the same.