What Happened To Sportsmanship?
When I was young, there was a level of sportsmanship on the playing field. You fought hard, you fought fair…but you came together to shake hands afterwards. The idea was that the opponent was an adversary, but not an enemy.
In football, for example. You tackled an opponent, then offered a hand to help them up to get ready for the next play. It did not mean you were working for the other side, or that you were weak…it was just a goodwill gesture, a show of respect.
Apparently that’s no longer the case…at least if an incident in a college bowl game last Friday is any indication.
It’s the “Gasparilla Bowl” played in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida. Missouri was taking on Wake Forest. A Mizzou player was called for roughing the passer, in this case quarterback Sam Hartman.
One of Hartman’s teammates offered him a hand. So did a Mizzou played named Ennis Rakestraw. Rakestraw was not the one who committed the penalty, he was just offering to help the opponent up off the ground.
That did not sit well with his Mizzou teammates, however. One of them pushed Rakestraw aside and a pushing-and-shoving match ensued. Two other teammates had to intervene to separate them…all of this happening in the middle of the field.
As it turned out, Wake Forest defeated Missouri 27-17 in the game, dropping Missouri to a 6-7 overall record on the season.
But what does it say that when a player offers a hand to an opponent, he himself is attacked by his own teammates? Especially when the player on the ground was the victim of a penalty for an illegal hit?
Joking around with opponents during a game…that probably crosses a line. Plenty of time for that after the game. But when the most basic show of sportsmanship—helping your opponent up so he can play on—is looked upon as actionable by teammates…that’s a personal foul, and I’m throwing the flag.
