FOOTBALL PLAYERS OFF THE FIELD AND OUT OF CONTROL – What are we teaching our youth?

 

By David G. Hack

 

I recently had occasion to attend a local high school football game.  The game was fairly typical for high school, a good rivalry with a mix of good and bad plays, offensively and defensively by both teams.  The seesaw score ended, of course, with one team having more points than the other, so one team felt elated and the other, dejected.

 

As a spectator, I watched the action from the stands and had no interaction with the players until after the game was over.  The parking lot was filled with the vehicles of adults and students, including the players themselves.  With few exits from the lot, the lines formed, long lines that begged for patience and the usual courtesy of allowing cars from other lines to meld into the exit lane.

 

In this situation, it is my habit to periodically let another patiently waiting individual cut in front of my vehicle.  On the evening in question I did so.  A pickup containing players from the low scoring team approached the line.  I slowed and allowed the truck to enter the space I had created.

 

However, no sooner had I done so than another vehicle with four or five teammates raced across the parking lot to follow the pickup.  I eased my vehicle forward to close the gap, feeling as though I had already done the courtesy thing and this particular car had not waited in line at all. The car came very close to driving into me.  I guess the old, bald guy was an easy target.

 

When there was no more room between the two of us, a player from the car jumped from the back seat and stood directly in front of my car with his arms out to prevent me from moving forward, so the car containing his friends could get in the line.  He proceeded to verbally abuse me and my passengers, threatening us if we didn’t stop and let the other car get in line.  He told me he would fall down and say I tried to run him down.  He said he had many witnesses.  As we wrote down the car’s license number, the players increased their verbal frenzy.

 

A crowd was drawn to the commotion and many players, perhaps 15 or 20, surrounded our car.  The intimidation was complete.

 

Another citizen called the police and a squad car soon arrived.  The officer obviously wanted to quell any potential disturbance as quickly as possible.  He asked me to pull over to the side and talked with the players.  As their coaches arrived, the players got into their vehicles and disbursed.  The officer then came to me and asked if I had run into the boy who had stood in front of my car.  I told him the truth, that I had not, that the boy walked into my car to prevent me from exiting the parking lot. 

 

That was the end of the incident, but I’m left with many, many questions.  My step-daughter was terrified, my wife was distraught over the gall of the young man and I was dumbfounded by the audacity of student athletes who feel they can accomplish anything they want through intimidation.

 

What are we teaching?  Coaches pump up the young men to enter battle on the field by being bigger, stronger, smarter, faster and more powerful than their opponents. However, if that same mind set is applied off the field, I think we have a problem. 

 

The young man who so bravely stopped my moving vehicle so he and his friends could leave the parking lot a few minutes earlier was also taking a big chance. Had I been as irrational as he was, he would probably be in the hospital as I write this, and I would probably be in jail.  The sporting event would have contained a headline on the front page and not just on the sports page.

 

I am also concerned about his future and the future of the people in his circle. If he continues to operate as though intimidation can result in accomplishing anything he wants, that control of others is achieved through fear, then the society that he creates will be a very sad place indeed.  And I, for one, am happy that I am old enough that I won’t be around to be a member of that society. 

 

But it’s especially sad that this young man and his peers will not have learned that in a world gone mad, tolerance and patience are the only weapons against aggression and fear and they will be totally unprepared for the battle they face.