Where has sportsmanship gone?

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Courant.com
Handshake Lines' Value Up For Debate
Lori Riley

February 28, 2010

In a three-week span in January and February, there were two incidents in the state involving basketball postgame handshake lines.

At Windsor High on Jan. 26, the Berlin and Windsor girls played a close, heated game. Berlin won 52-51 after a player hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime and another hit a three at the buzzer to win it. After the game, words were exchanged and there was some pushing in the line. Windsor officials separated the teams; two unidentified Windsor players were suspended.

On Feb. 12, another incident erupted after the Rocky Hill and Fermi boys game, which Rocky Hill won, 54-53. Again, there were words and shoving in the line and this time, the parents got involved in the resulting melee. Four adults were arrested.

Obviously, lack of sportsmanship coupled with parental overinvolvement in sports are two of the main problems here. But what about this particular postgame ritual, which often throws competitors together for a face-to-face confrontation before either team has had a chance to cool off?

They give athletes a cooling-off period before they speak to reporters to collect themselves. Why not the same for the handshake line?

Or taking it a step further, some say why not abolish the postgame handshake or do it before the game? Some argue it's a contrived situation that, in a rare instance, could potentially turn volatile. If a player wants to congratulate an opponent, they will find that person and do it.

"At the end of the game, you've got both teams there, the refs have left," Rocky Hill girls basketball coach Pete Egan said. "The ones that lost are still mad, the ones that won are still gloating. It's like a match waiting to be lit."

Some years ago, Egan took a coaching class taught by St. Joseph athletic director Bill Cardarelli. Risk management at games was one of the topics. Egan brought up the handshake line and its necessity. He was roundly criticized.

"They looked at me as not wanting to teach sportsmanship, not being sportsmanlike," Egan said. "This is a matter of taking them out of harm's way.

"I thought it's been a risky situation for a long time. I know I'm alone on this, but I still believe it. I don't see what it has to do with sportsmanship. There's no sincerity going through the line. Especially in rivalries."

After the Windsor-Berlin incident, The Day of New London columnist Mike DiMauro wrote: "But by all means, let's continue the handshake line charade. It has everything we seem to like nowadays: It looks good and means nothing."

Of course, most people, especially people who have been involved in sports for a long time, would disagree.

Former Middletown athletic director Fred Balsamo, now the executive director of the Connecticut Association of Athletic Directors, was adamant about the need for handshake lines, which he believes teach self-control and respect for an opponent.

"Handshake lines are a true act of sportsmanship, especially after a heated and emotional contest," he said. "If we can't teach our kids and coaches that that's an important part of the game, we shouldn't be in this business.

"When you add up the hundreds of thousands of athletic games at all levels and how many thousands and millions of handshakes go on — to change our practice because of two or three people is ridiculous. We need to re-emphasize that the handshake line is not a way to shoot your mouth off, it's a closure to the game. We are acknowledging to our opponent that it's over, there are no hard feelings, we're moving on from here. It's happening well most of them time."

Then the question becomes, who should monitor the line?

In Massachusetts, officials are now required by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to monitor the handshake line and even to participate in it, if they feel comfortable.

The basketball officials initially balked. Concerned for their safety, they went to court to stop the ruling but the judge ruled in favor of the MIAA.

The problem is that the officials have no authority once the buzzer goes off.

"We are sitting ducks," said Larry Marchione, an official and member of the executive committee at-large of Mass. Board IAABO 208. "We're supposed to stand there and observe the handshake. Their hope is that we will participate."

Marchione now only officiates at middle school, freshman and junior varsity games, where he said the rule is not enforced.

"Kids will find kids who they want to congratulate," Marchione said. "I don't feel it should be a forced requirement."

The CIAC has recently made a renewed emphasis on sportsmanship. Schools are being assessed for their sportsmanship. Officials actively try to head off unsportsmanlike behavior before it happens. One change the Central Connecticut Board 6 officials have made is that both coaches and captains meet with officials to go over protocol before the games, instead of just the captains.

The bottom line is that the handshake line is now an integral part of high school athletics and schools need to keep on top of it. Only a few instances have become public, but there are certainly more minor incidents that haven't.

"I think we do a good job," Mercy girls basketball coach Tim Kohs said. "Our coaches are on top of the kids all the time for acting properly.

"I don't think you abolish it. There are a million games played. I can see if it's a chronic problem, if there's a fistfight after every game. But I think the positive outweighs the negative."