joeconn4 t1_j4w3mfn wrote on January 18, 2023 at 5:48 PM

Reply to comment by raz0rsnak3 in Citing racism, MUHS girls’ basketball team skip game at Enosburg Falls by thedvlandgod

You wrote " ...almost EVERY form of competition at every level..." The NFL is one level. HS sports are another level. The thousands of competitions I've taken part in are other levels. Perhaps you feel that what I've been involved in is "sports", not "competition". I would disagree. When I'm grinding over putts to win a $10 Nassau, or trying to figure out what the oil pattern is on the lanes I'm bowling at to try to cash at a tournament, that feels like competition to me. When I was on the start line with hundreds/thousands of other people and I'm trying to have the best race I can have and beat a bunch of people, that feels like competition. When some guy is staring me down on the pitcher's mound and I know he's going to throw me his best pitch and I'm going to try to smack it, that feels like competition.

I love listening in when they mic NFL players, MLB, NBA, NHL - even more so when the players don't know what they're saying can be picked up and you get a raw look into the real stuff they say during competition. Lotsa shaky stuff, but lots of positivity/camaraderie too. Will also say I've worked the table for college B-Ball and officiated college & h.s. volleyball and from those positions you hear some stuff, from the court, from the benches, from behind us in the stands that is cringe-worthy (and a whole lot more from the bleachers that is just ridiculously misinformed). So for sure I know that sometimes offensive language and racism gets tossed around. My experience is that it's far from "almost every form of competition at every level".

raz0rsnak3 t1_j4w9w5m wrote on January 18, 2023 at 6:26 PM

Look, all I'm saying is that if you're competing, don't be surprised if your opposition says something negative to you, about you, etc. Some guys actually do this on purpose to put their opponents on tilt.

IMHO, it's far better to know how to deal with these negative comments, then to attempt to remove them (which you can't).

An individual does have control over how they react to these negative or racist comments; it's a choice to let it affect you.

joeconn4 t1_j4whugv wrote on January 18, 2023 at 7:15 PM

I hear what you are saying.

All I'm saying is that in my 50+ years competing, at many different levels and in wearing many different hats (competitor, coach, official, spectator), I would strongly dispute that what you initially wrote, "...almost EVERY form of competition at every level has elements of "offensive language" and racism..." is anywhere close to true.

If you had led with your last comment, I doubt I would have responded to begin with. I agree with your last comment almost 100% - with the exception that it's my personal feeling that at college, high school, grade school age sports where the competition exists to a large degree to further the education of the competitors, in those environments if offensive/racist language is being used then as a teachable moment those in charge of the competition would be serving their communities well to consider any potential sanctions including removing players from teams or having competitions without spectators. Behaviors change through both positive and negative reinforcement.

raz0rsnak3 t1_j4ws81f wrote on January 18, 2023 at 8:19 PM

Totally agree with your second paragraph. I guess any time I've competed (football, track, lacrosse, bjj, pool, arm wrestling, etc...) I've been very aware of trash talking from both competitors I know and those I don't.

Honestly, I hope that the actual frequency of trash talking is more on the level that you've experienced; that would indicate progress as far as sportsmanship .