Parent sporting violence – like father, like son
Roar Guru By Adam_Santarossa, 27 Jul 2009 Adam Santarossa is a Roar Guru
There has been much debate throughout the media in the past week surrounding the brutal sideline bashing involving some 30-odd parents at a junior Rugby League game.
Many people have come out suggesting ways in which the administrators of Rugby League should handle the problem to ensure we never see an incident of the sort again.
Some suggestions have been quite interesting and hold some merit such as a team appointed parent warden, whilst others have been quite pie in the sky stuff.
There was one suggestion of banning ALL parents from attending junior games, which was largely laughed down and dismissed, and yet whilst I agree with the dismissal of such a move, I do support a somewhat similar approach.
My suggestion, do not only ban the parent involved why not take the child out as well.
My example would work something like this. If a parent is suspended from attending for the season, it incurs an automatic three week suspension for their child too.
Nothing would force a parent into stricter action then when they see their child hurting and asking why he isn’t allowed to play with his friends.
The child can then return after the three weeks, with the parent still banned, and hopefully those three weeks sitting on the sideline sets the example.
Of course my example is not perfect, but I believe it has merit.
Parents have been taking things away from their children for years, seemingly to teach them a lesson. There’s no reason to suggest the reverse couldn’t work here.
It’s not the ideal solution, and perhaps a little harsh, but I can guarantee it would fix the problem.
The concern of course is that as a result the child involved could be lost to the game. I assure you, the loss of children involved to the game as a result of having to serve a suspension due to unruly parents would pail in comparison to those children and parents lost to the game due to fear for their safety and growing levels of violence in the game.
Recommend this story.
July 27th 2009 @ 4:06pm
retired rucker said | July 27th 2009 @ 4:06pm | Report comment
Changing this ugly aspect of jr sport requires education of the parents as to what is expected of them. I am unaware but is there a code of coduct in any code for jr parents/supporters and players?.
No swearing, no abuse ect ,no heckling oppo parents, treat ref/ump with respect. All the stuff that you love to do at the real adult footy!
On signing up for your code the parents need to sign permission and maybee a behavior contract for themselves as well as their kids. Add to that the idea of bans for both the parents and kids for breaches and you might be able to affect change in the long run, no short term solns for any of this.
Adam it might just work but it will take a lot of will.
July 27th 2009 @ 5:36pm
Mushi said | July 27th 2009 @ 5:36pm | Report comment
I agree with parental bans but banning the kids when for many of these it is their only positive outlet would probably consign a generation to repeat the same behaviour. Kids already have enough of these types of their parents sins delivered upon them that heaping one more isn’t the solution.
July 27th 2009 @ 6:45pm
beaver fever said | July 27th 2009 @ 6:45pm | Report comment
I am involved in coaching and umpiring a junior footy team in Perth and IMO parent behaviour has generally got better rather than worse over the years.
Sure their are isolated incidents across all codes but in general community standards have made parents and spectators more aware of their responsibilities in these areas.
July 27th 2009 @ 6:56pm
Pippinu said | July 27th 2009 @ 6:56pm | Report comment
BF
interesting viewpoint – good to hear – but clearly on the East things may not be going as well!!
July 28th 2009 @ 7:47am
Crosscoder said | July 28th 2009 @ 7:47am | Report comment
Whilst the ugly parent issue crops up now and again,from what I have heard on the ABC grandstand on Sunday,it is nowhere as prevalent as it once was.Two people involved in junior rugby league ,one from South Sydney indicated in his district the incidence has been reduced dramatically,by nipping any issue in the bud before it heats up.And that is the responsibilty of people involved with the varous teams.
The other chap,was involved in the confraternity shield a huge schoolboy rugby league comp in Qld,involving 40 schools.One of the organisers intimated there have been zero problems from parents or players.They are not allowed to swear on the field,they are warned about acceptable bahavior and that the school(some of whom travel hunreds of kms) will not be allowed to play the next year,shoul such things happens.It works.
The Sutherland shire junior rl ,has had next to no issues on and off the field this year.The general feeling is society in the main is getting the message.Of course in any society there will be the usual dumb exceptions.
You can have rules in place,but I remember a couple of years ago a parent from Sydney Boys High was involved in a punch up ,with a parent from memory Shore in a rugby union match.I vividly recall attending my daughter’s netball matches ,and some of the swearing by some of the players,and the volatility of a couple of the parents from opposition teams,left me scratching my head.Where does educating kids in the rights and wrongs start?