"Good" Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship or lack thereof has been in the spotlight this week in the wake of a rather bizarre incident that occurred after last Sunday’s hotly-contested NFL game in which the visiting San Francisco 49ers handed the Detroit Lions their first loss of the season. Normally after a game the two head coaches meet around midfield, shake hands and exchange in brief pleasantries under the heading of “good game coach.” Obviously if the two have a relationship the meeting can last longer and appear friendly and genuine. That was not the case Sunday when rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh of the 49ers sprinted across the field in obvious jubilation, vigorously shook the hand of Detroit’s Jim Schwartz, backslapped him and then took off to continue the celebration. That exchange which may have included an obscenity did not sit well with Schwartz who ran after and confronted Harbaugh, bumping him a few times before being separated by players and others.

That incident between two young, cocky and even arrogant coaches has brought up the issue of sportsmanship and like everything else it will spill down to the younger ranks. Football is the only major pro sport in which not only coaches but players shake hands after a game. When a baseball game ends everyone heads back to their dugout. In hockey they only shake after the final game of a playoff series and when there is an NBA there is no formal post-game greeting. However football, the most violent and amped-up game ends with coaches shaking hands and often features opposing players joining one another in prayer.

In recent years high school athletics has routinely featured post-game handshakes although last year in a weird and to me unnecessary act the NJSIAA mandated during the basketball playoffs that teams shake hands before and not after the game. That was designed to avoid what occurred in a 2010 game in which a brawl broke out in the post-game handshake line when a female basketball player attacked another. I’m actually surprised there’s not more of that because I can tell you from experience that the losing team does not really want to shake hands with the team that just beat them and that often starts with the coaches. Heck can you imagine if opposing parents had to shake hands after a youth or high school sporting event? That would be entertaining…the local police department would be on speed dial.