The “Mitchell Report” on steroid use in baseball “tops” PCA's list of the “Bottom 10 Moments in Sports, 2007.” PCA releases this list of the worst behavior in sports from pee-wees to the pros to stimulate discussion among parents, coaches, players and educators. We also list the "Top 10 Moments in Sports, 2007" and provide Discussing Sports Incidents with Children, to help youth and high school athletes process all the life lessons contained in the Bottom 10 and Top 10 Moments.
Use the Comments link at the bottom of this feature to share your thoughts. Did we miss any Bottom 10 or Top 10 Moments? Would you rank the moments differently? Let us know!
Bottom 10 Moments in Sports, 2007
10. Michael Vick, a marquee NFL star whose jersey is worn by thousands of children, pleads guilty to his role in a dogfighting operation that resulted in cruelty and death to many dogs.
Video
9. Six hockey players and two coaches are suspended following a brawl between two teams of eight-year-olds in Guelph, Ont.
Video
8. A Chicago-area man is caught on tape hurling his son’s 11-year-old wrestling opponent off the mat.
Video
7. An Allentown, PA-area middle school lacrosse coach is dismissed after pleading guilty to hitting a 13-year-old player in the face in the post-game handshake line.
Article
6. NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony gambling charges and admits he gambled on games in which he officiated.
Article
5. Two Long Island brothers, apparently enraged over the benching of their son and nephew for cursing, receive a cell-phone call from the boy, arrive at his game and eventually are arrested for allegedly beating the team’s coach in front of the coach's son and the other 11-year-olds on the team.
Article
4. Lincoln, NE police issue a ticket to a woman for leaving her daughter alongside Interstate 80 because of her unsatisfactory performance in a soccer game.
Article
3. Northern Colorado University punter Mitch Cozad is convicted of attempted murder for knifing the punter ahead of him on the depth chart in a bid for playing time.
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2. An Orlando-area man pleads guilty to charges from 2004 that he supplied his then-14-year-old son with steroids and human growth hormones to improve his speedskating results.
Article
1. Release of the Mitchell Report on use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball, implicating such heroes of youth athletes as Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte.
Full report in PDF
To download a printable copy of the Bottom 10 List click here.
Top 10 Moments in Sports, 2007
10. In an English League Cup soccer game that resumed a month after a Leicester City player suffered a heart attack, league rules prevent Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 lead from carrying over, so Leicester City corrects matters by letting Nottingham Forest take the ball from the opening kickoff and score without opposition.
Article
9. Cincinnati’s Knothole Baseball bans parents from directing negative chatter at youth baseball players.
Article
8. To raise funds for the family of cancer-stricken Minnesota state high school wrestling champion Torrey Line, MN/USA Wrestling coordinates sales of a limited edition Minnesota Storm Wrestling shirt, which depicts Torrey having his hand raised after his 2006 State Championship.
Website
7. The Everett, WA Centennial Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade girls basketball team – during the fourth quarter of games – identify the opponent exhibiting the best sportsmanship and surprise her with a postgame medal presentation.
Article
6. Houston Texans defensive back Jason Simmons “sells” jersey #30 to teammate Ahman Green for a down payment of $25,000 (matched by owner Bob McNair) on a home for a single mother and her 7-year-old child with autism.
Article
5. Bret Harte High School basketball player Hannon Smith prevails in getting the Calaveras (CA) County Board of Education to revise the policy that kept him from playing his senior year for refusing to cut his shoulder-length hair.
Article
4. Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher chances missing his playoff game to help his infant daughter through life-saving surgery in New York City, flies back to Utah in time to hit a key three-point shot to seal a Jazz win and in a postgame interview inspiringly explains his priorities.
Video
3. An Ottawa area girls soccer team walks off the field in solidarity with their teammate when a referee bans 11-year-old Asmahan Mansour for refusing to remove her hijab, a ceremonial Muslim headscarf.
Article
2. Former Dallas Cowboy Everson Walls donates a kidney to his former teammate, Ron Springs, who has since lapsed into a coma.
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1. Release of the Mitchell Report on use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball, providing a chance for parents and coaches to capitalize on teachable moments with youth athletes and steer them away from cheating and drug use.
Article
To download a printable copy of the Top 10 List click here.
Positive Coaching Alliance Guide:
Discussing Sports Incidents with Children
Positive Coaching Alliance releases its annual "Bottom 10 List" in response to a frequent query in the thousand-plus workshops PCA presents each year for youth sports leaders, parents and coaches:
"How can we encourage youth athletes to Honor the Game when they see so many poor examples from their college or pro sports idols?"
This question is critical in light of the Mitchell Report on steroid use in Major League Baseball and the proliferation of negative youth sports incidents, including on-field adult violence against youth athletes, which routinely appear on TV newscasts and web-based video. The answer is to capitalize on the "teachable moments" those negative examples provide.
Teachable moments occur when a child tries to process an experience or an impression, and a parent or coach has the opportunity to turn a potentially negative incident into a springboard for discussing and teaching positive behavior.
Casting light on negative behavior and discussing it -- rather than ignoring it and hoping children do the same -- can help children avoid emulating the negative behavior. PCA hopes our list prompts media outlets to discuss these incidents in a way that educates youth sports leaders, parents and coaches who work with children.
Using as an example the Mitchell Report, which implicates the heroes of many youth athletes for cheating through the use of dangerous, illegal performance-enhancing drugs, PCA suggests several steps to youth sports leaders, coaches and parents:
Do NOT let it go by without comment. Children who learn of their heroes’ behavior without comment may take it as tacit approval from the adults. You might ask your child open-ended questions (questions that can’t be answered “Yes” or “No”) such as:
• What do you think would cause these players to use steroids when they knew it might cause health problems?
• Is using steroids cheating? Why/why not?
• Have you ever wanted something so badly you were tempted to cheat?
• Would you be more inclined to cheat if you believed others were cheating?
• If a player set a record while using illegal drugs, what should happen to that record?
• If you were ever offered steroids, what would you do? What would you say to the person offering them?
Once you get the conversation going, you might add your thoughts at an appropriate time:
• I don’t like steroid use both because it is dangerous and because it provides an unfair competitive advantage.
• These players are short-sighted. When they get older they will pay a price for doing this with their health.
• I have lost a lot of respect for these players because they cheated.
• I hope you will have the strength to say no to anyone who tries to get you to cheat in any way.
And don’t forget to use the positive incidents from PCA’s Top 10 list. You might say something like:
• Earlier this year Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I really admire them because they excelled at the highest level without resorting to cheating.
Coaches and parents also have the opportunity to reinforce specific positive values such as “Honoring the Game.” PCA promotes the ROOTS of Honoring the Game, where ROOTS stands for respect for Rules, Opponents, Officials, Teammates and Self.
Talking about ROOTS and continually reinforcing it with your children will help them internalize these values and make it less likely they will do something that will dishonor the game. Incidents like those on PCA’s Bottom & Top 10 Lists can strengthen bonds between parent and child and get conversations going that will enrich the relationship.
Remember, kids love sports so much they will even talk about it with their parents!
-- Jim Thompson
To download a printable copy of this discussion guide click here.
Posted by David Jacobson at 12/16/2007 10:33:51 AM |
I wanted to share a couple of stories from my first experience as a mom of a 1st grade basketball son today. I am a single working professional mother who writes children's books that introduce kids to sports and outdoor exploration. This year I was fortunate enough to have exposure to some great coaches. Thanks to all who give of yourselves through your service!
http://burburandfriendsblog.com/2007/12/11/the-role-of-coaching-in-childrens-sports-its-more-than-just-a-game
http://burburandfriendsblog.com/2007/12/15/the-best-events-of-the-year
Thanks to the coaches and all you do,
-Kakie
Posted by: Kakie ( Email: | Visit ) at 12/17/2007 5:59 PM
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Since most of us lack the free time to read all 409 pages of the Mitchell Report, many of us will simply skip to the list of players named. Take this with a grain of salt, because some players were named dozens of times, whereas others were only mentioned once (and the bulk of these events were based on heresay). Undoubtedly in the upcoming trials, some of these players will be proven to have been falsely implicated.
Conversely please do not believe that this report has rooted out all the abusers of performance enhancers. If we allow ourselves to be lured into a false sense of security, the problem will resurface. The only way to prevent a recurrence is to educate our young athletes on the values of fair competition. There will always be "untestable" ways to circumvent the rules. But if no one wants to utilize them, they cannot affect the sanctity of our sports.
Posted by: trainer ( Email: ) at 12/18/2007 7:29 AM
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It strikes me as interesting that women and girls are not a predominant part of the top 10. Although I would not go as far as saying that girls and women are immune from the concerns/issues in competitive sports (e.g., mother abandoning daughter), I am intrigued by the possibility that the way sports are organized and experienced differently for girls and women (coaches and athletes) may contribute to their not ending up on the top 10 list.
Posted by: dalton ( Email: ) at 12/18/2007 4:17 PM
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Thank you PCA for the recap of the best and worst of the last year. I am not sure whether I should regret that we have 10 (or more) Worst Moments each and every year, or whether I should be thankful that I have readily available examples for use as "Teachable Moments" in our youth program.
Keep on bombarding me and driving the transformation!
Posted by: George ( Email: | Visit ) at 12/19/2007 4:16 PM
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These conversations are the meat behind driving our kids to think and challenge why and how they act during sports. Some of these questions would be hard for even experienced veterans. How cool would a "fireside" chat be with some our PCA National Advisory Board? I mean these athletes have lived it.
PCA - thanks for making the world of sports better for all kids.
Posted by: Jason ( Email: ) at 12/31/2007 7:04 AM
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Great lists with some truly inspiring and truly terrible stories.
My one disagreement is with the girls who walked off because the referee deemed the hijab to be dangerous. I am both a soccer coach and referee. The Soccer Association in Quebec had deemed a hijab to be potentially dangerous and the referee did the correct thing in upholding the ruling.
Any clothing that could prove to be dangerous should not be allowed. Sport Hijabs are available (http://www.thehijabshop.com/capsters/index.php).
Posted by: Geoff ( Email: ) at 1/26/2008 1:06 AM
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Thank you for the lists and articles for download. Every year, I am reminded that I have not seen the best or worst in sports despite all my experiences.
Posted by: Bill ( Email: ) at 3/20/2008 10:38 AM
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I agree with the idea that we must fight discrimination as it is a blight on any society. But by elevating this protest to a "top 10" we are now telling kids that the "O" for officials isn't really as important as we tell them it is.
I see bias all the time, yes by officials that know parents and players well on a certain team and even "high 5" these kids during a game. But I keep my mouth shut to Honor the Game.
A big "shame on you" needs to go to PCA for allowing these actions to be lauded. I think placement of this in the top 10 should warrant a worst 10 placement to PCA.
Posted by: Bob ( Email: ) at 4/4/2008 8:42 AM
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