Wednesday February 16, 2000
6:49 AM ET
Sportsmanship Program for Parents
By KARIN MEADOWS Associated Press Writer
JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Jake Rus had attended his 15-year-old's baseball games for years without ever witnessing an on-field
melee. Then, in July, a Little League player was slammed in the head with a bat and adults threw punches at each other
after coaches from both teams traded words, Rus said. ``I couldn't believe it,'' he said Tuesday night after attending a
mandatory sportsmanship class which requires parents to sign a code of ethics promising to set a good example for their
budding athletes. If the parents don't sign, their children don't play ball. ``Parents are losing their perspective,'' said Jeff
Leslie, a father of four and president of Jupiter-Tequesta Athletic Association, the athletic association organizing the class.
``We just want to try to de-escalate the intensity that's being shown by the parents at these games,'' he said.
The association sponsors basketball, soccer, football, softball and baseball for 6,000 boys and girls in this community 15
miles north of West Palm Beach. About 2,000 parents showed up for the class at a spring training center for major league
baseball teams. Many parents said they didn't mind having to attend the mandatory session.
``There are so many freaks out here; they need this,'' said Doug Rasmusson of Jupiter, whose 7- and 12-year-old boys
wrestle in a league. Jeff Hardin, a 12-year-old catcher from Tequesta, doesn't think adults should be yelling at anyone
during games. ``It's not all about winning,'' he said. ``It's supposed to be fun.''
A recent survey of 500 adults in five Florida counties showed 82 percent believe parents are too aggressive in youth sports.
Across the country, parents have been arrested for assaulting referees, coaches and players. In Greensboro, N.C., a soccer
mom was charged with hitting a teen-age referee after a game. A Cleveland father punched a 15-year-old boy on the soccer
field because he said his son was being pushed around by the bigger player.
Parents at the sportmanship class on Tuesday watched a 19-minute video on the roles and responsibilities of a parent of a
youth athlete. Then they had to sign an 11-point code of ethics pledging to behave at youth sporting events. For a first
offense, the parent must go back to class, watch the video again and sign another pledge. If it happens again, the parent and
child will be sent home from the ballpark and not allowed to return. For parents unable to attend the class Tuesday night,
their children's coaches can provide copies of the video and the ethics code at a cost of $5.
The Jupiter group is the nation's first to require parents to attend the class and sign the ethics code, said Fred Engh,
president of the National Alliance for Youth Sports. ``We have seen too much of parents fighting in the stands, fighting
with their child's coach, fighting with their own child because the child isn't living up to their expectations,'' said Engh,
who recently published a book, ``Why Johnny Hates Sport.'' ``Parents are teaching their children it is OK to cheat, to taunt
other players on the other team, to play when they are injured and to criticize the officials.''
