https://www.foxnews.com/sports/baltimore-high-school-football-fight-leads-teams-suspensions-state-playoffs
 

The above article is just one example in Maryland, but here in Kentucky this week we have multiple games that are being forfeited due to fighting at games. The Western Hills video is a really bad look of their own teammates fighting and causing them to cancel their season now. Wow!

In the above article, the teams fighting are heated rivals who have played 133 times before. The State of Maryland HS Board are suspending both teams from the playoffs. 
So my point/question is: 

1.  Is this type fighting a new trend?  There have always been scuffles and smaller fiat-a-cuffs.

2.  Is this brought on largely by the everyday reality that everyone has a phone and when ANY fight breaks out its videoed and punished?

3.  What can and/or what should be done about this?

I don’t see this going away. Is it a big deal or “just part of the game”?

I for one am disturbed by the growing trend of players suspensions and teams forfeiting games. 
 

What say you?

12 minutes ago, Purple88 said:

1.  Is this type fighting a new trend?  There have always been scuffles and smaller fiat-a-cuffs.

2.  Is this brought on largely by the everyday reality that everyone has a phone and when ANY fight breaks out its videoed and punished?

3.  What can and/or what should be done about this?

1. No. There have always been fights in games. I don't know if the rules have always required player suspensions, etc.

2. Absolutely so. As a school teacher, if there is a fight anywhere in the building (and they are very rare at my school) you can guarantee that more people are filming it than attempting to break it up.

3. Don't overreact. There are 221 football playing schools in Kentucky. Two teams (rivals, neighbors) got into a fight on Friday night. A third team (2-8, sure to be running clocked in the first round) had a fight within the team and chose not to play in the postseason. That means 98.6% of Kentucky high school football teams did and/or are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. However, there is no video of that.

Seems like natural consequences are already happening.  Fighting = suspension and if that means your team doesn't have enough players to play, there goes your season or future games.

I'm not sure if its a new trend, though.  As with most things, there are cameras/more footage of things than there used to be and that makes people think these things are new/happen more when that's not always the case.

This is a trend that is disturbing at the very least.  Kids who think fighting is the answer is nothing new, but coaches who see this as an acceptable form of competitiveness is.  That there is not a more widespread level of discipline is directly attributable to coaches and school administration who place winning above the other virtues of sport.  Winning, or the chance to win, has replaced the instillment of sportsmanship and class in competition in far, far too many schools.  When winning becomes the ONLY measuring stick for success, then this is what you get.  And no, I'm hardly a "give everybody a trophy" kind of guy.  We just seem to have lost the concept of the values of sport and competition in favor of win at all costs. at least, in my humble opinion.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-state-suspends-four-additional-players-amid-investigation-into-tunnel-scuffle-after-michigan-game/

Happens at college level as well.

They see it on Sunday so they think it’s acceptable on Friday. There are no role models these days. 

1 hour ago, Tigerallamerican said:

They see it on Sunday so they think it’s acceptable on Friday. There are no role models these days. 

And on Saturday.

9 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

And on Saturday.

Right on.

Edited November 3, 20223 yr by theguru
Rule 13

A few things come to mind on this important topic.

1. Is it a lack of ability to deal with disappointment or frustration at both individual level and team level. 

2. Team or group altercations seem to be increasing.  Lack of discipline by other when there is a smaller or 1 on 1 altercation.  This seems at both college and high school level. 

3. With newer, younger officials who may not be "seasoned" - are they not tapping down the emotions and issues before they flare up. 

Individual altercations in contact sports have been and will always be part of the landscape.  When O-line and D-line bang on each other for two hours usually with the same person in the 1 on 1 match-ups, things are going to flare here and there. 

I mention the officials above because they can make a difference.  Coming from hockey environment,  I would watch officials and linesmen will put themselves directly between two players who may be about to square off.  This was all levels and higher youth ages.  Good hockey officials aggressively split up piles around covered pucks at the goal or watch for retaliation after a hard check. 

Its not the officials formal role to keep the powder keg from blowing up.  But, they can help if they watch for it and sense it and see it building and work it each play.  New officials definitely would not be good at this coming out of the gate.  I do not want to seem to be blaming the officials.  Its just a something that may be in the mix. 

 

To me this is a coach issue. The coaches are the ones who set the culture. Teams who are preached at to handle adversity the right way avoid getting into brawls. Sure you might have one slip up every once in a while with a small individual scuffle, but if it is a team-wide issue that has a significant impact on the next game being played that that is indicative of a deeper rooted culture problem. Coaches have to teach their players how to handle adversity together as a team. This is almost more important then a lot of the x's and o's IMO. 

13 hours ago, Purple88 said:

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/baltimore-high-school-football-fight-leads-teams-suspensions-state-playoffs
 

The above article is just one example in Maryland, but here in Kentucky this week we have multiple games that are being forfeited due to fighting at games. The Western Hills video is a really bad look of their own teammates fighting and causing them to cancel their season now. Wow!

In the above article, the teams fighting are heated rivals who have played 133 times before. The State of Maryland HS Board are suspending both teams from the playoffs. 
So my point/question is: 

1.  Is this type fighting a new trend?  There have always been scuffles and smaller fiat-a-cuffs.

2.  Is this brought on largely by the everyday reality that everyone has a phone and when ANY fight breaks out its videoed and punished?

3.  What can and/or what should be done about this?

I don’t see this going away. Is it a big deal or “just part of the game”?

I for one am disturbed by the growing trend of players suspensions and teams forfeiting games. 
 

What say you?

I watched the video and surely there had to be more.  The opening fight in the clip looked like two fans or maybe two coaches going at it.  I really didn't see a lot of stuff between the players.

In fact it was a lot more tame than say the post game fight a few years ago after the title match between Corbin and Central.  

11 hours ago, Tigerallamerican said:

They see it on Sunday so they think it’s acceptable on Friday. There are no role models these days. 

 

10 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

And on Saturday.

If a kid's role model is a professional or collegiate athlete, that's a parent issue, not a football issue. 

Anyone who thinks fighting isn't a regular part of football has never played the game, or spent any time around it. Football is literally organized violence. 

I'm not condoning it, but to act like this is some new phenomenon is silly, IMO. 

Just now, TheDeuce said:

 

If a kid's role model is a professional or collegiate athlete, that's a parent issue, not a football issue. 

I don't know man, that is a tough one.  

Since I am old I don't normally find role models that are close in age to my children but I do get fanatical about high level football, even on the high school level.

So, when young minds see that behavior from those "above them" I definitely think it contributes to this issue and on some level normalizes bad behavior. 

However, with all that said, I agree that parents should be investing extra time with their children teaching them how to control their emotions and that the wrongs of others don't make rights for them.

3 minutes ago, theguru said:

I don't know man, that is a tough one.  

Since I am old I don't normally find role models that are close in age to my children but I do get fanatical about high level football, even on the high school level.

So, when young minds see that behavior from those "above them" I definitely think it contributes to this issue and on some level normalizes bad behavior. 

However, with all that said, I agree that parents should be investing extra time with their children teaching them how to control their emotions and that the wrongs of others don't make rights for them.

I'm not saying young players can't be influenced by older ones, but role models? I don't know. That seems like a home issue to me.