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Show 1 I H V I ) "it w ' " - L a Photo by ROGER TUTTLE Sportsmanship must reign Something is terribly wrong here. As the above picture shows, during dur-ing last Friday's Bountiful-West soccer match, an irate West High player, following his ejection from the game, gave the partisan Bountiful Boun-tiful High crowd a double-fisted salute. His actions prior to his ejection ejec-tion weren't much worse than his actions afterwards. The frustration of playing a game .o thoroughly dominated by the op- tponent (Bountiful romped to a 9-1 , victory) certainly must have had something to do with this guy's reaction, but it's a shabby excuse. The attitudes of athletes as a whole have deteriorated to the point where sports sometimes leave fans, players and parents alike with a sickening feeling. Who's to blame for all this? Certainly Cer-tainly the actions of the West soccer player mirror those of the athletic society as a whole. Professional players throw equipment in anger, coaches and managers kick dirt on Dfficials or toss things on the playing play-ing floor over disputed calls, and fans are often kicked out of stadiums for unruly conduct Soccer fans may be the worst of the violators, based on the tragic incident inci-dent in Britain two seasons ago when fans literally crushed each other to death crowding into a stadium to watch a key match between be-tween two arch rivals. The answer is not to blame one sport, of course, or to throw out the baby with the bathwater through some arbitrary ban. The above-mentioned above-mentioned West player will have two more games to think about his immaturity, the result of a suspension suspen-sion for the incident. The situation must change through leadership from the top. The coaches, managers and trainers for young athletes must continue to instill sportsmanlike traits in their players as youth. Likewise, college and professional athletes need to keep in mind that it is the fans which provide them an opportunity to show their talents. We don't need prima donnas who force long holdouts over salary arbitration, or former athletes filing lawsuits against teams or schools over personal per-sonal grievances as a vendetta. As the young West High soccer player jogged off the field Friday, his action was not a reflection on his team, his school or his sport. It was a reflection on the state of sports and the importance of winning winn-ing at all costs as a whole. The reflection needs to change, and quickly. |