That Gosh Darn North Carolina School Board
Sep 20th 2007eHigh School
Sorry North Carolina high school athletes—the party is over. You’re no longer going to be able to express your feelings about what’s happening on the field.
Charlie Adams, executive director of the N.C. High School Athletic Association, said he plans to push a zero tolerance policy for profanity to the NCHSAA Board of Directors to vote on at their winter meetings. If it passes, Adams said he expects to levy fines next fall against schools whose athletes violate the language policy.
Many states already have rules against profanity that call for fines ranging from $100 to $250. Adams says that for now no players will be punished with suspensions.
Call me old fashioned, but when a player misses a big shot or gives up a home run he should be allowed to yell “fuck” in frustration. This rule can’t help but make me think of Amare Stoudemire getting suspended for taking two steps toward Robert Horry after Horry body checked Steve Nash. You just can’t strictly enforce a rule that is counter to the brain’s natural reaction. You know what happens when players have to bottle up their frustration? They end up charging into the stands and punching fans.
The good news (or bad news, depending on your view) is that because there are no suspensions and the schools have to pay the fines, there’s really still no incentive for players not to use profanity. My suggestion is for players to protest the rule by have a contest to see who can rack up the most fines.
2 Comments »
RobinFiveWords on 20 Sep 2007 at 2:30 am #
I really hope that in some sport like soccer or lacrosse, two players on the side of the field far away from the referee are going to start playing the “penis” game. [By which I mean the game where each person has to say "penis" louder than the person before. Everyone knows that game. Right?]
shakedownsports on 20 Sep 2007 at 4:02 pm #
haha. I know we used to play that game at camp, but I actually think we also used to play it in little league.