Page 43 - 2019 IHSAA Annual Report

2018–19: #FaceOfSportsmanship

#FaceOfSportsmanship

Promoting good sportsmanship is like

swimming against a mighty current.

When professional athletes are continually Reports of unsportsmanlike behavior during
glorified for acts of poor sportsmanship, Indiana high school athletic events were down
when adult role models, including the parents 10% compared to the 2017-18 school year.
of student-athletes, are vociferous in criti-
cizing officials and coaches, and when “news” Reports of total ejections were down 15%,
tends to gravitate toward reports of negative including 24% fewer ejections for coaches
behavior instead of positive, the voice that and 18% fewer ejections for student-athletes.
speaks to the core values of high school sports
tends to get drowned out in the clutter. The only blemish in the sportsmanship
report card from 2018-19 is the number of fan
Still, there is encouraging news to report: ejections; it was up a disappointing 46%.
During the 2018-19 school year, the metrics
used to measure sportsmanship violations Based on concerns shared by many of the state’s
document substantial and undeniable athletic directors, the IHSAA’s #FaceOfSportsmanship
improvement: campaign was primarily directed at adults during the
2018-19 school year. Ivy Tech Community College
continues to be the presenting sponsor of the IHSAA
Sportsmanship Program.

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