Bowling, The Wright Way - October 14, 2003 by Don Wright
Bad Behavior

Needless to say parents took his comments to heart and the sports writer not only received hate mail, he was the entire center section of my paper with letters to the editor that the paper willingly published.

I read all the mail and wondered why these parents and football fans were not just as upset with the football player for making the obscene gesture as they were over the writer's choice of words.

I fully understand defending your children, but I also believe that parents, coaches and teachers have a responsibility not only to teach, but to not tolerate that type of student/athlete conduct.

But, in all honesty, football in Texas is more important than anything else, including poor behavior on the part of youth athletes. The key word is youth.

It's easy to understand where this conduct comes from it's in our face all the time. If you watched the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees you saw some of the most disgusting behavior by high paid adult athletes in baseball. You saw pitchers threatening to bean batters, throwing a 72- year old man to the ground, and employees of the organization fighting the ball players. There is no place in the game for that type behavior.

The game was hyped before it ever began as a "brawl." During a press conference the manager of Boston stated, "We've raised it to war." It's baseball, stupid!

All athletes, especially young athletes, need to understand they do not live by a separate standard. Coaches need to ensure that inappropriate conduct is not tolerated, and parents need to quit coddling their kids. Bad behavior is a learned trait and it's incumbent that it's nipped in the bud.

So, what does this have to do with bowling?

Recently I read an article in which 29- time PBA champion Pete Weber said he would stop doing his infamous "crotch chop" because he was getting mail that kids were being suspended from YABA for doing it. First, I commend Pete, and second I commend YABA for suspending the youth bowler. Suspension is a strong discipline and, short of a criminal act, you probably won't see it in the professional ranks in any sport.

But, inappropriate conduct shouldn't be condoned in the PBA, PBA Regional events, leagues, or youth programs. I recently attended a PBA regional event and watched a bowler I had observed while he was on the national tour and I had written favorably about on many occasions. This particular day he wasn't bowling all that well and he decided the thing to do was take it out on his equipment and pitch a fit in front of the spectators. So, he promptly threw his ball from the ball return to his bag, missing it and then decided that must have been the bags fault so he kicked it around for a while. A few of us lost a lot of the respect we had for him.

Another former national tour player left a split at an inopportune time and directed an obscene gesture at the pin deck. I guess it made him feel better, but the split was still standing.

Youth athletes are very impressionable and they mimic what they see from their adult "heroes." Because adults misbehave we should not let our kids get away with the same bad behavior.

Sports are an important part of any kid's life. It was important to me as a kid to play baseball, basketball, and bowling. I remember my little league coaches and my high school coaches and they would not have tolerated obscene gestures, or inappropriate behavior. But, more importantly neither would my Dad and I feared that more than my coaches. Not that my Dad would have beat me, or anything, but he would have been very disappointed and I would surely be suspended by him whether the coach liked it, or not.

Now, like the writer from my paper, I fully expect to be told how old-fashioned, behind the times, child hating, youth-athlete basher I am. So be it. But, as a father I would have suspended my son if he had made that obscene gesture and been more upset over that than anything the reporter could have written.

I think it's important to remember the reporter wouldn't have had that opportunity were it not for the kid.