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Sportsmanship … and Why It Matters

By Gary Ryan Blair, Everything Counts, 11/09/18, 12:00PM PST

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Athletes should display proper respect and courtesy and maintain civility toward opposing coaches and athletes, game officials and spectators at all contests.

Education is incomplete without sports, and sports are incomplete without a true education of sportsmanship. As millions head back for another year of school, I wanted to use this post to share an insight for all students athletes, parents, coaches and fans.

The choice made by athletes to engage in sportsmanlike behavior depends in large part, on how the sport is structured by coaches, parents, and fans. Good sportsmanship begins with an understanding that the principle nature of athletics, sports, and physical education are an integral part of the educational process, presenting innumerable opportunities to learn skills that last a lifetime. These are all success and survival skills, and they are all the direct benefits of teaching good sportsmanship.