by Ken King

It sure has been a busy month. The fighting continues in the Middle East, shark attacks are getting closer to home and the waters we frolic in, there is still nothing new in the Levy case (other then Condit putting his foot deeper down his throat), football season appears to be starting with replacement refs, and the list goes on. The one item that really caught my attention was the scandal of the Little League World Series.

What is with that dad that wanted his kid to compete against other boys that were at least two years younger then he was? Did he think this was building his child's self-esteem by orchestrating this fraud? I probably will never be able to understand the motives behind this and at first I thought that this was just a New York thing, but I fully believe that these type occurrences are no longer unique. There have been a lot of changes in sports that have become prevalent in recent years. 

It seems that the once imperative quality of sportsmanship is being lost amongst many that participate in competitions at all levels. The acts of this father and son are only one of many that mar the integrity of fair play. We have professional players that fly off at the handle and actively try to harm others during competition. We have some that fight, choke and harm their own team members and staff. We have others that take an opportunity to harm others with a brutal hit using their protective equipment as a device of damage. What is worse is that when they do this they only receive a fine or a minor suspension. 

Those that use these tactics should be banned for life from playing any sport, professional or amateur . They are committing acts of crimes against others and are only getting a smack on the hand. The governing bodies of these sporting activities need to get aggressive in dealing with these thugs and get them out of the games. They need to be clear and decisive when dealing with a person that tries to hurt another player with deliberate intent. They need to take back their sports and bring sportsmanship back into play. No one likes to lose, but hurting or killing another to achieve that win is criminal and needs to be treated as such. 

As far as the dad in New York, they should send him to jail for perpetrating this fraud against the Little League and all of the kids and families that do it right. The team has suffered because of his acts and by doing nothing substantial to him the league might give someone else the idea that they too might get away with it. Lets put sportsmanship back at the front of sports.