What happened to sportsmanship?

I stayed up past my bedtime last night to watch the Cleveland Cavs play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.  It's turned into quite the series and will conclude with a pressure-filled game seven on Sunday.  I glean so much watching the championship contest of major sports on television.

The best athletes performing on the biggest stage under the biggest pressure is top-notch entertainment in my world.   Several small factors become key components to victory that transcend all sports.  In spite of not being a fan of basketball, I can learn a great deal about competitive grit, mental toughness, individual and team purpose, motivation and cohesion, among other things, that helps me as a coach and leader.  I also enjoy the confetti-laced celebrations.

I have no ill will towards basketball as a whole, just so we're clear, and even if I don't completely understand the nuances of the sport or some of the most basic tactics, I do understand sportsmanship.  Sportsmanship is not sport-specific and I saw much to be desired in game 6 of the NBA Finals.  Sure, there's bad blood between these two teams.  I understand that.  Tempers can get the best of the best people at times.  I give a pass to athletes in that regard.  After all, when most of us are at our worst, it's not televised for millions of viewers.  We all lose our cool once in a while and athletes aren't exempt from that.

What I couldn't tolerate, though, is how disrespectful the players - all players - and coaches were to the referees.  In my book, under no circumstance is this permissible.  It doesn't matter if it's the most important game of the season, it's unacceptable.  It's clear that the NBA has allowed this culture to invade the sport.  In an 8 minute span in the fourth quarter, every single call made by the referees was disputed.  The athletes weren't just asking for a clarifications of the rules.  They had full-blown temper tantrums.  I have three children under 7 years old and I recognize a temper-tantrum when I see one.

On top of this, there was no accountability.  Not by teammates, coaches or the referees.  I would expect most of the world to hold a small child accountable to some extent if they demonstrated the same behavior as these grown-men.  Nothing.

I'm not sure if I'm bothered by the lack of sportsmanship or that it was tolerated so easily.  What are kids to do who watch this?  How can educators, coaches and leaders hold children accountable when the best in the world are not?  What are we teaching young and old athletes?

The NBA is not the only place that has a culture like this, by the way.  Its prevalence is unique in each sport.  

What can we do about it from the outside of professional sports and how should we respond from the inside of youth sports?

"How can a young man keep is way pure?  By guarding it according to your word." - Psalm 119:9

You were made to soar

The first time I flew in an airplane, I could not believe my eyes.  I was 15 years old and, like most teenagers, my frame was very small.  I had a picture of life that had me as the center of attention.  As the plane climbed in altitude, I felt smaller and smaller.  It was my first time on a plane and it was the first time I understood humility.

Over 20 years later, air travel still has the same affect on me.  Every time my body feels the thrust of the plane on the runway, I get nervous.  I think: am I the only one who's wondering if this is really going to work? I mean, it just doesn't make sense that a gigantic piece of metal filled with people would be able to float above Earth's surface.  The plane speeds down the runway, thrust overcomes drag, lift conquers gravity and all of sudden our ascent into the clouds begins.  Bernoulli was right.  Newton was right.

Last weekend we took a small family vacation to Chicago.  We planned this trip around the airplane.  Once we were in Chicago, we took in the Navy Pier, Wrigley Field and Legoland, but it was about getting our boys to experience life above the clouds.  And they weren't disappointed.

They were excited through the entire experience from the off-site parking shuttle ride to waiting in the TSA line to how they store the luggage "under" the plane (they soon understood that the luggage was, in fact, still "on" the plane) to the flight itself.  It was question after question and questions about the questions.  They dug into the moment.

7, 5 and 3 year old boys possess a blind faith that gives them the assurance that planes just simply fly.  That's what they do.  It wasn't until we were 35,000 feet in the air that one of them asked how this could all be possible.  He wasn't looking for the scientific explanation behind it all.  He saw the ground far beneath us and he was trying to make sense of that feeling that was sinking in...the world is very big and we're very small.  God is big and we're not.

At 35,000 feet, our problems don't seem so big.  Storms don't cease to exist, however, at that altitude, we're able to see it much differently.  At sea level, we're pounded by the winds and the rains.  At cruising altitude, we're able to see above the thunderheads.  It's the perfect metaphor for a life in Christ.

Living life at the highest level often requires us to change altitudes.  When troubles drag you down, remember that you were made to soar.

"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31