Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Unruly spectators need to straighten up

This is one of the greatest articles I have ever read. It shows another area that the complete lack of any human decency in regards to inner city behavior stands out. Most of you have no clue what happens there or how a VAST majority of people act. Here is yet another person who lives it. I know the race card members and liberals won't accept it because accepting it is admitting there is a problem that is close to hopeless. So those liberals need not read any further, stay in fantasy land. For those of you who want a small dose of reality, read on.

Three gunshots had just rung out, and people were cramming themselves through the exits to avoid the bullets.
One girl was trampled in the doorway, people screamed, chaos ensued and Jay Hammes stood in a state of confusion. This happened after a basketball game at Racine Park three years ago.
Since then, Hammes, Racine Horlick's athletic and security director, has been on a mission to curb violence at high school athletic events. He is speaking at a national convention of athletic directors today in Nashville, Tenn., to pitch his game plan, which is still being reworked and polished.
MPS has also taken steps during the last two basketball seasons to prevent violence. While it is debatable whether the rules are actual deterrents, no violent incidents have been reported this season.
But what the efforts of Hammes and MPS, along with several other measures enacted throughout the country, have failed to do is call out the actual offenders - troublemaking students fronting as fans. Whether their actions lead to violence or not, they do not help the situation and must be stopped.
Some kids actually go to high school sporting events to support their peers and cheer. They don't cause or incite problems.
Others, however, go to be as much a part of the show as the game, calling attention to themselves with actions that lead to trouble and make other spectators uncomfortable. They go beyond shouting clever or semi-offensive chants. Their actions are embarrassing to themselves and to the institutions they "represent."
Take Friday night's boys basketball game at Milwaukee Washington. Top-ranked Milwaukee Vincent was in the gym and the place was packed, with the crowd likely exceeding the MPS limit of 75% of the gym's capacity, as people were scavenging for open seats.
The atmosphere had a big-game buzz and was electric.
Then it short-circuited.
Before tip-off, kids were dancing on the court as the teams jogged in from their locker rooms, forcing the players to take detours. The kids were never told to sit down, and eventually retreated on their own.
It was a tiny infraction, but minutes later there was nearly a fight behind the team benches, and the four police officers who were at the game finally made themselves visible for virtually the only time all night.
And it got worse.
Before and throughout the entire game, fans in both schools' student sections took music lyrics and turned them into chants, complete with cuss words. They were loud and clearly audible.
Later, while a Washington player lay injured during play, a student ran onto the court to "help" while the game continued. He was never told to leave or to return to his seat until a Washington player shoved him away after play stopped.
Also, a man paced the sidelines during all four quarters, screaming at the Vincent bench and cussing out the referees when a call went against Washington. Because he was allowed to walk the sideline all game, it was difficult to figure whether he was a fan or an administrator. Not once did security ask him to have a seat or to refrain from loudly spewing inappropriate language onto the court.
And at the end of the game, an MPS security person waved her arms in rhythm as the Washington fans again used the unsuitable chant.
With print reporters, a live television broadcast, a radio broadcast and Preps Plus all recording the event, is this how MPS, Washington, and more importantly, the students want to be portrayed?
It seemed that once people were through the metal detector at the entrance, they were allowed to run amok. These incidents do not happen just at Washington, but wherever wannabe fans decide to act a fool, in the city and in the suburbs.
No violent incidents happened during the game at Washington, but the kerosene for the fire had been poured. Luckily, no one had a match.
Students should be embarrassed to behave like that. Adults should be mortified.
But this is a call to the teenagers who still have time to right themselves.
It is time you hold yourselves accountable for your actions, take some pride in your behavior and act like you have some public sense. You're not showing school spirit, you're showing a lack of respect for yourselves, those around you and the sporting event.
You hate the lines caused by metal detectors, being told where to go, not being able to bring in a cell phone or wear a hat. But you are bringing these things upon yourselves with miscreant actions and downright ignorant behavior.
High school is not your last chance to act like menacing rebels; it is your time to grow into productive adults. So make it happen and stop the nonsense.
It is on you.

Last point...something that is becoming more and more of a problem. Since this terrible behavior has been going on so long, atleast some of the people working in MPS act the same way the kids do, since they once were those same kids. That is the final straw for many quality educational professionals.

1 comments:

Scorpion said...

I now think that I might live long enough to see the MPS system eliminated by the state of Wisconsin with small local area districts being established.This kind of "behavior" is seen in schools and at events after school
every day.The taxpayers of the state will not allow this to continue much longer.