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Character Tip of the Week The Academy Awards and the Code Hollywood celebrated Oscar night. How did that remind you of the Code? There were lots of examples of the Code—individuals who worked hard and did their best, individuals who put the team ahead of themselves.... (full tip)

Mia Hamm, Zak Boggs receive 6th Annual
Wooden Cup Awards

ATLANTA (January 20, 2010) –  Soccer star Zak Boggs from the University of South Florida was named as the college recipient of the 6th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup at the famed East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, according to Tom Arnett, Executive ... more

Teach and Reward Good Sportsmanship

Serena Williams’ expletive-laced tirade against a line judge at the U.S. Open is yet another sad commentary for those of us in the business of promoting the dying virtues of sportsmanship and character in sports.
It seems that for every story we hear of athletes giving back — such as quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow doing volunteer work in Peru and the Philippines, respectively — we hear many more stories of bad sportsmanship, violent behavior and friction among teammates.
In examining what some have called the “death of sportsmanship,” we’ve first got to acknowledge the complicity of the media, who peddle stories of jocks gone wild to a voracious public, in creating this perception.
These stories dominate the headlines — Brett Favre’s divisive presence in the Vikings locker room or Williams’ recent outburst, for instance — while stories of charitable donation are lucky to make the back pages.
Whether the media’s focus is a true reflection of the state of sportsmanship or simply an attempt to attract an audience, sports culture as a whole is brazenly high-stepping into an era of individualism, trash-talking and a win-at-all-costs myopia.
We have an obligation, however, to learn from recent events and use them to educate our young athletes about the importance of appropriate conduct, both on and off the field.
This month saw the start of the new college football season. Tacitly acknowledging the precarious shift away from sportsmanship, the NCAA encouraged coaches and players alike to shake hands with their opponents before the game, an admirable if half-hearted measure as part of their wider sportsmanship initiative.
But even before the first game had kicked off, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy announced that his team would forgo the pregame handshake, fearing that the gathering of opposing players before the game could devolve into a benches-clearing brawl.
For those teams who did participate, this token gesture of sportsmanship didn’t necessarily set the tone for the games that followed.
In the media coverage of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount’s attack of an opposing player, the pregame handshake was reduced to no more than an ironic plot point in the lead-up to the postgame melee. Blount was, after all, one of the players chosen by his team to shake hands with his opponents before kickoff.
As opportunistic journalists, fans, and school administrators rush to bemoan the decline of sportsmanship in the aftermath of Blount’s transgressions — seemingly oblivious to their role in fostering a culture in which such behavior has become commonplace — we must instead create a road map for restoring sportsmanship across all levels of organized sports, from youth-oriented Pop Warner to the NFL.
The truth is that sportsmanship is a learned behavior, and is no different from other virtues such as kindness, strong work ethic, mental toughness and perseverance. It must not only be taught at an early age, but reinforced at every stage of an athlete’s development.
A college or pro athlete who has previously shown no inclination toward sportsmanship cannot be reborn as a role model simply by being forced to shake hands with his opponent. Good behavior must be taught and rewarded, just as bad behavior must be discouraged and punished.
Athletes competing at the pro or college level must be cognizant of their responsibility as ambassadors of both their sports and their teams, and should have the proper training and experience to recognize such responsibility.
The journey toward character development, however, must begin with parents and coaches. From the very first time a young athlete steps on the playing field, he or she must be taught a proper code of conduct.
Sports are one of our most effective means of character development, and whether a player has aspirations (and corresponding talent) to play at a higher level is irrelevant. The values learned on the field — resilience, hard work, team ethic and healthy competitiveness — will shape the athlete for the rest of his life.
As shocking as LeGarrette Blount’s actions were — and I am hard-pressed to think of a more egregious display of poor sportsmanship by a college athlete — we must use this as an opportunity to make character a focal point of organized sports.
Just as Latrell Sprewell’s assault of coach P.J. Carlesimo 12 years ago led us to re-examine (however temporarily) the appropriate conduct of pro athletes, Blount’s mistakes can provide a similar impetus for a renewed emphasis on sportsmanship. We cannot let this opportunity pass us by.
Just days ago, Blount was viewed as a surefire NFL draft pick. And though his actions almost certainly cost him millions of dollars he would have made as a first- or second-round pick, the sobering reality is that he will probably still get his chance to play on Sundays.
As we’ve seen countless times before, some desperate coach, whose job security depends far more on wins and losses than the character of his players, will take a chance on Blount and hope that the young running back can be “rehabilitated.”
We’ve seen it before with Maurice Clarett, Lawrence Phillips, Christian Peter, Marcus Vick and many, many others. It’s the nature of the beast, as talent so often supersedes all else in the eyes of professional sports franchises.
We live in a country of second chances, and it serves little purpose to dwell on the negatives. Instead, we should be shining the spotlight on the many positive role models in sports, while at the same time teaching the professional athletes of tomorrow the core values that we stand for.

Tom Arnett - For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Crass Sports Culture in Need of Cleansing

The violence during the Pistons-Pacers game was utterly reprehensible. But we should not be surprised.

As a society, we are responsible for the culture in which this took place. We should not think that just because a few players are suspended, anything substantial will change.

The reasons are simple, but challenging. First, we must understand the difference between professional and amateur sports. Professional sports is about money and business. The idea that athletes are playing for the love of the game is only a wish, except in a few rare instances.

Because athletes are trying to make money, their motivation is to do whatever it takes to be successful. Dyeing your hair orange, strutting in the end zone, doing whatever is necessary to get on ESPN is the name of the game. The more you become a product, the more economic value you have to a team. It is in your interest to break rules if it means you will get ahead, be colorful if it means it will increase your marketability, and serve only your own interests.

Amateur sport is completely different. In amateur sport, athletes play for the satisfaction that comes from personal discipline, hard work, being a part of a team and the joy of competition. The nobility and integrity of sport is valued by those who, above all, play for the love of the game.

It is the transference of the professional sport mentality to amateur sport that has become the catalyst for the crisis of sport in America. Parents and coaches in youth sports have become obsessed with winning, as if it were the only thing. This misplaced priority leads to the ugly behavior, from taunting and trash-talking to individual and mob violence. The Pacers-Pistons debacle involving wrongdoing by both fans and athletes is the logical result of the society we have created. It all starts in youth sports.

I am proud to be a part of an organization that is trying to change the culture of sport in America. Athletes for a Better World (ABW.org) is a nonprofit organization that uses sports to develop character, teamwork and good citizenship through a commitment to the Code for Living. The code is a set of positive values that form the basis for becoming a good athlete, a good person and a good citizen.

ABW teaches young athletes about "winning more than the game." Specifically, we say that while winning is the goal of any sporting event—and therefore important—there are many things more important.
For example, we teach that before the game you win by the daily self-discipline of physical and mental training, and in the development of your skills to the best of your ability. During the game you win by having the opportunity to compete, by the honor of playing against a worthy opponent and by giving your best effort.

These are the values that we all should be demanding of children, parents, coaches and of those responsible wherever anyone, amateur or professional, plays sports. When we grow up learning how to behave, we will behave when we grow up.

Fred Northup - For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, November 24, 2004