National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana is a national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities. The group is promoting good behavior and positive influence at high school sporting events and local high school athletic administrators say local fan behavior is good and that rules are in place to ensure continued good sportsmanship.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff, CEO of NFHS, made a public statement saying she wants all high school sports fans to pay attention to the group’s mission. Niehoff is in her fifth year as CEO of NFHS, and called on the high school sports community, thanking them first, “for not yelling at the officials every time you don’t like a call, for not ruining high school sports for your child by making it all about you and for not contributing to the bad fan behavior epidemic that is putting high school sports at risk.”
But she cautioned that “we’re tired of entitled fans who think they can say and do anything they want. We’re tired of high school athletic events being clouded by negativity, immaturity and aggressive behavior.”
Niehoff stressed that the high school sports community does not want to see “a few bad apples spoil the bunch. They may be a loud minority, but let’s make sure our actions speak louder,” she said.
The NFHS proposes that the rallying cry should be to continue setting the tone for local school communities, and for parents and fans to be role models and “positive behavior trailblazers,” to continue being part of the solution and not part of the problem.
“Let’s preserve the environment where our students learn, grow and compete,” Niehoff said. “When bad fan behavior rears its ugly head in our schools and games are canceled, everyone loses – especially our students.”
To start the ball rolling, the NFHS has partnered with state high school associations across the country to promote the #BenchBadBehavior campaign.
Mount Gilead High School Athletic Director Jack Bault said that at Mount Gilead, they have pretty good fan behavior.
“But one of the things we do at the beginning of pre-season meetings, I discuss with the parents about the importance of being positive and understanding that the officials do not come out with an agenda for or against a certain school,” Bault said. “Additionally, the KMAC has implemented an ejection policy that we read before many of the contests. I think that has also helped on our end.”
Bault also said that when officials arrive, he or his facility manager remind and encourage them to come let an administrator know before any negative behavior escalates to the point when possible ejection occurs, so they have an opportunity to correct any bad behavior.
Scott Brickner, East Knox High School assistant principal/athletic director, said that like a lot of things in life, a handful of people create problems.
“For the most part, fans in this area are pretty good, and they recognize the referee shortage is real and creating a situation where we don't have referees at times in certain sports,” Brickner said.
According to Brickner, one thing the KMAC has done which he thinks is “cutting-edge and helpful” is simply ensure any fans who are ejected get exactly the same consequence that a player would, per OHSAA rules.
“Depending on the sport, if a fan at a KMAC event is ejected, and in that sport if the player would have to sit for two weeks of games, the fan is in the same boat – two weeks of no games,” he said.
Brickner said that in 25 years running events, he has seen multiple instances of poor behavior (screaming at refs, fights, fans walking out on the playing surface, going after refs), but the majority of fans are just not that way.
Brickner added that no school fan base is perfect.
“We all have issues, but most fans know the refs are human and doing the best they can,” Brickner said. “As AD, I always try to keep my emotions in check, as I am a role model for our kids and our fans. To me, a lot of it is just proper leadership and consequences when someone steps out of line. And as the AD, it is important that you and your fellow administrators back and support the referees when there are issues, so that they feel welcome at your playing site.”
Visit BenchBadBehavior.com for information on the subject.
