WE’re in the age of sports parenting entitlment…and it’s out of control

Think about the headline stories we’ve been talking about in recent weeks….the inexplicable racial taunting at HS games….endless examples of umps and ref’s being verbally or physically abused by angry spectators…sports parents coming out of the stands and confronting HS and travel coaches at games,

Something is clearly out of whack….we’re going in the wrong direction.

How about the story this past week from NJ where a coach at a kids’ baseball game punched a 72-year-old ump in the face and broke his jaw? And by the way, my thanks to all of you who emailed me or tweeted me about this terrible case.

Folks, what is going on here? It’s as though the world of youth and amateur sport has truly gone off the rails.

What’s causing all of this? What’s the driving force?

Welcome to the Age of Entitlement in Sports Parenting.

I think this is exactly where we find ourselves these days.

Think about it….there seems to be a very disturbing, yet consistent sense of parents or spectators to feel somehow entitled at kids’ games…to say things or do things without giving any thought as to the repercussions or consequences of their actions.

This kind of entitlement seems to pervade everything from screaming and yelling at the games…at the coaches…the refs and umps….and of course, the opposing team. The concept of Civility seems to have just vanished.

Twenty years ago, this kind of behavior happened, but it happened rarely. And when it did, it was quickly addressed, and miscreants were immediately disciplined and ejected from the game and premises.

But these days – and this includes not just HS events – but also travel and club teams – and it involves just about every sport you can think of – parents seem to feel that they have been given a “special pass” to say and do pretty much whatever their impulses take them.

This is not good. Take a listen to this important show and what can be done to stop it: The Sports Edge with Rick Wolff