The brief bench-clearing scuffle occurred with about a minute to play in Woonsocket's 5-0 victory over Tolman. Another scuffle among fans of both schools took place minutes later in the grandstand, resulting in the cancellation of the awards ceremony.
Tom Mezzanotte, executive director of the Interscholastic League, said he has reviewed videotape of the incident and has requested officials of Tolman and Woonsocket to investigate. He said he will compile a report and present it to the Principals Committee on Athletics. He did not speculate as to when that might happen.
From a punch in the back to a nasty ponytail grab that yanked her opponent to the ground, the University of New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert made for rough play in a college soccer game against Brigham Young University that earned her a suspension from the game.
After a video posted on the Internet highlighted her harsh movess, Lambert rocketed to unintentional online fame. Hundreds have joined the Facebook group "Ban Elizabeth Lambert of New Mexico From College Soccer," leaving comments like "Why isn't she being brought up on charges? This is blatantly assault."
To craft the new platform, Learning Through Sports sought input from Dr. Colby B. Jubenville, an associate professor of sport management and director of the Center for Sport Policy and Research at SBC-member institution Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Jubenville, whose research includes several peer-reviewed journal articles on various aspects of the coaching and college athletic administration professions, said that RealSportsmanship’s curriculum was built upon the necessary sequence of examining values, standards, beliefs, and actions, which would boost participants’ self-confidence when confronted with ethical dilemmas.
“Equipping student-athletes and coaches on the front end with principles for making good ethical decisions goes back to the old ounce-of-prevention adage, which is a cornerstone philosophy of Learning Through Sports programs,” Jubenville said.
A former NCAA Division III football player at Millsaps College and assistant coach on NAIA Belhaven College’s inaugural football team in 1998, Jubenville said he tried to approach designing the new platform through the eyes of student-athletes and coaches to create a module that would engage them without an overbearing tone that would turn them off.
Jubenville discusses Sun Belt Conference platform on two Nashville stations
With sportsmanship continuing to be a critical issue facing the NCAA, Dr. Colby Jubenville will be interviewed by Barbara Dabs, Community Affairs Specialist on Sunday, September 27. The show will air on "Zone About Town" with WGFX 104.5 The Zone at 5:30-6 a.m. and then again on WKDF 103.3 at 6 a.m.
The discussion will focus on the recent episode of post game violence when Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount punched Boise State linebacker Byron Hout following Oregon's 19-8 defeat on opening night of the NCAA college football season. Dr. Jubenville will also discuss the timeliness and potential impact of the Interactive, Reality-Based Sportsmanship Platform that the Sun Belt Conference launched this month.
Many areas of academic research, including child psychology, education psychology, and organizational psychology, all tell us the same things: to create behavioral policies that work, you must craft a clear message based on a set of core values, communicate that message constantly and clearly, and be consistent in follow-up and reinforcement.
Obviously, the AHSAA did just that: they created a values-driven message, reinforced it through their use of the Learning Through Sports modules, and showed they meant business with sanctions for offenders.
Not only did they accomplish their objective of reducing ejections, but they positioned themselves as a leader in interscholastic athletic policy after whom other state high school associations should model themselves.
