Ethic Soup

A Young Gymnast's Prayer

Now as I warm up for this meet,

I pray my competition I can beat.

And if I fail amidst the cheers,

I pray I can hold back my tears.

And one more thing success or not,

I pray the creator of the beam be shot.

                             --author unknown

 

Football Coach Brands Bullying Victims 'Queer' and 'Cry Babies'

A high school football coach in Wyoming was forced to resign as coach following controversy over a sexist and homophobic questionnaire he gave to his teenage players called the "Hurt Feelings Report," reports the Casper Star-Tribune.

BULLIED KIDS AT RISK

This a time when bullied kids are committing suicide and massive campaigns to end bullying are emphasizing that kids must tell someone what's happening to them.

Yet, this sarcastic survey demeans any potential complainer who's been bullied in school as a "little sissy and "girly-man," while it calls the bully a 'Real Man.'

And, don't you know that's what the coach calls himself? Although, parents must have better descriptors.

A Swimmers Prayer: A Teen's Poem from "Teen Ink"

 

Creative talent is an asset we need to encourage every time we can, especially when found in kids. To not do so is unethical. A little recognition goes a long way in inspiring the talented to continue their  

A Short Swimmer's Prayer

 

The title of this post, "A Short Swimmer's Prayer," along with the above photo, rather infers that what follows is a prayer for diminutive swimmers. It is not.

Perhaps a better title would be "A Swimmer's Brief Prayer." No, some might think it's a dialog with God about ones swimming briefs. Although the Supreme One invites prayers about anything, praying about one's briefs just seems a bit frivolous. Not so much, if you're worried that your briefs could come off while you're swimming.

Maybe it should be "A Fast Swimmer's Prayer." But then again, that sounds as if it's a prayer for fast swimmers. Perhaps the fast swimmers have a stronger history of praying, something slow swimmers might consider.

It is the prayer itself that is short, brief and fast -- especially when compared with the next swimmer's prayer to be posted, which is a longer verson.  Enough already. Here it is:

 

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Bless this pool we swim upon

Help us swim with zeal and zest

Help us swim our very best.

Amen 

(So be it)

 

CLICK AND READ: "A Swimmer's Prayer: A Teen's Poem from Teen Ink"

Little League Parents, including Town Prosecutor, Fight Again and Face Criminal Charges

 

OUCH! Here we go again. Parents are taking the fun out of their kids' baseball games. It was another brawl, with bloody fists flailing in the pine-pungent Rocky Mountain air.

Male Testosterone Interferes with Empathy: May Be Significant in Autism

 

TESTOSTERONE, the male sex hormone, has produced some interesting findings in several recent research studies.

Interesting, but not really surprising -- just ask any woman.

For example, male-male interactions in the animal world is where males of a species compete with each other for territory, food or breeding mates.

WINNERS PRODUCE MORE SEX HORMONE

Guess what? Human males are like that too. The testosterone changes in wrestlers seem to mirror the way the hormone acts in other species. Winning, being the top bull, actually produces more testosterone. Surprise! Women know this already. Winning is terribly important to men, who always want more of the manly-man sex hormone.

New research by University of Kansas professor Andrew Fry, health, sport and exercise sciences, shows that testosterone in winning collegiate wrestlers increased more than in the losing wrestlers, reports PhysOrg., the science and research news service. Funded by the U.S. Olympic Committee, Fry's research appears in the January issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

All wrestlers are familiar with a rush of "fight-or-flight" adrenaline, contributing to testosterone levels in their bodies; but, winning wrestlers had a greater testosterone response.

"Before the matches there was no difference," said Fry, "but when you'd sample the blood within five minutes after the match, you'd see a difference between winners and losers. We couldn't have picked it out ahead of time. Something is triggering this increase, and it seems to be fairly consistent." 

ONLY FIVE MINUTES?

My question is: What difference does this make in the real world, if the extra shot of hormone lasts no more than five minutes?

Well, some women will tell you, in their pairings with men, that's all they ever experience -- just about five minutes. Depends on what you call "wrestling," I guess.

POSSIBLE AUTISM SIGNIFICANCE

But wait! There really are aspects learned from the research which might have significance in the future, particularly related to the development of autism.

Follow-Up: Tom Cable Fired as Oakland Raiders Coach

 

THE BULLY IS OUTTA THERE!

The Oakland Raiders last week announced head coach Tom Cable was fired. The team -- with an NFL record of seven consecutive seasons with at least 11 losses -- decided it would not pick up Cable's contract option for two years and $5 million.

ETHICALLY-CHALLENGED

Ethic Soup last year reported on the ethically-challenged Cable a number of times, beginning with an investigation into whether he assaulted his assistant coach Randy Hanson breaking his jaw, here,  here and here; including allegations of his history of violence toward women, here; and, the NFL's order for Cable to undergo psychological evaluation, here.  

And, we labeled the coach "a bully," both in the workplace, where bullies are a problem of epidemic proportions, and at home -- two ex-wives and a girl friend all claimed he was physically abusive.

Sadly, we cannot report that Tom Cable was "fired" from the NFL altogether. He'll pop up coaching another team and that new community will suffer because of it.

That's just the way it is when people celebrate violence in sport and accept it in their daily lives.

Of course, I contend that if sports fans made demands of team owners, coaches and players -- insisting on wholesome role models for their children both on-the-field and off -- things would change.

ETHICS FOLLOW THE MONEY

Why? Because the demands would be followed with big bucks results -- people could boycott the team, no longer buy tickets and refuse to purchase team's brand products. It wouldn't take long before the powers-that-be would begin to make some changes. Money talks, if ethics don't.

 

by Sharon McEachern

Drunk Driver Who Killed LA Angels Pitcher Nick Adenhart Convicted by Jury

 

ONE MORE ANGEL -- Remember last year's baseball season?

For 22-year-old pitcher Nick Adenhart, a Los Angeles Angel, his only start for the season meant pitching six scoreless innings in his season debut. A few hours later he and two of his friends were dead, killed by a drunk driver. (See Ethic Soup post "L.A. Rookie Pitcher Nick Adenhart's Folks Models for Little League Parents)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month, a jury found construction worker Andrew Gallo, 23, guilty of second-degree murder. He was also found guilt of hit-and-run, driving under the influence of alcohol and causing great bodily injury. Although he had received a previous DUI conviction, he was still driving on the roads -- while drunk. Gallo faces 50 years to life in state prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, reports the Associated Press in USA Today. 

Little League Parents: Check Your Weapons at the Gate

 
DADDY STOP! DON'T DADDY! PLEASE! All the kids want to do is play baseball, but their parents are taking away any fun.

Little League parents continue to swing at one another -- and the coaches. Fighting with fists or head butts is bad enough, but bringing guns to the games is beyond understanding.

What's really sad is to see the kids crying when parents fight, draw a weapon, get hurt and/or are arrested.

 

This is how children learn good sportsmanship? Out-of-control parents hit first, strangle another kid's dad, pull a gun out and threaten to shoot.

Maybe Little League will offer up a new championship category -- 'Team With Most Parental Arrests' or 'Most Parents Thrown Off Ballpark Premises.'

Here are a few of the incidents reported during just the last couple of weeks:

Little League Brawl: Coach Arrested After Sucker Punch to League President

IT'S LITTLE LEAGUE SEASON AGAIN... and the adults can't behave. The kids, of course, just want to play baseball and have some fun. It's the coaches and parents who increasingly make that hard to do.

There are some 7,000 Little Leagues around the world, with 2.5 million boys and girls who will play ball this spring.

At a Little League game in northeast Ohio last Thursday, the coach was arrested for punching his own League President after arguing about an umpire's call. Both are Little League parents.

Karim Carter, 41,was charged in Massillon, Ohio, with one count of felonious assault for sucker-punching Canton Little League president Shawn Thomas. Apparently, the game grew heated after fans became unruly and threatened to hurt the umpire after he called a player out at second base.