Profanity and the F-word

So, a few days ago, the top Canadian university football quarterback dropped the F-word during a game on national television. The university turned around and suspended him for one game. Harsh or not?

Professional tennis players Roger Federer and Serena Williams recently used profanity and were both reprimanded too. There are many more examples of pro athletes too. Sports figures, some say, are role models for youngsters. Hmm, I remember hearing politicians - like former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney defend his vulgarity. The obscenity he used was the same F-word.

But let's stick to sports. Are people making too much of a fuss or should there be more emphasis put on school-age athletes to refrain from offensive comments or behaviour? Some high school coaches tell me that profanity is not an acceptable means of communication in sports. Yet, watching games, I hear it all the time at school games.

There are even profane T-shirts worn to games. I remember reading about a high school student who was suspended for showing a sign that said "We Suck" at a game. Profanity? While schools like to be firm about a code of conduct, I often wonder how many times a coach will pull a player from a game, sit him or her down or even boot the player off the team for using an obscenity. Doubt it, particularly if the athlete in question is one of the best on the team.

Many times, it's a spur-of-the-moment thing. The anger and frustration come after a loss or a bad play or a penalty. Sometimes it's inspired by a prank or a reaction to a player on an opposing team using the index finger. Words that come out of the mouths of athletes, and girls too, can be very nasty.

Maybe the answer is to have players just say "bleep, bleep."

Comments

[Mr. Gibson]

Fuddle duddle - I am old enough to remember that. I think it's also a freaking good idea (as the kids talk now) to speak in that language. But, you are certainly right. There should be no swearing in school sports.

[DW]

Good topic. I was a teacher and coach for 25 years. Still teach when needed but no more coaching because I am fed up with some of the people who call themselves coaches. I was just as much to blame until I realized what kind of a poor example I was setting. Before students learn, SOME coaches need to set an example and act like coaches rather than morons. Far too many times I have heard certain coaches swear and chew out students. Gosh, a kid makes a bad move. It's not the end of the world and it certainly doesn't give them freedom to chastise a student. Where are the examples and the athletic associations to do what's right rather than support their buddies. Why don't the administrations step in or are they afraid the coaches will tell them to stuff it and quit. OFSAA is also at fault for preparing a code of conduct on paper but like puppets never enforcing it.

[Pepper]

Big deal, the F-word. I hear it on television, at the movies and on the street. Its not that people are pointing fingers at a culture, a creed or a religion. It's a word in the dictionary and a noun, verb, adjective or pronoun. No different than saying damn.

[L. Gustafson]

I wonder how others would like it if I came up to them, stared them in the face and said F...

[Jones]

The F-bomb will never disappear from sports - and that includes schools. No matter how hard they try, it'll be there. It's part of the human vocabulary now. And you won't find a coach, who also swears, pulling a player because of it.

[Mr. Sampson]

Had to tell you that I really enjoyed reading your blog and laughed at the end to see "bleep, bleep". Very well done. What's also funny is the idiotic attitude of some female administrators in schools who think they can control high school sports as if these kids are in elementary school. Keep up the good work.

[Lawrence]

Here's one for you. At a high school football game last week in Mississauga, I saw an adult wearing a t-shirt that said "Phuck Football". So, tell me, what message is being sent and from what I could tell no one told that fella to cover up.

[Big John]

The Arctic will melt before schools deal with gutter language. Whoops, the Arctic is melting.

[Marshall]

Dunk deserved the penalty. You just don't go on TV, even though very few people watch it, and say F... The university also wanted to look good and used the opportunity to make bonus points.

[Mr. Brinkman]

I know this has nothing to do with sports but didn't someone say the big word on Saturday Night Live - to millions of people. Don't think U.S. schools would suspend their top player for a game - even if it is against Waterloo.

[Anonymous]

There should be no freakin' way that students or coaches are allowed to use the freakin' word during a high school event. Coaches need to get serious and administrations, for those who care and get out of the office to support their students, need to enforce this. My Principal hasn't come out to our football games in two years but she does find time to attend lots of meetings. I will keep my name anonymous for obvious reasons.

[L. Jefferson]

Can someone please tell me why we don't hear girls using these words.

[Roy]

I find the use of some other words, that can't be used here, to be more damaging and hurtfull than the one that sounds like duck.

[Football coach]

I will instruct my players to refrain from using foul language and to use their middle finger instead. Hope that's OK with many of you.

[Billy Craig]

Guelph is doing this for political marks and nothing more. You guys are f... crazy if you think swearing will be stopped in school sports.

[Billy Craig]

Missing the leadership from the various athletic associations to enforce a code of conduct that works and is not just on paper because they are all volunteers and don't want to infringe on their buddies who are coaches.

[Jimmy Boyle]

Game officials are too lenient on these kids and moreso on the coaches. They can put a serious dent in the foul language by warning teams in advance and throwing the flag more often. Heck, some of the things they throw flags for now are questionable at best.

[Piper Boy]

I wonder if anyone has statistical data to determine if football is No. 1 for players swearing.

[Shaun Whitehouse]

Let me ask you, if I tell my players to keep it clean and no swear words under any circumstances, then what happens when one of them looks at a guy on the other team and says "mother". Is that offensive? Do I kick him off the team ?

[Method Man]

It is not a matter of leadership when moral guardians decide to discipline or regulate language, where the language in question is disconnected from conduct. I freely admit in 25 years of coaching young women in sports that I have used the occasional inappropriate word, but...never AT anyone, never to DEMEAN anyone, the sort of spontaneous utterances that humans are guilty of from time to time...look at the conduct that accompanies the words when you judge it, if disconnected, so what...if directed at a player, opponent, referee...an entirely different deal, smack down.

Language is a living, organic thing....standards of deportment and 'good language' aren't always Ozzie and Harriet...expecting a 16 year old HS kid who watches God knows what 'legal' language in the media (or a Guelph QB who is presumably literate for that matter) to be their own language police in a stressful setting, let's not fall over ourselves in the sanctimony sweepstakes...it's the intended object of the off-side langauge that counts.

[Dober]

We have great role models in sports. Should I start naming the ones in jail, the ones who cheat, the ones who are conceded or just stick to the ones who swear. Kids admire them.

[JuanBigJuan]

One of my ballers used to swear often......loved to use the Sh*t word when things did not go her way. Refs used to T-ee her up for using such language. I decided to empower her...told her to start using...excrement or feces....cause it meant the same thing but in a more classy and sophisticated way. I corrected her verbal behaviour every time she swore or was about to sware. Later in the season during one game, she was at the foul line taking a shot. She scored the first but missed the second. After she missed, she blurted out loudly "EXCREMENT". The ref turned towards her, looked at her in disbelief and smiled. If she had used the S word she surely would have been T-ed up. I think as coaches we are able to influence our players in a positive way through empowering them using words that society deems acceptable.