Material for lessons in sportsmanship

There's nothing wrong with competitiveness in sports. Indeed, competition drives professional sports. Fans come out to see their team win, not just play a great game.

But competitiveness ratchets up emotions that have to be held in check, lest the game turns into hand-to-hand combat.

Which was the case last Thursday, when a brawl broke out in a minor-league baseball game between the Peoria Chiefs, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, and the Dayton Dragons. Fifteen players and the teams' managers were ejected from the game. A Peoria Chiefs pitcher was accused of throwing a ball that hit a fan.

A few days before this, the WNBA suspended several players and an assistant coach in the aftermath of an altercation during a women's professional basketball game. Among those suspended for one game was Candace Parker of Naperville, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks.

Certainly this wasn't the act of hardened criminals. Competitive players just let their anger get out of control in the heat of the moment. We know Parker to be of exemplary character, not a brute looking for a fight on the basketball court.

But the WNBA was right to react quickly and firmly in sending the message that the incident was "inexcusable and in no way indicative of what the league stands for."

It seems a similar message needs to be sent in leagues where the athletes don't play for pay.

A recent survey by the National Alliance for Youth Sports, which advocates positive sports experiences for children, shows most Americans have not only witnessed poor sportsmanship in youth sports, but believe it is worse now than when they were growing up.

We know suburban youth sports organizations have worked hard at establishing the right tone at games that are supposed to be fun and instructional for children. They've adopted and enforced honor codes that require parents to be on their best behavior at youth sports contests. They strive to select coaches who keep winning in perspective, who are role models and teachers and fun to be around.

There are few things as embarrassing and unsettling as watching parents and coaches scream at an umpire. Or erupt in disgust when a little boy or little girl - sometimes their own child - don't play up to their superstar expectations.

But coaches and parents have to do more than set the right example. They must also demand sportsmanship from their young athletes. And they should use the recent skirmishes in pro baseball and basketball - and an ugly incident on Tuesday night in which some Cub fans were arrested for allegedly trying to beat up a Milwaukee Brewers fan - as teaching moments.

There are consequences to losing your cool, not only in sports, but in everything you do. Certainly competition is a part of life. But you'll do well, in life, being a good sport while aiming to be the best.