I am going to go way off topic of a normal Monday here because something has been on my mind today. I have been throughly disappointed in the actions and words of people both that I know and I don’t when it comes to sports lately, especially the past 24 hours.

First off, yes, I am a Chiefs fan, but this is not hate for them losing the Super Bowl. Anyone who knows me knows I love the Chiefs, but I don’t have any money on them and don’t have any role in their games, so I am just a fan. Win or lose, it’s on to the next day in my life. So this is not a sore loser post but one that has been building up lately.

Anyone who has been near a team I have coached knows I preach sportsmanship to my teams and to my parents. I teach my players that being kind in a win or lose is important because we need to remember how we feel in a loss and treat others how we want to be treated in the situation as winners. I also am very up front with my parents that the kids on the other team have parents too and they are kids also. Just think that each kid is just that a kid, not a professional player getting paid to play. This is my most important message every season to my players.

With this in mind, over the past couple of weeks, I have watched so many parents lose their minds and scream and cry over calls. It got so bad that my ten year old started getting mad at the games because the refs are for the Chiefs, so why aren’t they helping. She was so moved by people complaining about calls she thought the refs were actually on the team. I mean, I get it she is still learning rules, but at the same time, why?

I don’t really want to get into the calls or the controversy of game calls because you’re going to believe what you want. What I do want to talk about is the actions of people after the Super Bowl, and in other situations I have seen the past year.

I have not let my children near any media since last night because explaining to them a burning Kermit the Frog or the chant of “Mahomes is a F@#$$=÷” on the streets of Philadelphia. How do I show them the comment sections of any social media of grown adults saying just straight evil stuff about spouses and children of players. Let alone the full-on hate of Miss Swift. I do not listen to or care for her music, but in the end, she’s just another girl at the game.

Do people realize they are teaching children it’s alright to act like heathens over a sport. Sports that are supposed to bring people together and are supposed to teach teamwork and hard work.

It doesn’t end at professional sports either. Over the past few years on kids’ sports fields, I’ve had to walk parents off fields for swearing at refs. Refs that are teenagers volunteering their time. I have had parents get into fights, and another coach actually tries to fight the ref. Those are just things I have been present for. These are grown adults on an 8U or 10U field.

What are we as adults teaching children. We get so caught up in fandom and hatred for everyone, not my team. We forget that we are bringing up more unsportsmanlike children. You wonder when you see kids who shove players and do very unsportsmanlike acts midgame where their parent is. I’m not trying to sound above others, but my daughter once got over rough playing and got physical in a rec game, and I benched her and ripped her a new one on the sidelines for playing like that. She was just trying to keep up with another player like that, but I refused to let her play like that. I want strong children, but not dirty players.

Like I said, this is a little off from my normal Monday, but really, I feel like I needed to write and remind anyone with kids in sports that your actions and words in professional sports watching and your actions on the sidelines will influence the player and person you are raising.