High School Assembly; Sports

Left. Right. Left. Sports. What's fair and what's not? And how does the way that we view sports impact the way we deal with each other? Next on High School Assembly. Closed captioning of this program on UNC -TV is made possible in part by a grant from the FM Kirby Foundation. This program

was made possible by contributions to UNC -TV from viewers like you. Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to this live edition of High School Assembly. I'm Natalie Bullock Brown and today we're going to talk about the rising impact of sports in our lives. How do they affect not only our view of athletes but the way we treat one another?

To help us talk about these issues we have a great panel of guests. First, Darryl Robinson, coach for Lee'sville High School's Varsity Basketball Squad in Raleigh. The only team in its cap six conference to go to the state playoffs the past seven years in a row. We have Kathy Stefano who is coach sports for 31 years at Milbrook High in Raleigh and led her teams to a number of championship wins. We also have Guy Laranje, a sports writer with the Harold Sun who has covered triangle area high school athletics for the past several years. And Q Tucker, the assistant director of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, a group that makes decisions about fair play in high school sports for the entire state. We also have on our panel today two outstanding student athletes. From Milbrook High, a senior who is the valedictorian of her class

and a more head scholar. But there's more to this student than academics. She's also a well -rounded athlete, excelling in basketball, volleyball, soccer, and knew this year to indoor track. Although this is her first year on the team she's recently qualified for the state indoor track and field championships. And from Hillside High in Durham, we have a junior who is regarded as one of the top 30 high school basketball players in the country. His team won the five county 3a conference championship last year and he is being hotly pursued by scouts and coaches representing some of the nation's top collegiate basketball programs. He's also an honor student, is active in the community and to top all that off, he's an excellent golf player. Sorry, our two student guests are Sarah Moore and Bobby Perry. Audience please help me welcome all of our guests to the program. And

I'd also like to welcome all of the students and adults in our audience today from Apex High, Leedsville High, Hillside High, and South Grandville High. Give yourselves a big hand for coming out. Now we'll be taking your phone calls this afternoon at the toll free telephone number at the bottom of your screen, 1 -800 -555 -3120. So please call in and join in the conversation. Now I want to start out with the audience. Let me ask you guys a question. How do you think athletes are treated at your school as opposed to non -athletes? Anybody want to start off? Great, yes sir. I think athletes at our school have a great deal of respect, but not entirely too much more than other people. It's pretty well -rounded. So you think they're well -rounded? They're not regarded any more than anybody else. So you're an athlete. Yes ma 'am. Okay. Does

everybody agree with that? Anybody want to make a comment about that? Okay. Well, I'll ask the athletes. What do you guys think? Do you think you're regarded just like any other student or are you treated a little differently? What about you, Bobby? Well, there are some instances where you are treated a little different, but you're respect more. I mean, people would expect more from you when you're an athlete. Especially top -notch athlete who has the capabilities of leading people to what they need to be. And there's some glee from that, but there's also some responsibility that you also carry along with the status of the top athlete. Thanks. And what about you, Sarah? What do you think? I don't know if I believe the athletes are respected along with many of the other leaders in our other activities involved with our school. Many of our, we have a very finely developed drama department, and when the plays are going on, or when there are other acts, everyone's looking up at them, congratulating them, going to the plays, or people involved in the Student Council or National Honor Society, all the activities gain respect. People in

general who are involved in the school are recognized at a higher level because they dedicate themselves to the school. Well, four athletes, for you guys as athletes, what sort of things, like Bobby, you said you're expected sometimes to maybe perform at a higher level than other students. Give me some examples of things that maybe you're expected to do that other students are not expected to do. School sets rules, and they want the students to abide by the rules. And I've been an athlete and been a role model for these other students. We have to follow the rules, and we have to set examples, say for instance, taking our shirts in a heel style, we have a new principal. And some students think that's ridiculous, but I mean, it's a reason for it, and we have to do it. And so us as being student athletes and people looking up to us, we have to go along with the rules, and have to set an example, and show the other people that is right, and it's correct to do that. Okay, thank you. Coach Robinson, let me follow up with you. What would you

say in response to what Bobby is talking about in terms of rules? Well, what I tell our basketball players and our athletes in general, particularly those that play in the bigger sports, such as football and basketball, we kind of live in a glass house, and things that we do tend to be magnified, and that could be positive or negative. If we do such a thing as break a rule, like Bobby said, I think more people tend to hear about it. And I'm not saying good or bad, I wish we'd hear about the good things our athletes do as much, and off the court. Negative things that we do off the court tend to be blown up a little bit more, I think. And you don't hear about the good things that some of our athletes do off the court. Now, on the court, you hear about it, you read about it in the paper, but I like to think at least we've got some classy young men and women that do good

things on and off the court. And I kind of wish that you'd hear about more positive things away from the arena. Coach Stefano, would you agree with that? I think that what Coach Robinson said is very true, and I think that I would like to think that our school, the athletes respect each other, as well as the non -athlete and the student athlete respecting each other too. I think it's a camaraderie. I believe in open practices, and by that I meant the doors open. You can come in and watch, just don't disturb, and view all you want. And I think that promotes a certain amount of respect from the athletes that are not involved in that sport. For instance, I coach volleyball, the doors are open, even before we had air conditioning, the doors were open. And the guys that play football and the girls that play tennis, anything

that's a fall sport around that time, come in, look, short periods of time, and go on about whatever the business is, but they're gaining knowledge and respect for each other. And I think that's important so that when they live in that glass house like Coach Robinson is talking about, they have some counterparts that can talk about and help them through some of those issues that they may be dealing with from the non -athlete. Gotcha. Well, you guys, I'd like to ask you, based on what Bobby and Sarah said, and also what the coaches have said, do you feel like, or do you observe at your schools that student athletes are in a glass house? Are they held to a different set of standards than you are? Are they expected to do more, or are they allowed to get away with more than maybe you are? What do you think? Yes, ma 'am?

Well, if you're that involved in the school and you're doing stuff that a lot of people see, like playing on the football field or playing on the basketball court, obviously people are going to know about you, which means you can not be somebody's friend, but if you see them out there, you're like, oh, I know who that is. And so they're giving a little bit, they're a little bit higher because everybody knows who they are. Now, do you play sports? Yeah, I swim and I play golf. And how do you feel, do you feel like you're treated a little differently? Well, they're not like the big sports, but I mean, people who come to our swim meets and come see people play golf, they at least know who I am. So, do you ever, and we're going to talk about this later, but do you ever feel like, you know, I'm on a, I play a sport that not a lot of people come out to see, and how does that make you feel if you do? Well, I still dedicate a lot of time. I have practiced twice before school and three times after school, and I've meets most every Thursdays and Tuesdays for swimming, and we're in the middle of swimming season now. And a lot of people don't come out and see them like they go to football games, and I wish they would because it's a cool sport, but I mean, you just got to grow with punches.

And you're able to do that. Yeah. Okay. Let me ask you guys another question. And this is for the panel. Is it ever okay for an athlete, particularly a star athlete, to be treated differently? And I mean, either in a positive or a negative way, if they're allowed to be, to turn in assignments late because they need to be at a game, or if they are expected to get their homework in earlier because they are going to a game. Do you think that this is fair? Code Stefano. I'm very old fashioned, and I think they, the term student athlete applies, and they have a student first, and their obligations in the classroom, or just like the other students in that building. And the athletics is a plus, and an extra, and fun, sometimes not. But I think they're expected to do their academic work first. Okay. Let me

cut in before I go to you, Coach Robinson. We have a caller. This is Frank from Scotland. Let's hear what you have to say, Frank. Yeah. I'm watching right now. I'm at high school right now. And talking about living in a glass house, I play football and basketball. And I believe that we've always been taught to act as if we are a star player on a big sports team. And we remember that people in our school and our community look up to us, especially little kids, because they want to be where we're at. And I'd like Coach Stefano's very old fashioned. And yes, school does come first, but we've also been taught that in our county, we need to remember the people that do look up to us and respect us for what we do. And not just for what we do in the classroom before we do in the field to support county. And I believe that's very important, but not as important as schoolwork is. But it's really important for the county to know about these people. Even if it's not the entire school that's participating in a big sport, it's important for everybody to at least know who these star athletes are

or who's on the sports team so that when they do go to the grocery store with their parents, they do get recognition for a good game or for a nice play they created. Frank, thank you. Appreciate your comment. Coach Robinson, what would you say? It sounds like there's a lot of pressure on athletes. Well, I don't like to look at it as pressure. And being a former athlete, you know, I kind of got a feel for what it's like. You've just got to be responsible to live up to. And I try to tell my guys, and I've got a son that plays for me. He's a senior this year. You know, all you can do is the very best you can. Yes, you are a student athlete and school comes first. And, you know, you've got to get the work done. And there's pressure, yes. But I mean, if you do the very best you can, and you can go to bed at night knowing that I did all I could be in the classroom on the basketball court. Well, you know, then I love you. And we're going to keep going on. You know, we just, just

tomorrow. Great. Thank you. Guy, I know you write about sports, but I wonder, do you have any sense of the sort of pressures that the athletes seem to be talking about when you are observing a game that you're covering? I mean, I would think that there might be some pressure when your pictures in the paper or stories written about you in the newspaper that you might feel like there's more attention paid you or that you might sort of live with that kind of pressure compared to a student who isn't playing sports and won't have their picture and, you know, blown up in the paper or, you know, have a story with, you know, discussing how they played a game and that type of thing. So there probably is more pressure, I would think, you know, and to a certain extent. Okay. I want to get to Ms. Tucker Q as well, but we do have another caller. This is Brad from Pitt County. Go ahead, Brad. How are you doing? I wanted to ask a question to everybody. I played football in high school. I'm not going to say what school I want to is one of the people

in the audience actually. But anyways, steroids were really big, and I just want to know what you all thought about North Carolina doesn't force drip tests for their athletes. I just want to know what you all thought about that kind of throw it out there. Ms. Tucker, since you work at the Athletic Association, are there any rules in particular about, I guess, auxiliary supplements that would help athletes in their performance? And what would you say about that? Well, I would say that first of all, we never want to think that our student athletes are feeling pressured to go and use supplements, whether they're dietary supplements or steroids in the truest sense of the word. And most schools systems across the state, across the country, have rules and regulations that prohibit the use of substances, whether it is as a normal student, whether it's a student

athlete. And of course, the high school Athletic Association, obviously, we encourage all of our schools, we encourage all of our student athletes to be alcohol, tobacco, and other drug free. If they participate in our playoff programs, and they are obviously under the influence of some type of a substance, that could be grounds for ejection from that contest, be that a student athlete or anyone associated with that contest, an official, a coach or whomever. Well, one more question about fairness, in light of what Q said, Coach Stefano, what would you say to athletes who are trying, they're struggling to maintain this balance between performing high on the field and off the field, and being tempted by these things to help them in their performance? What can be done to kind of balance that out for them? Well, I think you're asking what's my

opinion of what I would do with a player, and I think you've got to sit down and talk about what your goals are, what you're interested in, and then you talk about what's right and what's helpful and what's harmful. You've got to go through a discussion process, and you as a coach, I think, have a responsibility to make sure that student tries to see the right way to go, and they get the health education from age fifth grade on. And so it's not that they're not knowledgeable, but I think it's like you said, there's their pressures, peer pressure that seeps in, and I think they've got to feel number one that they can have someone to go to, and everything isn't going to be all right. Well, let me interrupt you for one second, because we have a clip that we'd like to show. We've been talking about attitudes,

the attitudes of athletes, and the people who watch them, you and I. UNCTV produced a half hour program about sports, ethics, and how we behave on and off the playing field. The piece is called Pursuing Victory with Honor, and here's an excerpt that puts into perspective what we've been discussing. The vibrant world of sports so often it brings out the best in Americans, for spectators it offers common ground, a venue where men and women of all colors and classes rise as one. For players it provides an excitement that borders on Victoria, and for the coaches on the sideline it is an avenue to education, and opportunity to reach young people and teach them life lessons. But sports has another sign, most agree that people who compete should try their hardest to win.

But when victory becomes the sole focus for coaches, fans, and players, it can be costly. All right, cute. In light of what we just saw, anything that you or your organization would have to say about pursuing victory with honor, what sort of rules you guys try and put into place to sort of ensure that? Well, obviously that comes in the category of sportsmanship, and at the beginning of every sports season we have a rule that says that every coach, every parent, and every student athlete will sign a pledge, saying that they will pledge to be the best sport that they can be. Now we understand that these people, that nobody's perfect, and that they're going to be those fans there, that there will be student athletes who sometimes have an out of body experience that we say, and perhaps their behavior is not what they would like it to be. But we ask them to try to be the role model that has been mentioned, and so we expect that from

our student athletes. We have some punitive rules in place where students who are ejected from contests because of poor behavior, likewise for coaches. But at the same time, we also have some reward programs in place where we say to our schools when they are doing the right thing, when the behavior is exemplary, that we want to recognize that, give them that reward for saying to their coaches, and saying to their student athletes and their community at large, is that we appreciate the behavior that you have shown as you have come and supported our programs, as you have participated in our programs. Let me interrupt you really quickly. We have another caller. We have Tori from Wake County. Go ahead, Tori. Peace to the girls on Earth. I just wanted to make a comment about how they always put a lot of pressure on so many athletes, and they focus mainly more on the core of the sport they participate in instead of the classrooms. I'm actually from Jersey, and I just moved down here to North Carolina. I'm Jersey, everybody has to be a

superstar in the core or the field. When we was going to classes, a lot of them was actually dummies, excuse me, to say that it was dummies, but that's how they was. I don't think it should be like that, like the coaches put a lot of pressure on you to be the best three -point shooter or the best numbing, lawnbacker, instead of in the classroom, because you get a lot of athletes. The first thing they think about is getting money in the big leagues instead of having that real education background. They just got to remember all things falling apart. You got to have that education first, because you can't get nowhere without that education. Tori, thank you so much for your comment. Very valid point, Bobby. What would you say in response to what Tori said? Well, of course education is number one for most fourth post. If you don't have a education and if you don't do well in school, you can't play sports. To say, I'm not trying to put them down, but say someone's a dummy. I think no one's a dummy. Everyone can achieve their bond

with what God gave them. You can reach a certain point, and you can't call anyone a dummy, because everyone can learn, everyone can do well, whatever they do. For athletes, coaches do put some pressure on people, and they want them to lead, and say they want them to be the best three -point shooter. But from what up, my sport is a team sport, and we work together as a team, and we do what is needed to win the game. Bobby, let me ask you a question. Do you focus more on education or your sport? It's kind of a balance, and I know I wanted to see, I want to go into the NBA and basketball, and to be able to do that after concentrating on that sport. I mean, I have to treat that like, it's my job, and I mean, it's my dream, it's my heart to be a basketball player, but I also know I have to have academics. Academic is also a big part, because when that ball starts bouncing, when we're going to fall to next, and I have to have that education back in New York after I finish my career. I want to get back and

ask you Sarah as well, but let me ask you guys, from the clip that you saw, pursuing victory with honor, and what you see when you go to games at your school. What do you think? And actually, you know what, let me ask you Bob Smith, you're a recruiter, so you go to tons of games, and you often, I'm sure, see students, student athletes, you know, who are being hotly pursued, and there's a big tension between finishing school and actually pursuing the dream of whatever sport they're playing. What would you say about that? Well, without being too wordy, I'd like to preface everything about saying that you got an excellent panel, and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association is really involved on a national level. They're almost pioneers. I think Charlie Adams and Dick Knox, they're very instrumental in setting a standard for all the member states in the United States, the high school athletics associations, to be a part of and kind of model their own programs after. I've seen

quite a bit as a third party opinion, if you will, when I attend games, obviously I've scouted Bobby. I would think anybody, if you're involved in extra curricular activities with your school, you need to know that you're an ambassador for your school, your family, your community. So, yeah, there is pressure with that, but I tend to think that's a privilege and an honor, and it's a personal investment into your sales. And you have to know that when you step out like that and you're front and center, you're not really in the crosshairs, you're put in a position of leadership, and you afforded the opportunity to make a difference in a lot of people's lives, and you're invested into yourself. So, when I attend ball games, I'm looking for a lot of different things. When college coaches ask me about players, they obviously know how good they are, whether they're male or female. But the first question that comes to me from them outside of basketball is, where are they academically, and what's their character like? And

that seems to be, you know, what would probably be most important? It's very important, you know, in this business, you're only as good as the players that you have. But once these young people leave home and they become part of the communities in their respective colleges and whatever, you know, they can't be spoon -fed, so to speak, or constantly overseen. And so they need to be low -maintenance individuals. And I would think these people that we're talking about today, the athletes, if they're taking the time to do the academic work, investing themselves sociably and from a community perspective, in the long run, when they're 30 years old, and they're not playing basketball or swimming or tennis any longer, they're just doing it for recreational perspective, they'll see what all this meant for them down the road. Thank you. Coach Stefano, response. I think that what Bob said is exactly right. And I think our

job in the high school ranks is to try to make better citizens out of young people. And I think it's all a part of it. That's why I was, that's why I prefaced what I said with student athlete. I think the term student athlete applies to that. And there's a lot of talk about character education, and there's a lot of talk about what we're going, what are we going to do about it, and where does it come from, and what are we going to do that maybe a child doesn't have at home, and where do we fill in, and I just think athletics and other school activities fit that bill. Sarah, do you feel that athletics has helped you to grow as a person beyond what your academics have provided for you? I certainly believe athletics have played a major role in who I've become as a person. It has, for one thing, experienced me in many different situations with many different kinds of people. And I've been through some difficult situations where things weren't

going so well, and I think I have to talk to a coach or an individual player as to how I could work through that. And I've been in other situations where I've emerged as a leader, and I've stepped up so other people could then follow through and follow what I was doing. And I've worked with individuals helping teach them, or maybe a freshman player and a senior, teach them the lessons and the skills. And all of those working with other people, learning to lead, learning to explain ideas, are things that will help me later in life and forever. Thanks for that comment, Sarah. We have another caller, Rhonda from Durham. Please go ahead. Yeah, I just want to say that you were talking earlier about students being, well, athletes being in a glass box. When I was in school, what that really meant was that the athletes were in a glass box, whereas they couldn't be touched. If they had a game, they got to go play, if their grades were bad, the teachers would look out for them so that they could play or just make things right for the coaches. And I thought that was very unfair.

So what I want to say is that I was really stressed that education engraved them very important. And I commend the young lady that you talked about earlier, who was head of her classes or GPA. That's very good, because a lot of people do look at athletes as just these people who play sports and don't have any education, where you do have a lot of students out there who think education is very important, as well as sports, and they achieve in both. And that's excellent. And I see that more today. I see students achieving academically, as well as just on the court or on the field. And I'm very happy about that, because in 93, in my school, it was totally different. And as far as the way that sports influence our values, I think that a lot of people push athletes to the limit, push them too far. And it's mainly the parents, because they want their child to be the best, excel, and become the NBA or the pro football player. And everyone can't make it, but for the ones who do make it, that's great. That's excellent. And you look at a lot of shows on

television, like Chris on MTV, that show the people who made it, and they have pictures on the wall, or where they came from, and where they are now. And that's great. But for the ones who don't make it, I mean, it's like, you did your best, and that's great. Rhonda, thank you so much for your comment. You made a great point. And since we have Bobby and Sarah's parents in the audience, I want to go to Mr. Perry or Mrs. Perry and ask you, in response to what the caller said about parents putting pressure on their children to, you know, to pursue the NBA to maybe, you know, think about that more than their academic performance. What would you say to that? Well, basically, I would say the, I tried to, I have three other children who have participated in sports besides Bobby. And what I've tried to emphasize to them is that they should try to determine what they like. And once they determine what they like, then I try to support them as much as I can in their

endeavor. Now, if Bobby, excuse me, if Bobby didn't enjoy basketball, then I wouldn't push him to be a basketball player. But once he decides he wanted to be a basketball player, and if he just, and if he just has expressed a desire to be to play at the vision one level or to play in the NBA. And it's my job, I think, as a parent to push him to his maximum ability. And if I don't do that, then I think I'll fail to my responsibility. I appreciate that comment, Mr. Perry. Let me get Guy Laranger in here. Guy, what have you seen on, you know, when you've gone to cover games and you see the parents in the stands and, you know, they're rooting for their kids? What sort of pressure do you perceive coming from parents for their student athletes? It probably just differs from family to family situation to situation. And mostly though it seems like a lot of athletes I speak to, to write maybe a feature story on them, don't

often really mention that their parents are pushing them, that they're pushing themselves. And that they put the pressure on themselves to be the best at their sport, to be the best in school as well. It seems like, you know, I'm sure though in some situations there are parents who push their kids maybe too much, and that can happen. But in most cases that I see it seems like the athletes actually pushing themselves and they get support from their parents. Right, thank you. You guys, audience, what do you think? What have you witnessed at school? For those of you who are athletes, how do your parents treat you? Do they push you to the max, to be the best athlete you can be? Do they balance out your academics and your athletics? Do they stress that you get both done? How does it work for you? Oh, yes. I have something to say. I'm a coach and I'm South Grimmah High School. And I actually view the coaching progress

and I actually see the students view that as an extension of their family. A lot of times you have families that are separated or it could be a one family house, one person household and so forth. And a lot of student athletes actually look to their coaches as individuals that can be role models for them and help them out in those tough situations. So, you know, it's very important to always put forth, you know, the best effort and be a role model and help those individuals, don't have anybody around the house that can give them at propagatives. Thank you for that. Any other comments? Yes, sir. Waiting for the mic. Okay, hold on. Okay, yes. Okay, well, I know at Hillside in particular, the teachers, they don't really cut the student athletes any special slack or anything. They want the athletes to know that when they get in the real world, they're going to have to, you know, juggle more than one activity. And so in doing so, it makes them more well -rounded people and prepares them for the real life. Great, thank you.

We have another clip that we want to show you. The Fox Network's award -winning Boston Public, a show about life in a fictional high school, recently aired a segment in which some of the issues we've been discussing came up. In the clip you're about to see, Vice Principal Scott Goober complains to Principal Stephen Harper that Goober's debate team widely considered the quote -unquote smart students get no respect. Take a look. I think it's a bad idea. Why? Why? There's already friction between the academics and the non -academics here. The debate challenge might only fuel the class distinction. Talk to Harry, he laid down the government. And you accept it. Yes, I did. And you know what? The esteem of the Dungeonites aside. My kids don't get there, do either. The student body turns out for basketball and hockey, but support the debate team heaven forbid. My kids never get to feel the glory, Stephen. They don't score touchdowns with everybody cheering. I am happy to allow the spotlight to fall on them for one day. And truth be told, I hope they thrash Harry's thugs. Well, now,

that's pretty, it seems what happened in Boston Public seems to reflect possibly the tension between academics and athletics at most schools. We have a caller wanting to get in on this conversation. Call her, go ahead. Yes, no caller? Okay, we've lost a caller. You guys, since you are, you go to high schools like Boston Public. What do you think? Do you find that you have all kinds of people showing up at the football games and the basketball games and nobody showing up to the spelling bee, the debate club, the history. The group session, what happens at your school? You don't have any of that going on at your school. Now? Yes? Yes. Well, I think it's not only that as far as the only sports that I really see a lot of support for mostly are like basketball and football. And as far as the like the debate stuff

you're saying, that'd be about the same response as a swimming meet or a track meet or something like that. There's not going to be a lot of support for those kind of athletes either. And I feel that not only the other athletes, but the kids, the more academic kids to get some respect to, at the same time, they're really just doing the one thing more than having to balance the athletics and the academics as much, which I think is a lot harder. That's a good point. I think we got our caller back. Iona, are you there? Yes, this is Iona. Playing basketball and trying, we get very many people who come out, but I also do color guard. And not too many people come out for that. And I mean, color guard is a sport, so you have to understand that. And I mean, we go to state championships and everything. And we do very good. And I just like to see more people come out for color guard and band, because it's also a sport.

Thank you, caller. Thanks so much. Audience, why is it that nobody comes out or fewer people come out to even the swim meets and maybe the tennis, tennis games and in other sports that are not maybe as popular as basketball or football or even baseball? Yes, hold on one second. All right. Well, I'm a tennis player. And I think one reason that people don't get us into like a sport like tennis is that it's like such an individual sport as opposed to like football or basketball where it's like a team sport that you can cheer and you can get really into it. Whereas tennis, you kind of have to know the sport. And you can't like, it's a gentleman sport. You can't say something against the other team. You have to be really positive and stuff. All right. Well, if that's the case, what I'd like to ask or throw to the panel is what does what what does what happens at our schools where people

don't really show up for the academic competitions or they don't really show up for tennis and swimming and other, I guess, less popular sports. What does it say about our values and how we value some sports over others, how we value sports over academics coach Robinson. I think that a lot of that has to do with unfortunately television. I mean, you can turn a TV on to see a basketball game. You probably can turn a TV on this evening and see six basketball games. Super bowls this weekend. That's becomes a. It's become a national holiday and tennis is big when we're doing during the summer and all, but that's not as accessible. I mean to some youngsters. I come from New York City. I mean, I didn't put a tennis racket in my hand until I was in college. A lot of people don't, you know, there's not only they don't have the interest because they don't understand it, but they just don't have the wherewithal to play those type sports golf. I mean, I've never played putt putt in my life. You know, people

ask me, do I play golf and I just just never appeared occurred to me to play golf or tennis until I got to to college. So I mean, but TV has a lot to do with it and getting back to a whole lot of these things, winning has a lot to do with all of this stuff. I mean, you look at Michael Jordan and I mean, he's he's not as on TV as much as he used to be, but I mean kids look at TV and young start at a very young age and they pick their heroes up and who they want to be like when they're very young and you know basketball and football players are probably more prominent than any others they see. So you're saying that there's this issue of winning and people see these athletes winning, well not only are they winning games, but they're also winning major contracts and endorsements. Yeah, money and like the young man who called, you know, he said coaches putting pressure on the win. Well, you got youngsters in schools now wanting

to be rappers. I mean, they want to get paid doing that also. People want to act. So it's not only athletics that motivates them to to to to earn money, but you know, youngsters want to do all kind of things and like I said before, a basketball and a football, you see those on TV so much. Thank you for that comment. We have another caller. This is a young man in Southfolk, Virginia. Welcome to high school assembly. What's your comment? Oh, yes. Well, I'm a young student athlete as well. And some of the comments that I mean went on in today's conversation. I agree with, but me coming from a single parent home with just me and my mother, I see every day. I mean, I take sports seriously. They say by any means necessary. And I don't use any type of, you know, several or anything of such. But I feel I can do. I mean, I'm going to take what's legal for me and what I can do to help my family as far as going to college, maybe in the first one

to attend college out of my family. I've got many scholarships and sports. I feel that when I go out and compete on the field, it's not just, you know, people may call it just a game. But if it was such just a game, why would they put a school board? Why would they keep a school? And I feel that's a great way for me to get out of my community. I mean, we are well grown up in the projects right now. But just a week ago, I received the full scholarship, you know, and that is pretty much, you know, my, my doorway and to be successful in life. And I'm not counting over on to the NFL. But if I have a college degree, I can do some of the things that I want to do in life. Thank you, caller. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off, but we got to move on. But I appreciate your comment. Question that keeps coming to my mind is, how have sports impacted our values? And I want to introduce someone who we also have in the audience, Professor Dan Boxel, she's written several papers about the impact of

sports on our value system. Mr. Boxel, what would you say about how sports have impacted our values? I want to go back to what was said earlier. I think television has played an immense, it made an impact on our sports and our values. When you see I want to be like Mike, the television commercials, it doesn't matter about their character. Mike Michael Jordan is probably one of the better ones, but you've got Dennis Rodman, who people like to emulate. And I hear lots of students say that. But I think that the caller that just called and was mentioned about parents, we do expect parents to do a lot, but they're not the only ones. They're not with their parents that much. And so coaches, peers, professors, teachers, really have to play, have to go together. And I think that students look at Tracy McGrady, for instance, who went right out of high school, I want to be like Tracy McGrady, I don't care about going to college, I want that money or the rappers, as he said. But the sports are more, it's every day, 24 hours a day, you can watch sports. And I bet right now you can turn on and watch some television and watch basketball. And one of the other things that I think that comes

up here is the sports that we're talking about are men's sports, the sports that are watched are men's football, men's basketball. And so a lot of that has to do with television and how we again see who's important in our society. So based on what you just said, who are we finding out is important. I mean, what is that saying about who's important? What's important? The people that are important are the people that we see every day and those are the heroes of today and those are the athletes and mostly the male athletes. Bob, you had something to say about this. Well, the gentleman that spoke is called in probably three out of four, three out of five, the young people that I assist in my line of work are in somewhat of a disadvantaged situation such as he and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. I mean, he seems like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and what I would implore him to do first of all realize that yes, I think he's right on the money that athletics is going to be his vehicle. All right, it's the means

to the end for him. It will afford him a college education at which time when he graduates from college, he'll be a functional unit, a functional person. Hopefully, there will be a level lay of the land for him in terms of a career opportunity, but that's the real world. People in the situation such as he, I suggest that they stay strong in their faith and seek out the right mentors and align themselves with the right sort of people and those will be there for him through the thick and thin. Great comment. Thank you. Q, does any of this, this, this issue of how sports impact our values reflect on your organization? Well, it does because we have the program that I actually will see as our student services program and part of what we try to do through student services is to help young people, student athletes, help our coaches, help our athletic directors, keep that proper balance. And keep things in proper

perspective that integrity, sportsmanship, character development, that honesty, that all of those values, those are core values. And that we're about the business, yes, of helping these young people take the skills that they have been blessed with and use those, whether they turn out to be vehicles to get into college, you know, that's all well and good. But to take those core values and to use those in those sports, whether those are individual sports or their team sports and to develop into responsible well -rounded citizens who are going to make a contribution in society, because that's ultimately the goal of high school athletics. Now, if our young people come through our program and they get an opportunity to play at the next level, then we've done an extra good job, I think. But many of our young people who come through our high school programs are not going to play at the next level. So we have to be sure then that we are

teaching some values, that we are those positive mentors, that people are suggesting that coaches need to be, that we are role modeling the values that are going to be so important in order for them to be successful in life. Well, I appreciate you saying that, because Bobby, I know that you are being pursued by all kinds of division one schools and other schools that have top programs in the country. How does that make you feel as a high school athlete? And also, what does it make you think about if you do make the next step, if you go to a top college program and maybe go onto the MBA, what are you going to be trying to carry with you in terms of the way you think about your sport and the way you think about your life? Well, that's for being recruited. I mean, this is just to take it to the next level. And I mean, I thank God for the ability that He gave me, but He gave me talent and I had to perfect that talent and I had to work on my skills. And as for, I think you asked me, how does that make me feel? And I mean, I'm happy for it, but I mean, I know I'm still a high school student, I have friends. And I mean, I just want to be a regular high school

student like anyone else. I don't want any more clear anything. I mean, I hang out with my friends on the weekends and just like any other high school student, but I don't expect any more. And I know I have the work cards to get where I was. I just think about it. If you do go, but once you move to the next level, do you think that's going to cause a division between you and your friends now? Those who may not go on with you to a top college program or the NBA? No, it won't make any difference. I mean, they have their goals. I have my goals. I mean, we respect it and we help each other. I mean, we're going to stay friends forever. Thanks for your honesty. We have another caller. Caller, go ahead. Okay. We're going to move on. We have another caller. Sorry. Yes. Next caller. Hello. Yes. Hi. How are you? Good. How are you? Yes. I'm calling in reference to making a comment about

how it how it discouraged kids from joining the drama team or other teams because people don't come out to support them. It's like the chess team and things like that, it really. I mean, I'm saying that we need to give more support towards those teams as well as to the basketball team. I love basketball. I love all the sports, but it just seems like it's so when it comes to those other teams, it's so unfair or lopsided to where people don't show their support as much as the other teams. And I, you know, it discouraged kids from saying, why should I join the drama club if there's not going to be the support there for me? And I really think that, you know, it's kind of, you know, really, it really, you know, deters kids from joining those other teams. And that's what makes them work so much harder at getting on basketball teams or the baseball teams because they say, well, that's where most of the support's going to go. And, you know, I really, you know, that was my comment that I really think that a lot of more people should go out and help support those other teams as well. Tyler, thank you.

Coach Stefano, you coach girls soccer volleyball. Volleyball. Volleyball. Actually, you've coached both, haven't you? Not soccer. Okay, but you coach volleyball. And from what I'm hearing from students and from athletes, maybe volleyball doesn't get as big of a crowd at their meets as basketball. Does that put pressure on you as a coach to try and do things, I mean, maybe make the game somehow more exciting for people so that more people will come out. Is there a pressure there? No. I will say that typically the students come out when we are winning. And they usually wait to the end of the season and think we're going to get there. But that's their loss because they've missed a lot of good games. I don't, I also think that our world is busy. And if you ask,

right now I'm teaching health and I ask my ninth graders just more than several questions about time management and things. And you ask them what they're doing and how many of them have an agenda, how many of them have a day planner, how many activities have you got from 230 own. And you would be very surprised at the things that they are having to do from because they want to and because they have to, it's twofold. They've got activities they'd like to participate in. And I think you have to pick and choose and you have a school of 2000 plus and they pick and choose. But I still say there is a respect for the abilities of both athletics and all extracurricular activities. And it's like Sarah said, the students that are involved in whatever drama production that's going on or they come and watch the marching band. And they just, it's their friends just like, it's like they're talking about it. If they come support their friends and

they might not get to everything. But I think they spread it out and try to see some of it. Audience, is this true? Do you just go to support your friends or do you go to the games where you know the team's going to win? Yes sir, hold on a moment. Well, I personally like this season I went to a tennis match for the first time because one of my friends is on the tennis team. So I definitely go to support my friends and I, you know, like I go to the basketball games and I also participate in track and I participate in football. So I see both sides of, you know, a thousand plus in attendance at the football games and then you have parents at the track meets. And I, I've told my parents, you know, I understand the track meet can be very boring because all the events are going on at the same time. So, you know, I don't, I wouldn't expect a

person to come see me. I had to ask him, you know, you know, come see me vault, I pull vault. So I'd say, you know, come see me vault to do it. But, you know, it's, if someone doesn't have interest in it then they shouldn't have to go or be forced to go. Let me ask you a question. Does it feel any different to win if there are a lot of fans in the stand or they're none there at all? Well, it does in a way but like, you know, everyone loves to hear the cheer of the crowd. That's just a given. It, it does in a way and then in a way you have your personal goals. So, therefore it's, it's an achievement for you. So, you're applauding yourself. Thank you for that. Sarah, and I'll get to, to Bobby, how important is it to win? I feel the most important part is not the winning, but all the other lessons and the teamwork and that

I and all my friends and teammates get out of this sport. Some of my most enjoyable seasons have been ones, even in the same sport or maybe last year for example in volleyball. We were more successful on a win lost record the past three years I've played volleyball. And this year we didn't do as well win loss as we normally would have. But because of the group of girls and pulling together and we really won as much as we could have with our group of girls and we excelled as much as we could have with the talent we had on the team. And we worked the hardest of any group of girls that I have worked with and that was more enjoyable. And I got more out of that than this season has been passed or we've won conference regular season championships that have gone on several levels in the state playoffs. Great, thank you for that. Unfortunately, we have run out of time, believe it or not. But this has been a great discussion and we're so thankful to our panel. If you'd like to learn more about the issues raised by today's discussion or if you'd like to purchase a copy of today's show, you

can log on to our website at www .unctv .org or contact us by telephone at 919 -549 -7149. Have a terrific afternoon everyone. We'll see you again on the next high school assembly. Thank you. Thank you very

much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank

you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very

much. Thank you very much. Thank you very

much. Thank you very much.