Watson Column: Just a kid’s game
By Chief Danny Watson
There is nothing quite like kid’s sports. Any organized athletics where young adults are competing against one another just seems to bring out the worst in people. It’s exasperating to have to go to a game where six and seven year olds are playing baseball to arrest someone who is absolutely losing their mind about a kid’s game.
Good behavior does not include calling the umpire a blind %&$# so in so. There is no instant replay at little kid’s games. There are no professional referees there either. They make split second decisions about something that they only see once to make a call. I was an umpire for a co-ed league for softball. It was an awful experience.
Root for the kids on your team. Do not root against the other kids who are playing. How evil and awful do you look when you laugh at a child who misses a ball? You look a lot like what’s the other name they usually call donkeys? Remember we are the ones who are supposed to be setting the example for the little people.
Is there really a call on the field during a game that is really worth going to jail for? Can you seriously come up with some reason that it’s worth it to take a trip to the local county bed and breakfast for a kid’s game? Invariably, the police end up looking like the bad guys because we arrest you in front of your children. What exactly did you expect us to do when you were cursing every breath, threaten to kill the umpire, burn down his house and kill his dog? This is a serious issue where thinking before you speak could save you a lot of trouble.
So as you go to games, remember they are just games. They are supposed to be fun. They are not supposed to be traumatic for the kids. Cheering for your team is a great thing. Screaming at a child who makes a mistake or ridiculing one from the other team is bad behavior. A person who curses, screams and generally makes a donkey of themselves is a blaringly bad example. Enjoy the games and allow the children to as well.
Chief Danny Watson MPA FBI NA # 228, Chief of Police for City of Darlington, has been on the Darlington Police Department since 1994 and Chief since 2011.
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