Sportsmanship

Jackson Public Schools expects each coach, athlete, and fan to represent his or her school with the very best sportsmanship. The Mississippi High School Activities Association has stringent rules against unsportsmanlike behavior for all involved in athletic contests. Remember that school athletics are learning experiences for students and that mistakes are sometimes made. Praise student-athletes in their attempt to improve themselves as students, as athletes, and as people.

• Know that a ticket is a privilege to attend, not a license to verbally degrade others.
• Eliminate all types of baiting and taunting from sports activities. Behavior like angry finger pointing, “pistol shooting,” obscene gestures, and racially derogatory comments must be avoided and must be penalized consistently when they occur.
• Realize that spectators represent the school just as members of the team do.
• Show respect for the opposing players, coaches, spectators, and support groups. Treat them as you would treat a guest in your own home.
• Use only those cheers that support and uplift the teams involved.
• Give participants (including cheerleaders) the right to compete in an atmosphere without boos and derisive comments.
• Learn the rules of the game so that you may understand and appreciate why certain situations take place.
• Respect the judgment and integrity of officials, realizing that their decisions are based upon game conditions as they see them. They are doing their best to help promote student athletes. Respect their willingness to participate in the full view of the public.
• Refrain from the use of any controlled substance (alcohol, drugs, etc.) before and during games and afterwards on or near the site of the event.
• Recognize that good sportsmanship is more important than victory, and demonstrate that by applauding the good play of either team.
• Be modest in victory and gracious in defeat.
• Schools and coaches may be fined or put on probation for misbehavior before, during, and after an athletic contest.
• Schools may be, and have been, reprimanded or put on probation when their fans become unruly or incite behavior deemed to be unsportsmanlike. Also, fans may be banned from attending athletic events for unsportsmanlike behavior.