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From the Hip: When it comes to celebrating participation, James Harrison has it dead wrong

09/01/2015, 11:30am CDT
By Travis Wilson

The following article was originally published in NOW Newspapers under the "State of Play" feature, a series of bi-weekly feature columns penned by WSN General Manager Travis Wilson.
 

It was a softball-of-a-story too easy to pass up for many people – big, bad NFL player James Harrison taking away his son's participation trophies and slamming the concept of young people not “earning” rewards. His comments drew national attention and praise from public figures, coaches, and parents alike.

Before we get into why James Harrison is absolutely wrong on the idea of celebrating participation, let's stop for a moment and consider why we would want to take advice of any kind from such a man. A man who was arrested for assault on his girlfriend after she locked herself in the bathroom in fear, and while she attempted to call 911, Harrison broke down the door, smashed her cell phone, and hit her in the face. As is too often the case in domestic situations, the local judge withdrew the case after Harrison completed anger management counseling. Coming before the firestorm that was the mishandling of the Ray Rice incident and continued negative publicity over domestic violence, the NFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers took no disciplinary action (he was a star player after all). Then there's the interview Harrison gave to Men's Journal in 2011 that included homophobic slurs. If he's willing to toss out such comments in an on-the-record interview, what other kinds of thoughts does he keep to himself?

Let's let him be our moral barometer when it comes to raising kids, right?

But enough of why James Harrison is a horrible role model and not to be entrusted with providing sound parenting advice. The larger issue at hand is the idea of who should be rewarded and recognized, and how. Is participation something we want to celebrate?

Hidden in Harrison's Instagram post is a hint at the faulty logic he employs. As noted by the Huffington Post, the trophies came from the “Best of the Batch”, an award-winning foundation of former Steeler quarterback Charlie Batch to help financially-challenged youth have a better shot at life. While it is assumed that Harrison's children aren't among the financially-challenged, it is assumed they met the criteria for participating in the football program: mandatory academic tutoring, effort in the program, and achievement. Most of the children in the program come from disadvantaged homes, where meals, family stability, and safe atmospheres are not automatic. 

As the Huffington Post article notes, “The message those trophies convey, perhaps for the first time in a child's life, is that hard work does pay off and that there is tremendous value in dedicating time to both athletic and academic endeavors.”

In publicly blasting the trophies, Harrison may have thought he was teaching young people the right lesson, but instead it tarnished what many of them had accomplished both athletically and academically. Besides, celebrating participation and effort while also rewarding and recognizing excellence is not a mutually exclusive concept. Be clear, I am not advocated every child gets a trophy for everything, every time.

Let's examine the value of athletic participation for a second however, especially how it benefits young people academically.

Anecdotal evidence for years has suggested that there is at least a correlation, if not a causation, between participating in extracurriculars and academic achievement. Numerous studies have proven it to be true. According to the NFHS, a study by the National Center for Education Statistics showed that students in school-sponsored activities had higher math test scores and expectations of attending college. A study of nearly 140,000 high school students in Kansas showed that “athletes earned higher grades, graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes.” 

Studies from Minnesota to North Carolina show stark discrepancies between GPA's and absentee rates for student-athletes versus non-athletes. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the link between GPA and athletic participation is higher than that of participation in school clubs, music, performing arts, or student government. 

Other studies have shown that students involved in extracurriculars are more likely to make positive health decisions throughout their lives while significantly less likely to suffer from depression or suicidal thoughts, use tobacco, drink alcohol, or carry a weapon. 

All these benefits despite the fact that across the country, extra-curricular (sports, clubs, music, arts, etc.) activities account for only about 3% of school budgets.

Needless to say, there are a lot of really good things associated with athletic participation. And yet, while high school sports participation is up according to the National Federation of High schools, studies show that overall participation, especially in the most popular sports, is declining.

The Wall Street Journal reports that combined participation in the four most popular team sports of baseball, basketball, soccer, and football fell by roughly 4% from 2008 to 2012 among boys and girls aged 6 through 17. The overall population of 6 to 17 year olds in the US fell by just 0.6% during that time. Participation in football, Harrison's sport, declined among high schoolers, and in the state of Wisconsin has gone down almost every year for a decade. 

There are many reasons, theories, and studies looking at why participation has declined in some areas, with injury concerns, specialization, video games, computers, and more cited as reasons. However, according to Executive Director of the National Youth Sports Health and Safety Institute, Michael Bergeron, the answer is much simpler.

The main reason kids stop participating in youth sports “is that the sport isn't fun to the child.”

“We have to be aware of the single sport specialization, overuse, and overworking kids searching for the elite athletes,” Bergeron told the Wall Street Journal.

So overemphasizing and overworking youth, at the expense of enjoyment, to search for the elite athletes is a negative. Yet James Harrison would have you believe only the elite athletes should be celebrated. Participation, and all the benefits that come with it, is secondary to finding the less than 1% of all kids who will go on to Division 1 schools, or the 0.09% of high school football players that will get drafted by the NFL.

No, Mr. Harrison, you continue on as an NFL star while people gloss over your homophobic, domestic violence past; I'll encourage and support my kids as they pursue their interests, and celebrate their successes, and yes, participation, as I see fit.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  From the Hip