With the Bobby Knight incident yesterday being blown out of proportion simply because he is who he is I began to think of other places where contact is being eliminated from the Sports World as we know it.
Coaches No Contact with Players: As a society we have in the past 50 years eliminated almost all physical discipline from the school system and from the coaching world, if you hit your player or student you are in deep shit. But in the Heat of a basketball game a tug your pull on the jersey or a knock under the chin to try to get an athlete to focus seems that it should be completely fine. But according to some Bob Knight crossed the line with a strike that resembled less a strike from Mike Tyson than one from Michael Jackson.
Roughing the QB in the NFL: Watch college football and you'll see what football used to be like for a Quarterback, 240+ athletes running full steam through the QB plowing him to the ground and in some cases going straight helmet to helmet. Now turn on an NFL game and if a QB is tackled half the time the refs rule it as driving the QB to the turf and throw out the yellow hankie. Helmet to Helmet, well thats automatic in the NFL of course. Shoulder to Helmet, well then the refs perceive it as helmet to helmet and toss out the 15 yarder. The way the protection of the quarterbacks is evolving to, soon enough there will be cries for two hand touch on the QB.
Hand Check NBA: Anyone playing pickup basketball or a game on the playground knows that if you call a hand check foul you will be ridiculed off the court, laughed at and told that you are a little bitch. Honestly, when was the last time you saw someone call one of those fouls, have you ever called one yourself, I know I haven't. But in the NBA put your hand on someone when they are trying to get to the lain and here comes the whistle. How lame.
Pass Interference & Illegal Contact: This one seemingly peeked a the season after the rules were put into place and has been given atleast a breath of consistency and sanity but still there are the calls where little to no contact is made yet still the dreaded biggest penalty in football comes out. It has evolved to the point where after at minimum a 1/3 of the close incomplete passes a receiver is complaining about how they should receive a interference, illegal contact, or holding penalty.
Beanball Warnings: Baseball which used to allow their players to police themselves through the act of beanballs and the rare brawl have put a societal spin on how they treat beanball wars. Now typically most beanballs conclude with the Umpire pointing to both benches and "warning" the benches to not act out revenge or aggresiveness through pitching. After said warning any player deemed to have some intent on hitting a player is ejected, sometimes ejected even if there is no apparent intent, and even more ludicrous the times where a player is ejected for throwing too far inside.
Coaches No Contact with Players: As a society we have in the past 50 years eliminated almost all physical discipline from the school system and from the coaching world, if you hit your player or student you are in deep shit. But in the Heat of a basketball game a tug your pull on the jersey or a knock under the chin to try to get an athlete to focus seems that it should be completely fine. But according to some Bob Knight crossed the line with a strike that resembled less a strike from Mike Tyson than one from Michael Jackson.
Roughing the QB in the NFL: Watch college football and you'll see what football used to be like for a Quarterback, 240+ athletes running full steam through the QB plowing him to the ground and in some cases going straight helmet to helmet. Now turn on an NFL game and if a QB is tackled half the time the refs rule it as driving the QB to the turf and throw out the yellow hankie. Helmet to Helmet, well thats automatic in the NFL of course. Shoulder to Helmet, well then the refs perceive it as helmet to helmet and toss out the 15 yarder. The way the protection of the quarterbacks is evolving to, soon enough there will be cries for two hand touch on the QB.
Hand Check NBA: Anyone playing pickup basketball or a game on the playground knows that if you call a hand check foul you will be ridiculed off the court, laughed at and told that you are a little bitch. Honestly, when was the last time you saw someone call one of those fouls, have you ever called one yourself, I know I haven't. But in the NBA put your hand on someone when they are trying to get to the lain and here comes the whistle. How lame.
Pass Interference & Illegal Contact: This one seemingly peeked a the season after the rules were put into place and has been given atleast a breath of consistency and sanity but still there are the calls where little to no contact is made yet still the dreaded biggest penalty in football comes out. It has evolved to the point where after at minimum a 1/3 of the close incomplete passes a receiver is complaining about how they should receive a interference, illegal contact, or holding penalty.
Beanball Warnings: Baseball which used to allow their players to police themselves through the act of beanballs and the rare brawl have put a societal spin on how they treat beanball wars. Now typically most beanballs conclude with the Umpire pointing to both benches and "warning" the benches to not act out revenge or aggresiveness through pitching. After said warning any player deemed to have some intent on hitting a player is ejected, sometimes ejected even if there is no apparent intent, and even more ludicrous the times where a player is ejected for throwing too far inside.
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