Editorial: Loutish parents a stain on sports

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

We've all seen them act like jerks at children's youth games. Often they're small in number, but these obnoxious parents shout obscenities or direct tirades at coaches, players or umpires. In short, they make life miserable for the children and others attending the games. Sometimes the disputes even can lead to violence -- one incident turned deadly in Boston last week.

Two fathers in a quarrel, ironically, over whether a youth hockey game had become too rough, got into a fight in front of the children, some who were as young as 10. Thomas Junta, who weighs 275 pounds, allegedly pummeled the 150-pound Michael Costin until he was unconscious. Costin, the single parent of four children, died later from the injuries he suffered; on Monday prosecutors charged Junta with manslaughter. All parents should heed the death in Boston as a sobering wake-up call.

Indeed, there has been a coarsening of our society, which includes how fans behave at all sporting events. For instance, a collegiate or professional sports game almost no longer qualifies as a family outing -- children are assaulted by the raw language and cursing in the stands that inevitably occurs. Now loutish fans invade even Little League contests. It's too bad that so many adults have forgotten such an intrinsic fact about sports, something they certainly could learn from their children: It's only a game.