Playing Until The Whistle

Today's blog entry was written by Paul Jones. Paul is a psychology student at Purdue North Central which is a regional campus of Purdue University. Paul is interning with Play Like A Champion this fall. Paul has a passion for sports and an eagerness to learn which makes him the perfect fit for our team. Paul was a key player in our Sports Leadership conference this June and during this semester, he is assisting with Play Like A Champion’s research, helping with our social media, leading several ongoing special projects and learning our curriculum of coach education. Paul is a “champion” to our program.

As an athlete you are told to play your hardest and play until you hear the whistle.  There is a difference between playing hard and playing dirty and intentionally injuring another player.  A prime example from this weekends collegiate football games is from October 3rd, when The University of Texas took on Iowa State University in a tight game where both teams played hard until the bitter end, and where both coaches objected to the officiating.

In the third quarter, Texas scored on a run from a couple of yards out, but after the play Texas was penalized 15 yards when wide receiver Mike Davis threw a low block on ISU defensive back, Deon Broomfield.  The play called for the wide receivers to block the defensive backs.  The replays clearly show the Texas back clearly crossing the goal line as other players from Texas signal and celebrate a touchdown.  As the celebration started, Broomfield slowed down, but that did not stop Davis from diving low into the knees of Broomfield. 

After the game, the defensive back, Broomfield, took to Twitter and said, "Mike Davis really tried to take me out." Davis responded on Twitter saying, "I play to the whistle ….. Sorry I was taught that."  Yes, it can get loud in a packed stadium, but regardless of the volume of the whistle, the play had clearly stopped and there is no need to attack a player when he is so far from the action of the game.  I am all for giving your all during the game and support the players who do so, but on a play like that, there is no need.  He wasn't playing to the whistle, he was putting another athlete at risk of serious injury. It was a good call by the officials, some are even calling for a harsher penalty, but the coach of Texas, Mack Brown, stood by his player and said, "He couldn’t hear (the whistle), There’s 70,000 people screaming their guts out."  He later said that he “thought it was competing.”  This is in a time where players are being penalized and suspended for "targeting" other players and this looked like he was targeting.  The Big 12 reprimanded Davis, but did not issue a suspension. The only punishment that can follow now would come from the Texas team itself. 

Here at Play Like A Champion Today, we teach building character through sports, and we expect the coaches to model good character as well.  It would have shown strength and character for Davis to admit that he was wrong. It would have shown good character to step up and say that he is not that kind of player and would play better next time. (Instead, he stated that in a similar situation, he would do the same thing again.)  It also would have displayed better character if Coach Brown had handled Davis's actions in a different manner.  At Play Like A Champion Today we work on winning the right way. When the final whistle blew last week, Texas won the game, but they did not win the right way.

The Dallas Morning News has more information on the game and the ensuing controversy here.