One of the best parts of high school and college basketball student sections is the chants and cheers. Cameron Indoor Stadium isn’t what it is without the Cameron Crazies, for example. But at many high schools, particularly in Wisconsin, some of the most basic, fundamental chants are “too offensive” for the adults in charge. And now, that sentiment has started spreading like a virus to other states.
At Westside High School in Omaha, students turned their backs when the opposing team was introduced. Relatively tame, right? AD Tom Kerkman wasn’t pleased with that, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
“They don’t see that they’re hurting someone’s feelings. They don’t see it that way,” he said.
Student chants have gone way more under the microscope since the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association sent out an e-mail with chants that needed to be discouraged. Among those were, “airball,” “fundamentals,” “scoreboard” and “you can’t do that.”
Kerkman, and most administrators in Nebraska, have allowed those chants to continue. But where is the line?
“Our kids will chant ‘fundamentals.’ They’ll chant ‘airball’ once in a while, or ‘you got swatted,’ ” he said. “But what I try to do is not to let them continue it on and make it where it gets so bad where they’re making it really personal.”
What is “really personal”? Who knows anymore?
Most would agree that the Wisconsin guidelines went too far and were too PC. But with the pressure on public schools to foster a more accepting environment for all students, if just one student finds a relatively tame chant offensive, events like this could be happening far more often.
Compared to what’s going on Indiana, I think things are probably quite alright by comparison.