The Taunting Culture
by Steve McGill
As the character Jerome used to say in the 90’s sitcom Martin, “I’m from the old school.” And as someone who hails from the old school, I’ve been getting progressively more annoyed with a trend I’m seeing in sports, including track and field, and specifically including the hurdling events, toward taunting opponents and talking trash. I know that trash talking is as old as sports itself, and generally it hasn’t ever really bothered me. Getting in your opponent’s head is a way to gain a psychological advantage. And if the opponent isn’t strong-willed enough to handle it, then that’s their problem. But there’s a difference between good-natured trash-talking that’s an integral part of sports versus the type of self-aggrandizing, disrespectful taunting and gloating that we’re seeing today in athletics at all levels, from the professional ranks all the way down to the little kiddies. While I’m hoping that this article doesn’t end up sounding like an older coach whining about the ways of the younger generation, I can’t guarantee that it won’t.
[am4show not_have=’g5;’]
[/am4show][am4guest]
[/am4guest][am4show have=’g5;’]
I’m gonna start with professional basketball star Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors. Curry is a four-time NBA champion who has won MVP awards and a finals MVP award. He’s the greatest shooter in the history of the sport, and one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. Off the court, he’s a good, solid dude, a family man who loves his wife and kids, interacts with fans generously, and has raised money for multiple charities. On the court, he’s a fierce competitor who plays with a heart and passion that is rare. So I appreciate Steph Curry and everything he stands for. But that “night night” celebration he does irks me. Sure, it could be argued that it’s harmless and even funny, but I don’t like it. For those of you who don’t know what the “night night” celebration is, it’s when Curry puts his hands together palm to palm and leans his cheek against his hands like someone who is going to bed. He usually does this after hitting a dagger three-point shot that puts the game out of reach for the other team. It’s his way of saying “Good night, y’all are done, this game is over.”
The reason I don’t like it is because it’s disrespectful to the opposing team, whose players have fought hard in a tightly-contested match. It’s a way of embarrassing and demeaning the opponent. I don’t like that kind of stuff. Just shoot the ball, make the shot, and head back down the court and play defense. Why show up the opponent? What purpose does that serve?
One perhaps unintended purpose is that it influences the youth. I was scrolling through my Instagram feed not too long ago and saw a video of a little kid about eight years old playing in a youth league game. After knocking down a shot, he lay on the floor and rested his cheek against his hands before standing back up and gleefully sprinting to the other end of the court. What is this madness? That’s supposed to be cute? Do we really want our kids growing up thinking that belittling their opponents is appropriate behavior?
Sticking with basketball a little more, you see all kinds of silly celebrations these days. The “too small” celebration after scoring on someone in the low post, the “rock the baby” celebration, the “big balls” celebration. Add in all the flopping and whining to referees, after a while it’s like, what am I watching? Meanwhile, I don’t mind genuine emotional reactions. If someone hits a big shot and runs down the court screaming, “I’m him! I’m him!”, I’m okay with that. Getting amped up and being totally engaged emotionally is not only valid, but also inspiring.
I’ve been watching a lot of collegiate track meets lately, with conference championships and then regionals and then NCAA’s taking place on back-to-back-to-back weekends. And man, I saw a lot of taunting. In the men’s 110 hurdles and in the women’s 100 meter hurdles, winners were crossing the finish line and turning around and making derisive gestures to their opponents. The hurdles used to be an event where trash talk didn’t exist at all. Everyone respected each other and respected the fact that everybody was trying to get over these barriers as fast as they could. Even now, when you look at guys like Holloway, DRob, Devon Allen, etc., there’s tons of mutual respect despite the fact that they’re all chasing after the same bag. But among collegians it seems that the taunting culture has become prevalent and even normalized. And it’s not just the hurdles. I’m seeing it in all the sprint events, and especially in relays. But relays have always been like that. Especially the 4×1.
100 meter hurdler Alia Armstrong of LSU posted a photo of herself doing the “night night” celebration after her huge victory over Kentucky’s Masai Russell and Arkansas’Ackera Nugent at the SEC championships a few weeks ago. It was an electrifying race in which Armstrong eked out a win over Nugent by a hundredth of a second. And Russell was right there too. So why do the night-night celebration? And why post it on your Instagram? In Armstrong’s defense, she spoke very humbly in her post-race interview and acknowledged the supreme talents of her rivals. But still man, don’t hit me with the night-night when you won by a millisecond. You’re gonna have to see these women again. And sure enough, Nugent claimed the victory at NCAA’s, and all three ladies will see each other again at USA’s, with World Championship spots on the line. So chill with the night-night.
In the professional ranks, Noah Lyles is the one who annoys me the most with his antics. Yes, it’s good for the sport because it draws attention to the sport, but it’s still not cool. Last year at USA’s, when he walked down the young kid Erriyon Knighton in the 200 after Knighton had gained a huge lead on the curve, it was thrilling to watch Lyles come roaring back and then squeeze past Knighton right before crossing the line. What wasn’t so thrilling, for me anyway, was watching Lyles point at Knighton and smile, as if to say, “haha, got ya!” When you run against an opponent who makes you bring out the best in yourself like that, respect that opponent. Don’t show him up. Run across the line like a normal human being, then turn around and dap him up.
With Usain Bolt retired, all these sprinters want to be showmen, entertainers. Which is nonsense. Bolt was charismatic by nature. And despite all of his antics with the lightning bolt celebration and whatnot, he never demeaned his opponents, never behaved in a mean-spirited way. All of his opponents liked him. Justin Gatlin even bowed down to him after finally defeating him in 2017. And besides, Bolt was doing otherworldly things every year, so he had the right to showboat as much as he wanted to.
To me, showing good sportsmanship and being respectful of one’s opponent is just as important as winning races. If you win a race but then act like an ass afterward, then you’re an ass. A few summers ago, at the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals, which were held in Greensboro, NC — about a 90-minute drive from my house — a kid in the 11-12 age group that a coaching friend of mine had been working with ended up winning the final in a huge upset over a kid (from a different state) who had been heavily favored. After the race, my coaching friend’s kid, who was hyped up by his victory, was yapping about the kid he had just defeated: “He was scared. I could tell he was scared. He couldn’t handle the pressure. He–” I cut him off right there. “Whoa whoa whoa,” I said, “don’t disrespect your opponent. You ran a great race, and he didn’t run a great race. That doesn’t give you the right to put him down. Be humble when you win.”
And that’s my point. Be humble when you win. When you disrespect your opponent, you disrespect the sport. If you run enough races, the sport is going to humble you. So stay humble so you don’t have to be humbled.
[/am4show]
