Poor Behavior, Social Media and Consequences

Poor Behavior, Social Media and Consequences

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Earlier this summer, a team from Virginia competed in the girl’s Little League World Series. They were set to play the semi-final game against the host team from Washington. Prior to this game, one member of this Virginia team posted a picture to Snapchat of her and her teammates flipping off the team from Washington with the caption, “Look out Host.” A few hours later, the Virginia team beat the Washington team to advance to the nationally televised championship game.  After the game, tournament officials saw the post and immediately disqualified the Virginia team from the tournament. The defeated team from Washington was selected to play in the championship game, eventually losing the championship to a team from Ohio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98PD6rYZWgE&t=90s

Pro – “This was an over-reaction”: When the coach first heard about this post, he reprimanded the player who posted the picture. He then made all of the girls apologize in person to members of the Washington team. Later that night, after learning of the disqualification, the coach said, “It’s a travesty for these girls. Yes, they screwed up, but I don’t think the punishment fit the crime.” He went on to say that the entire team should not be punished because of one player’s post.

Con – “Punishment fits the cime”: A Little League spokesman called the post “inappropriate”, explaining that it violated the league’s “policies regarding unsportsmanlike conduct.” The athletes did not live up to the standards of sportsmanship and they were appropriately punished. These 12-14 year-old girls were taught an important life lesson. This also teaches other young athletes all over the country that they should be and will be held accountable for their actions. As one official commented, “Adults/kids sooner or later need to understand that not everything should go on social media. There is always someone watching!”

Your Turn: If you were a tournament official, what punishment would you have provided to the Virginia team? Why?

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  1. The team had already apologized so I probably wouldn’t have gone so far to disqualify them I would just disqualify the player who posted the picture

    1. The girls were in the wrong and they should have to apologize and I believe that they should have to do community service or some sort of service.

  2. I wouldn’t do the same thing but it’s going to be a fined they will have to pay also they should know not to post everything on social media and write a apologizing Letter to the little league officials.

  3. If I was a tournament official I would probably not have gone as far as to disqualify the team. They have already apolized for there misbehavior. I would have had the girl who posted the picture be disqualified. And told the coach if something like that were to ever happen again there would be more server consequences.

  4. The girl already apologized for their action and If I was an official I would disqualify them and I wouldn’t just punish the girl who posted the picture because, you have to take in account that they all participated in the unsportsmanlike action so I would’ve made them do community hours and think if I should still allow them to play.

  5. I feel bad for those teammates who didn’t want to post this or who didn’t give the finger. This stuff is true in all sports, get caught, get punished. Don’t know if the coach knew about it beforehand, but it goes to show how easy it is for coaches not to control everything.

  6. These are young girls I think they deserved to be disqualified for posting the pic because they are publicly bashing the other team

  7. if i was the official i would of discomfited them to cuz thats not right and people are always watching and they did it to them self they shouldnt of thought about that before you go flipping off a camera

  8. I would disqualify them. They are young girls who made a bad decision and need to learn from it. If they wouldn’t have been disqualified they wouldn’t have learned that what they did is wrong. These girls and many other athletes learned a lesson that its more about winning its also about having good sportsmanship. They should’ve kept it private and not posted it; there are consequences to your actions, it best they learn that now.

  9. I would have punished the whole team but I would have also given the perosn who posted the picture an even bigger punishment because it wasn’t very nice what the team did all togegher but the individual who posted it should get more of the punishment.

  10. I personally do not like this kind of behavior and in media, people have talked garbage about other people while themselves are involved in sports. These people have been disqualified or removed from their team because of it. Even if one person did it in this case, it’s a TEAM sport. You represent the school and the team that you play for and I think the severity of this punishment is appropriate, emphasizing how one person’s mistake can take everyone down, therefore I would disqualify them.

  11. I do not think that the girls should get greatly punished. even if they had terrible sportsmanship, they are just being teenage girls, nothing less. They should get a warning.

  12. I would punish them the same way. One girl posted a picture that she got in trouble for but because of her actions the whole team got punished. After all, there is no I in team. The punishment taught the girl to never do this again and it was a warning for the rest of the team who went down with her.

  13. I think that the girls should have been punished that bad because they are just going through hormones like any other girl their age. Although it was rude and uncalled for and they should still be punished, but they shouldn’t be completely punished.

  14. I would not have DQd the VA team but they would have received a fine and probably be banned for one year from the tournament however they would be able to finish the tournament.

  15. The girls are at the age when they should be responsible and respectful of others. That might have caused unnecessary stress for the other team, so disqualifying them was a fair choice for the sake of both teams. This teaches kids, when participating in any sport, to be considerate of team members and opposing teams. This also teaches responsibility, and the effects of being irresponsible.

  16. In my opinion, the deserve to be punished. They shouldn’t have poor sportsmanship and if it’s a policy, then they should follow the rules set by the league.

  17. I think it fits for the crime even if the other team might have talked about betting them they did not show on snapchat and show the whole world what they thought of the other team, they should of not of done it, and it looks like all of them were in the pic that was posted. I was like why would you do that. ლ( ಠ ∀ ಠ ლ)

  18. I think that they shouldn’t have been disqualified because no everyone is gonna have nice language. People are gonna be strait for word with you and your gonna haft to learn to deal with it one way or another, not everyone sugar coats things so you don’t get offended. Also teams are gonna talk trash about one or another you cant stop that. They need to do what football does, if a player throws a punch they are out for the rest of that game and the next one also. That would have been a more fitting punishment.

  19. Well i am in the middle of this yes or no because one they really shouldn’t have posted that picture saying watch out host or stuck the bird out. They also had to say they was sorry for what they done. So i am going to have to go with if they alright apologize and the girls felt really bad about everything they done. I wouldn’t have kicked them out from the state championships. If one person makes that mistake then they should be punished but, then again they are a team.

  20. They should have let them played in the championship game then suspend them for a year and suspend the girl posted the post from the championship game because the girls put in a lot of hard work to get to that place they were at.

  21. I do not think that the team should have been disqualified for something that almost any other team has probably would have done. I mean I would bet money that the other team was talking smack too. It is just part of the game people are gonna talk crap so that they have a motivation to get better and to beat the other team. If people were always nice in sports and always had a calm tone the game would never be fun, you was to have a competition or at least something to be able.

  22. I believe the punishment fit the crime, because although one person posted the picture ALL of the girls participated in it and they were all punished for it. The behavior exhibited was against the rules and can not just be washed away, by these girls getting disqualified they are less likely to repeat the same type of behavior and it set an example for the other people.

  23. I feel like even though it was immature and disrespectful of the girls, I don’t think that they should have been disqualified. I would have made them apologize to the other team like they were made to do, but disqualification was a little extreme in my opinion.

  24. I don’t think they should’ve been disqualified from going to state championships, but they did need to apologize. They could’ve punished them in another way instead of disqualifying them.

  25. I would definitely disqualify, because they showed poor sportsman ship and plus there so young better they learn now that their consequences have actions compared to later in life. Plus even though they were confident of beating this team, they still shouldn’t post a picture of them flipping off and disrespecting another team.

  26. I would have punished the entire team for what they did. But also, I would have had a talk to the one girl that posted the picture. I think punishing them is a good idea but I think that they may have been punished too severely.

  27. I think the team should have gotten punished because that’s not good sportsmanship. Also the person who posted it should have gotten a bigger punishment. I hope those girls have learned their lesson.

  28. I would have disqualified the team. Kids who compete in the Little League World Series are role models for younger kids and if they do not set a positive example, they should not be allowed to go on tv.

  29. I would have disqualified them because they dis respected the other team and that is awful sportsmanship. If in the rules it says that you have to have good sportsmanship, then they broke the rules and should be punished.

  30. i think that what they did was right. it wasn’t one girls fault because many players are flipping them off. I would of disqualified them as well.

  31. I think that the whole team should not be punished because for me it’s clear that the post was pushed to be made because of one or two girls in the team.

  32. I think that the whole team should not be punished because for me it’s clear that the post was pushed to be made becouse of one or two girls.

  33. if I were one of the tournament officials I would’ve punished the girls in the photo instead of the rest of the team that wasn’t involved. although it teaches the team a lesson, the players that knew not to do that shouldn’t be in trouble for someone else’s actions.

  34. It was defiantly a lesson learned. And you can’t just blame the girl for posting it because all the girls in the picture were apart of it. Some people don’t think social media can hurt them.

  35. Yes the punishment was fit for what they did. But the girl who posted it should have gotten a harsher punishment for herself

  36. I think that they should not have been kicked out of the game because they were just being teenagers and as I would have punished them I would have just made them do sprints and write them an apology letter to the other team.

  37. I don’t think the whole team should have been punished for that because it wasn’t the whole team. I also don’t think that it was a huge deal because they were just being mean but if the roles were in reverse the other team probably would have done the same.

  38. I would have done the same thing, it violated the policies that the girls were aware of and now they’ll think twice before doing it again.

  39. I would have done the same thing and disqualified the team because that is so disrespectful and they didn’t have to put that.

  40. If I was a tournament official I would have only benched the one who had the idea of doing that and posted it for one game because they didn’t know what the outcome of that would be so that’s why they should learn from their mistakes.

  41. If I were an official I would have punished the team who committed the offense by making them apologize to the other team and made them apologize on the post that was made.

  42. If I was a tournament official I wouldn’t have disqualified the whole team. I wouldn’t do that because not the entire team posted the photo only one memeber. But I would have also disqualified those who contributed in the making of the photo.

  43. I would disqualify their team also because that does not show good sportsman ship and it is very inappropriate for them to do that. It is very disrespectful to the other team and quite offensive also. Also, talk to the teams parents about their actions and what they have done and what their punishment is.

  44. I think that they should have forced the girls who were in the picture to be able to play because of the unsportsmanship but I think that they should allow the rest of the girls to move forward because they didn’t do anything wrong

  45. I don’t think that I would have disqualified the team because it was only a couple girls doing it not the whole team and the post only went on one girls snapchat. The whole team shouldn’t have suffered from her bad choices. I probably would have just disqualified her and the girls involved not the whole team teaching them a good lesson so hopefully they wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

  46. I would have done the same thing because it is disrespectful to the other team and should have thought about what they were posting before they did it.

  47. I would of done the same thing to the girls. There was no reason for the girls to do that and that was not appropriate. The girls had to learn there lesson one way or another.

  48. I think that I was a bad move to do but I don’t think it was to that level of punishment to disqualifie the team I think maybe lose points or something else but I think their punishment was to hard on them.

  49. If I were a tournament official, the consequence for the Virginia team would have been to apologize to the members of the Washington team and then I would have made sure that the girls knew what they did was not okay. I do not think that disqualification was necessary in the situation. The girls made a mistake, but any other 12-14 year old girls would have made the exact same mistake.

  50. I think they should have been punished but less harshly because they were only 12-14 years old. It was uncalled for and it was good that they had to say sorry but disqualification, that’s too much.

  51. I feel bad that the team got disqualified, but they shouldn’t be posting things like that on social media just to get attention or think they are all that. Yeah , maybe they shouldn’t have kicked them totally out of the tournament, and just have not let the girl who posted it play . But, then again it was a whole team effort to be posting that and flipping off the camera. Overall, this isn’t the right thing to be doing and it shouldn’t have even taken place.

  52. If I was a tournament official, the Virginia team would have been kicked off. They sportsmanship they showed there opponents is unsportsmanlike. With this they would learn to be respectful .

  53. If I were a tournament official, the punishment I would have chosen wouldn’t be so significant. I wouldn’t disqualify the Virginia team I think I would just make the team apologize to the other and make a promise never to do it again.

  54. I would have made the person who posted the photo and the person who gave them the idea to post the photo sit out of a few games and apologize. If they would do it again they should get kicked off the team and not be allowed to play the sport until they learn what they did was wrong. I would do this because it’s not fair if the whole team gets punished when only a few people had the idea to do this and only one person uploaded it so it’s more fair.

  55. If I was the tournament official, I would’ve done what the officials have done to disqualify the team from the tournament and banned the team for a certain period of time.

  56. I would have done the same thing.If those girls were really serious about the game than they should’ve known better than to post that. The Washington girls probably felt hurt and less confident. I think the punishment does fit the crime. It was one girls post but the whole team was in the photo.

  57. Although they’re young and only 13-15 I think it was only fair that the girls didn’t get to play bc it violated the standard rules. Everyone talks about how a famous athlete made a mistake and posted something wrongful but many like these girls didn’t learn from that, and just like the pros the girls got the same punishment.

  58. If I were a tournament official, I would not let the player who posted the picture play in the championships. I wouldn’t disqualify the whole team, but the girls who participated in the unsportsmanlike act will have to personally apologize to the other team.

  59. If it were up to me I would have disqualified the girls involved with the post. And would have had the entire team apologize to the Washington team. This way the team learns a lesson but only the girls who did something wrong get punished. The guild lines were broke by the girls who did not follow “no unsportsmanlike conduct” not the whole team therefore not everyone should face the consequences.

  60. If I were a tournament official, I definitely would have disqualified the team from the tournament. Many people probably defended the team because the post was a simple “mistake” but because they were punished, they’ll never do anything like that ever again.

  61. If I was one of the tournament officials I would Have simply Made them apologize and Delete the post with a Warning ⚠️ And I say That the punishment is not much because they are still young woman That Make mistakes at time and It’s okay as long as it doesn’t happen again.

  62. If I were a tournament official, I would not go as far as to disqualifying the Virginia team because I think that’s a little too much to do to teenagers who are learning, but I would give them another punishment that’s off the softball field that would give them a good enough lesson as to why never to do that.

  63. If I were a tournament official I would not let the girl who posted the picture play but I would let the other girls play because the girl who posted the pic shouldnt have posted the picture in the first place and the team might have not known she would post the picture.

  64. If I were the coach, I would have punished the girl by disqualifying her and the kids that participated beacause the girls violated the rules and were aware of it. I’d do this even if it meant that they didn’t have enough players to compete.

  65. If I were the tournament official I wouldn’t let the whole team pay for one persons mistake. I would punish that one player or the players who were in the picture. The players who weren’t involved in the photo shouldn’t be punished but from that experience they learned a lesson from it.

  66. I believe that the girls were wrong and should have been punished but the punishment given was unfair. I believe that a more suitable punishment would be probation for the next season rather than disqualification from a game that was worked hard to reach and was well deserved. Whilst the fault mainly belonged to the girl who posted the picture, the other girls took the position and allowed the photo to be taken so it is their responsibility as well. With a show of bad sportsmanship there are not many suitable punishments, and it is a very fine line between acceptable and way too harsh. I believe that the students should have received punishment but not as harsh as this one was.

  67. If I were the tournament official, I probably wouldn’t disqualify them because that’s kinda messed up. Now I would give them a slight disadvantage. The disadvantage would just be something that makes them work harder to basically get back to “normal.”

  68. I would have punished the girls who were in the picture / who took the picture, they knew what was going on, by making them sit out of the game. Not make the whole team be punished.

  69. I think disqualifying them was a little over the top, but they definitely won’t be doing it again. I would’ve just had them apologize and then maybe do some community service or something.

  70. I would talk to them and tell them why its not nice to do that. I would talk to the coach to have a nice big talk with the team about good sportsman ship.

  71. The girls singed up for the league and one girl should not be punished because they are a team and they all flipped them off so I would have done the same thing with the official.

  72. I would have suspended the team from the tournament because that doesn’t look professional and they are creating a bad influence for other teams.

  73. I would disqualify them. They are young girls who made a bad decision and need to learn from it. If they wouldn’t have been disqualified they wouldn’t have learned that what they did is wrong. These girls and many other athletes learned a lesson that its more about winning its also about having good sportsmanship. They should’ve kept it private and not posted it; there are consequences to your actions, it best they learn that now.

  74. I think if I was a leader I wouldn’t disqualify them, I think I would talk with other officials and there coaches to see what punishment to give and probably at most just fine then for their actions because they already apologize for it

  75. I don’t think I would of disqualified the whole team because the girls did apologize already. But I would get with other officials and punish them another way probably from not playing at another tournament or game. Because this was very unsportsmanlike conduct and can not be tolerated no matter what sport it is.

  76. I would make them apologize to the other team for flipping them off and tell them to take the picture offline, i wont disqualify them because its not like if they harmed them by doing that.

  77. I would have done the same punishment for those girls. I myself have screwed up with social media and now I know it is no joke. Social media does get kids / people in trouble. It makes kids’s Heads swell. So I myself would have suspended disqualified them from the championship because that VERY VERY poor sportmanship.

  78. What they did was disrespectful. You can’t bash another team, that shows bad sportsmanship. They made a bad mistake and need some sort of punishment. I honestly don’t know if I would have punished the whole team or just the girl who posted. But, either way, what the girls in the photo did was wrong. I guess now they know what not to do later on in life.

  79. I feel that this has a lot to do with their bad sportsmanship, and these girls paid the price for that. Although some may feel that it’s an unfair punishment this will show the girls to be cautious on what to post, and how their attitude can affect their life in a positive and negative way.

  80. I think that it’s just a finger, and plus they apologized. They knew what they did was wrong, and further punishment is not really needed. I think that the parents should be the ones to discipline their own children. It also wasn’t directed to Washington, they were just trying to make a point and show how tough they are.