The following is an excerpt from Tom Garret's Nov. 3, 2005 report on richmond.com.
But here's the point I want
to make. I heard about the non-handshake incident involving Deep Creek and
Oscar Smith. I know the details, including the ones not mentioned in the local
print media. And it makes me sad to think that a coach had to write a letter of
apology to the public for putting his team's safety first.
I say that as someone who played on a team recognized for sportsmanship by the
Central Virginia officials' organization. Yet, we, too, had a game or two in
four years in which we didn't shake hands. Not because of poor sportsmanship
but, in our case, because we didn't want to tempt fate by having a forced
meeting with a team that had already shown they had no compunction about trying
to start on-field fights. So, we simply got on the bus and went home, satisfied
that a lopsided win was enough. It really wasn't any sign of disrespect, nor was
it in any way poor sportsmanship.
The fact is, the handshake is an empty ritual instituted (more recently than you
might think) to make certain people who never even played the game feel better
about themselves. It's as if the filth of personal fouls, trash talk, taunting,
and end zone celebrations can be washed away by this one nearly-meaningless
ritual.
It's sad to me that one coach felt compelled to write a letter to the newspaper
over something that is entirely defensible. It's tragic that the proffered
reason for another coach's firing was refusal to shake hands after the game (and
if you believe that one, might I interest you in some prime, uh, waterfront
property in New Orleans?).
Merely shaking hands after a game doesn't turn trash-talking thugs into
gentlemen, nor does a reasonable refusal to do so turn a clean program into a
dirty one.
See you next week!
Click here for Garret's complete report of Nov. 3, 2005.