Wisconsin bans high school cheers that taunt opposition

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is under social media fire for its sportsmanship guidelines at high school games, advising against chants that many people find harmless. Among the chants that have been heard at recent high school sporting events are: “You can’t do that”, “Fundamentals”, “Air ball”, “There’s a net there”, “Sieve”, “We can’t hear you”, The “scoreboard” cheer, and “Season’s over” during tournament series play.

Her tweet was in response to an email the WIAA sent to school administers to prevent taunting and promote sportsmanship.

Adult behavior at high school sports events needs to be addressed just as much or even more so than high school student sections. I wasn’t real upset with her because there have been a lot more worse things said on Facebook and Twitter to specific people.

“The email that I had sent with the screenshot with that tweet, with the profanity in it, basically I said, for your information, we customarily provide this to our member schools for their awareness”, WIAA Director of Communications Todd Clark said.

“Little kids look up to you and know your name, and when you walk through the halls they see how you act and want to act that way”, Cody said. He and a teammate sent what he calls “angry” tweets to the school’s athletic department Twitter account.

When Ackley received an email from WIAA’s administration last month, he didn’t mind following the instructions. Currently, the committee consists of 11 members, including school administrators, an officials representative, and a member of WACPC (Wisconsin Association of Cheer/Pom Coaches).

Whenever news stories surface about unsportsmanlike conduct among student sections, I immediately think of two incidents that happened to friends of mine.

Bates, meanwhile, thinks the WIAA is getting unnecessary backlash for an email that was meant to promote good sportsmanship. “This is not Division I athletics”. It was the Hilbert schools and athletic director Stan Diedrich who handed out the five-game punishment, in accordance with the school’s Co-Curricular Handbook. “She was saying I don’t like waht they are doing eliminating all the fun in the sport”, said Cullen.

Clark said in an email Friday to Post-Crescent Media that April Gehl’s tweet was brought to the attention of the WIAA.