FROM ONE-WALL COMMISSIONER HOWIE EISENBERG
Good refereeing can lead to good
sportsmanship
T
he 51 st USHA National One-Wall and
Fourth National
Big Ball
Championships are now history. The
men, women, and juniors who competed
have distinguished themselves with their
exploits. Many players have not only
demonstrated superior athletic ability and
skills but they have shown themselves to
be true sportsmen while striving as mightily
as they could to win.
With
cheating
in
sports
commonplace, Michael Josephson of the
Josephson Institute of Ethics observes,
"There is reason to worry that the sports
arenas ofAmerica are becoming the training
grounds for the next generation of
corporate and political villains and
thieves."
Handball, however, frequently
stands out as a shining counter example.
As opposed to every player on the
basketball court pointing his team's way
on every ball out of bounds, it is routine
for most handball players to call wrist balls,
or two bounces against themselves, no
matter how crucial the point. It is the
epitome of the ideal that sports build
character, and that character pays
dividends in many ways as we travel life's
pathways. Character derived from
performing under pressure puts us in good
stead at critical moments. Character helps
us to avoid the temptations of the easy,
but unethical way out, that frequently
backfires. Character engenders respect from
our peers, friends, and loved ones.
Unfortunately, this laudable level of
sportsmanship is not practiced by all
handball players. While a minority, there
are some who allow their competitive zeal
to overcome any sense of decency and fair
play. Whether it is haranguing an official,
screaming out calls, or intentionally
impeding an opponent's shot, these
players demean themselves and the game
with their abhorrent behavior. More
prevalent in certain forms of the game, this
type of behavior is by no means confined
to one-wall or particular ethnic or socioeconomic or age groups.
28 NOVEMBER 2011
One only need read the Handball
Magazine descriptions of three- and fourwall matches in which numerous avoidable
hinders were called to dispel that
misconception. While committing an
avoidable does not necessarily connote
intent, frequently there is the intention of
impeding an opponent's shot. When this
number of avoidables are called, there is
reason to believe that the perpetrators if
not intentionally taking advantage are
certainly not doing all they could to provide
free swings and unobstructed paths of the
ball.
As with much aberrant behavior,
consideration of the environment and
prevailing conditions in which the
individual developed provides insight but
not justification of unacceptable actions.
This is especially noteworthy in the context
of the long precedents of 1-wall players
doing almost anything to win, and in the
context of an all too prevalent attitude in
many sports today.
In the Depression and postDepression era of the 1930s and '40s when
1-wall handball was the most participated
in sport in the NYC metropolitan area,
games were played with fierce intensity,
frequently for money. The few cents or
dollars to be won or lost often meant the
difference between eating steak or pasta
or not eating at all that night. Winning was
everything. Each player had his own code
of ethics or lack thereof. Not only did no
one call anything against themselves, but
all sorts of cheating and coercion of
referees was rampant. This ethos carried
into the '50s when I started playing
competitively and continued unabated for
decades. I profess to be no holier than thou
in this regard and was probably worse than
most until later in my career.
Similarly,
players
whose
introductions to the game were by
observation of others screaming, cursing,
wetting the ball, and cheating in every way
imaginable can be expected to emulate their
"role models." When this behavior is
exhibited by some of the best players it is
Level 5 Referee; Vince San Angelo.
even more likely that others will follow suit.
Compounding the problem is that
there are too few really competent referees
who have both the knowledge and
intestinal fortitude to assert the rules that
can preclude such play. Whatever one's
background, if he loses a point because a
technical is called, or is called out on an
avoidable hinder, or has a match forfeited
because of unsportsmanlike conduct, he
will get the message and clean up his act.
All of these remedies are available to a ref
and beyond that the ultimate penalty of
suspension can be invoked by the USHA
Infractions Committee. However, as alluded
to earlier, the refs have to use their authority
appropriately to maintain order.
Again noting stories reported in
Handball, specifically Level 5 Referee Vinee
San Angelo is to be congratulated for
having the courage to make the calls as
reported in the magazine. With more
officiating of that nature, abuses that
detract from the sport will be minimized and
good sportsmanship will prevail.