From afar: Several tiers of sport under scrutiny over behaviour

Is the behaviour around sport disintegrating? The actions of a youngster in rugby and coaches in different sports would suggest it has.

An 11-year-old boy tackled and punched a referee, causing public shock and furore in the media, with the young player's future in rugby and potentially society at stake.

The consequences reach beyond just rugby, and his actions could stigmatise him for the rest of his life as someone who cannot control his emotions or respect authority. But this kind of behaviour cannot be blamed on the young generation or one particular person.

Coach Greg Smith has been banned by the Waikato Rugby Union for 14 weeks due to allegedly abusing officials during a club game and subsequently has lost his spot on a trip to Canada as coach of the New Zealand women's rugby team.

While his seat is taken by former Highlanders coach Glenn Moore, Smith is lying low and appealing his ban, and the Black Ferns are trying to recover from the shock and controversy to focus on their looming tour.

Is bad behaviour limited to rugby union? No.

The coach of the Chinese women's football team was sent to the stands during the dying moments of the game against the Football Ferns at the Fifa Women's World Cup game for interfering with a quick throw-in.

There have been many stories in the media about spectators and parents behaving badly on the sporting sidelines up and down our country.

Some sports, more than others, seem to condone aggressive and intimidating behaviour from coaches and managers on the sideline - particularly in professional sports such as basketball, baseball, American football, ice hockey and football.

Spectators don't escape the ''morality'' measure, either, with fights and hooliganism still prevalent, and athletes from traditionally genteel and civilised beginnings such as cricket and tennis sledge on and off the court or pitch to get an edge whenever they can.

Does behaviour improve the further away from the physical action you get? No.

The corruption allegations at Fifa and the wheeling and dealing that goes on in boardrooms when international sporting events are up for grabs suggest that not even sport administrators can take the moral high ground.

Has sport gone feral? Have we lost our moral compass or has it always been awry? Is it a matter of bad behaviour escalating in sport or our focus on it magnifying?Society in general seems to be getting more accepting of marginal behaviour despite stricter controls and more devastating consequences.

The collatoral damage of the three scenarios above is disconcerting for me.

The Black Ferns must put this all behind them and focus on their looming games. It is tough enough for women's sport to get good publicity so they've already started on the back foot. Hopefully they can use this as motivation to perform well on the field.

The 11-year-old boy, his family and team, and the referee he assaulted will also need to recover from what surely has been a traumatic experience for all.

The Football Ferns will be gutted that, despite playing valiantly, they have come away without enough points to progress in the tournament.

Are harsher punishmentsand penalties the way to change behaviour?Most people would suggest the 11-year-old rugby player should get a second chance. His age, and the influence of others and the circumstances surrounding this incident, should be considered. He has youth and malleability on his side.

The older and wiser players, coaches, managers, spectators and administrators, however, should be wiser.

Smith must be devastated that he has had to step down as coach of the Black Ferns for their Canadian tour, but I bet the coach of China's football team doesn't have any remorse for his unsportsmanlike behaviour. The outcome (a draw) helped his team, so he will feel his actions were justified.

There is no clear solution to bad behaviour in and around sport and perhaps this is why sport provides a clear window into the soul of a society.

What behaviour are we as New Zealanders willing to condone and to condemn? How we react to these incidents will give an indication of where our moral compass is as a nation. Are we forgivers, forgetters or finers? Hopefully, the evidence is heard in full, the processes are sound, and the future of all those concerned is considered.

We all play a part in redirecting sport behaviour as social or competitive athletes, on the sidelines, as volunteers, and as citizens to re-navigate our sideline and boardroom behaviour to better reflect what matters to us.

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