Question

[ChelseaMae]

I understand some of these posts where sports can get out of hand, especially how hard some coaches are on little league players. I have always watched sports..my dad and brother watch football and basketball so it was always on. My brother played football, i went to all of his games. Now he is paralyzed and i watch him play wheelchair rugby, which is also used as therapy for him. Is it bad that i watch him play this? as it was bad i watched him play football?

[Earl]

ChelseaMae, thanks for going to the trouble to register in the forum and submit a post here. As a guy whose sister is afflicted with very serious (and expensive) health problems, Iâ??m truly sorry that your brother was paralyzed. This is an absolutely terrible tragedy. I know that words come cheap. As to the questions you posed in your post, of course itâ??s not bad that you watch your brother play wheelchair rugby, anymore than it was bad for you to watch him play football. I donâ??t think anyone here would say otherwise. Iâ??m glad that youâ??re so supportive of your brother. Speaking as the father of two daughters, if I had a teenage son who wanted to play football in high school, I would be supportive of him. My only concern would be that he keep his grades up and not look down on those of his classmates who are not good at sports. This website is not an advocacy group, but is simply a ranting board for people who hold to certain views and want to sound off to others who are likely to give them a sympathetic hearing. Unfortunately, this website (which, admittedly, is not for everyone) is likely to attract hotheads on both sides. Some of us had rather negative experiences in P.E. classes that really did not promote physical fitness for nonathletic kids. Others were bullied because we werenâ??t good at sports. And some simply never had an interest in sports. (Actually, as I was surprised to learn when I discovered this website, people who donâ??t like sports are a rather diverse group.) Most of us here make a distinction between the actual sports themselves (which are, after all, morally neutral) and certain attitudes and actions that are connected with certain sports.

[Ray]

Now he is paralyzed and i watch him play wheelchair rugby, which is also used as therapy for him. Is it bad that i watch him play this? as it was bad i watched him play football?

Of course it's not bad to watch your brother play ball. It's being supportive and caring.

As for watching people you don't KNOW play sports... umm.. I don't go for that personally.

[Lewis]

You care about your brother, and want him to feel better, so it is not a bad thing.

[ChelseaMae]

ChelseaMae, thanks for going to the trouble to register in the forum and submit a post here. As a guy whose sister is afflicted with very serious (and expensive) health problems, Iâ??m truly sorry that your brother was paralyzed. This is an absolutely terrible tragedy. I know that words come cheap. As to the questions you posed in your post, of course itâ??s not bad that you watch your brother play wheelchair rugby, anymore than it was bad for you to watch him play football. I donâ??t think anyone here would say otherwise. Iâ??m glad that youâ??re so supportive of your brother. Speaking as the father of two daughters, if I had a teenage son who wanted to play football in high school, I would be supportive of him. My only concern would be that he keep his grades up and not look down on those of his classmates who are not good at sports. This website is not an advocacy group, but is simply a ranting board for people who hold to certain views and want to sound off to others who are likely to give them a sympathetic hearing. Unfortunately, this website (which, admittedly, is not for everyone) is likely to attract hotheads on both sides. Some of us had rather negative experiences in P.E. classes that really did not promote physical fitness for nonathletic kids. Others were bullied because we werenâ??t good at sports. And some simply never had an interest in sports. (Actually, as I was surprised to learn when I discovered this website, people who donâ??t like sports are a rather diverse group.) Most of us here make a distinction between the actual sports themselves (which are, after all, morally neutral) and certain attitudes and actions that are connected with certain sports.

I don't play sports personally, because i'm scared thati will mess and get yelled at. because in our society if you play you should do it right. and highschool kids are mean.. i hate most people in my school, especially when they think they are better than you because they play sports like i hate people like that.

[Earl]

Iâ??m sorry to hear that youâ??re having trouble at school. (So did I when I was your age.) Youâ??re not alone, believe me. Just remember that this will pass. Many people agree that high-school social life is shallow. A guy I know who was popular when he was in high school several decades ago recently told me that almost all the guys he hung around with in high school went their own way when they graduated and did not keep in touch with him. Kids get picked on for all sorts of dumb reasons. A friend of mine was bullied simply because his father was the town drunk. When he was in high school, the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was bullied because he wasnâ??t in the â??rightâ? sport. In the meantime, try to find your own circle of friends. Itâ??s better to have a few close friends than it is to have a lot of shallow phonies for friends whom you wonâ??t be able to count on. If you havenâ??t already, try to find some activity other than sports that you can excel in. Some of those who pick on classmates in high school end up feeling remorse after they have graduated and grown up. As my dad used to tell me when I was in junior high and high school, donâ??t let the jerks get you down.

[ChelseaMae]

Iâ??m sorry to hear that youâ??re having trouble at school. (So did I when I was your age.) Youâ??re not alone, believe me. Just remember that this will pass. Many people agree that high-school social life is shallow. A guy I know who was popular when he was in high school several decades ago recently told me that almost all the guys he hung around with in high school went their own way when they graduated and did not keep in touch with him. Kids get picked on for all sorts of dumb reasons. A friend of mine was bullied simply because his father was the town drunk. When he was in high school, the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was bullied because he wasnâ??t in the â??rightâ? sport. In the meantime, try to find your own circle of friends. Itâ??s better to have a few close friends than it is to have a lot of shallow phonies for friends whom you wonâ??t be able to count on. If you havenâ??t already, try to find some activity other than sports that you can excel in. Some of those who pick on classmates in high school end up feeling remorse after they have graduated and grown up. As my dad used to tell me when I was in junior high and high school, donâ??t let the jerks get you down.

Yeah..i'm not really worried about i think i'm going to a tech center for nursing next year anyway.