High school sporting events are all about competition between the teams, but it seems that some adults are increasingly becoming an unnecessary part of the competition, and the student athletes are being caught in the middle.

A prime example comes from a local soccer match held in Perry County last week. From all reports, the game was continuing on its normal course until one parent decided that degrading an athlete on the field from the stands with foul language was the thing to do. From there a fight broke out between students with some parents also taking to the field.

This a completely unacceptable turn of events at a sporting event aimed at allowing mostly juvenile student athletes to compete on the field.

As adults, and more importantly as parents, we have a responsibility to our children to set an example. Sports should be about civil competition between athletes on the field, not verbal confrontation from parents on the sidelines. There is simply no excuse for what happened last week.

When the Hazard Independent Board of Education voted to cease scheduling games between their own teams and those with the county schools last year, many thought this action an instance of over reacting. But it is becoming more clear, as much as we would like to belive the opposite, that some adults are not going to allow for civil competition, and as expected the kids are inevitably going to follow suit. And in as much, as long as these adults fail to see the example they are setting, the action taken by the city board was unfortunately the right thing to do.

So what is next? Certainly something is going to have to change. Due to the over enthusiasm of some, one of the greatest rivalries in high school sports in Kentucky is currently on hold. Authorities are having to take away time from their normal patrols to, in effect, baby sit adults at a high school sporting event. And the kids (and we emphasize that word: “kids”) are being punished from playing because a select few grown-ups are continuing to act more like children then their children are. It’s time to grow up.

If the adults can’t set the bar higher than the children, then surely we have no hope for our future. We all need to settle down, take a breath, and start from scratch.