SAN ANTONIO — In sports, there aren’t a lot of athletes hugging and comforting their opponents after a win.
- Good sportsmanship largely depends on gender
- Bottom line is respect your opponent
But just a couple of days ago at the U.S. Open, that's exactly what Japan's Naomi Osaka did for 15-year-old American Coco Gauff, and hearts around the world melted. It’s no debate that Osaka showed good sportsmanship to her friend and opponent. But what qualifies as “good sportsmanship” largely depends on gender.
In talking to players on the Steele Knights girls’ basketball team, it’s clear that much more is expected of female athletes than male athletes.
“Go after it on the court, and then after the game we can be friends but not on the court because it’s like dog-eat-dog mentality,” said Aja Holmes, a senior Knights shooting guard and Texas Christian University commit.
Basketball is a tough sport and for female athletes there’s an added element: Don’t look too mean or too competitive.
"If you like pound your chest or something, it's not lady-like. And then we have this thing, like men they can do whatever they want. They can like throw stuff in the stands and stuff and they're like 'oh he's just competitive,' and then for girls, 'that's not lady-like,' so I think that should change,” Holmes said.
The 6A Steele Knights girls’ basketball team consists of a roster full of DI recruits, and the girls know that getting lost in the heat of the moment could come with big repercussions if a college scout sees.
“It’s just a lot that comes, facial expressions, if you yell at another teammate, yell at the ref, you can get bashed for that and it just doesn’t look good,” said Maya Johnson, sophomore Knights point guard.
The girls say when they first started playing as kids, the focus was always on having fun rather than on winning.
“When I was younger, I was always taught to high five everybody,” said Bria McClure, junior Knights point guard.
But now, they have to practice serious self-control when straddling the fine line between competition and good sportsmanship.
“If you get a foul, it’s not like the ref can take it back and say ‘oh it’s not a foul,’ so I mean, you just have to work on moving on in the moment because everyone has emotions,” McClure said.
Always respect your opponent, and leave it all on the court.
“From baseline to baseline, that’s it,” McClure said.