GAME: Marred by sick incident

I had the opportunity to watch the State Baseball 4A Tournament that was held in Boise last weekend with my three boys. It was a great ball game, with the exception of the outrageous behavior displayed by the Twin Falls High School baseball team. An extremely unprofessional incident occurred during Friday's game, while the Lakeland High team was playing the outfield.

All of the Twin Falls players chose to hold their bats pretending they were rifles and pretending to shoot either the Lakeland pitcher or the ball that was being pitched. On the sidelines, one Twin Falls teammate yelled, "Ready, Aim, Fire." This continued for at least four pitches. Meanwhile, their coach and the umpire simply ignored the whole incident.

I was appalled, and very disappointed that my children had to experience such outrageous and unethical sportsmanship. The behavior of the Twin Falls High School team, and lack of leadership shown by the coach and umpire is embarrassing.

We must remember that as parents, teachers, coaches, etc., it is our job to guide our young athletes in a positive direction instead of letting them lead themselves in such a destructive and shameful way. It is behavior such as this that brings to mind the horrific incident at Columbine. Teaching good sportsmanship, personal values and leadership is our job. Students not complying must be taken very seriously.

I would like to compliment the Lakeland High team and staff for showing such good sportsmanship during the game.

STEVE FLABEL

Boise