What are coaches allowed to say to players?

I would think that that's where the common line (to not cross) lies. I don't cuss at all, but I understand that it's going to happen with some coaches. I would prefer that the coach not cuss but I don't see it as a reason to not have my kid play for him. But personal attacks are crossing that line.

 

What are the other professors and administrators allowed to say to them?

 

I think most of this crap like today with the Rutgers coach, or against Mike Leach when he was at Tech, is made by a bunch of kids who should be the poster children for the wussification of America. I was once hit in the face with a thrown basketball by a jr high basketball coach. It pissed me off. He thought I was dog-assing a drill. I didn't agree, but I never thought about bringing suit. Nowadays, I'd be the exception.

 

Not sure about anybody else, but I don't want my son (or daughter) playing for a coach who screams and curses You know why? Because if my son or daughter tries that in the non-sports workplace after graduation their ass is going to be fired. Quick.

So if my son is playing like a pussy, I want the coach to look him in the eye and say in a calm, rational voice:

"Smith, you are playing soft. That ain't gonna cut it, son. Soft doesn't win us championships. And soft doesn't get you to the NBA. So let's see a little more intensity, OK?"

 

Kids fear nothing anymore.

 

So the consensus here is that if you can't take being sworn at, maybe competitive sports aren't for you?

 

Hey, it's a chocolate and vanilla world. Find a coach who coaches like that if you'd like. Me? I wouldn't have minded Bobby Knight or, shall we say on the basis of what's been said about him here, Coach K?

 

Or, if you can't convey your point without screaming, swearing and random acts of corporal punishment, maybe you shouldn't be a coach.

Assuming we're talking about college or high school, why should coaches be allowed to treat students in a way that no teacher ever would be?

 

I get a sense that with Coach K, the swearing is done to overcompensate for that prissy demeanor of his.

 

I think it's because it's a different environment, where things have to be done and have to be done quickly. In some cases, swearing is an acceptable way to communicate urgency.
Coaching is basically all about getting people to do things that they wouldn't do if somebody else were not making them do it. Most people are not going to work as hard as they need to in order to be successful in college or high school sports without someone holding their feet to the fire. If a coach is like Mr. Rogers, he's going to fail miserably.
The way Bobby Knight treated his players is not the way I'd like to be treated, but it works.

 

If we're talking major Division I sports? Probably not...

 

John Wooden rejects your premise. As do many other coaches.

And "getting people to do things they wouldn't do" without being made to describes every classroom in the history of history.

Again, if the fiction we all want to cling to is "student-athletes" under the supervision of character-building "educators," we need to hold coaches to the same standard as teachers.