Since announcing its proposal to control student-section chants including “Air ball,” “We can’t hear you,” “There’s a net there,” “Fundamentals,” “Sieve,” “You can’t do that,” “Scoreboard” and  “Season’s over,” the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) has faced national criticism. 

On Dec. 22, in an email to WIAA member schools, Todd Clark, WIAA communications director, said, “Not wanting to restrict creativity or enjoyment, an enthusiastic and boisterous display of support for a school’s team is welcomed and encouraged at interscholastic events when directed in a positive manner. However, any action directed at opposing teams or their spectators with the intent to taunt, disrespect, distract or entice an unsporting behavior in a response is not acceptable sportsmanship. Student groups, school administrators and event managers should take immediate steps to correct this unsporting behavior.”

Although the WIAA and high schools are unsure on how to enforce this or discipline students who do not abide, many are still upset. High school athletes, post-high school athletes, famous athletes and even parents have voiced their unhappiness. Social media has blown up in response, with individuals voicing their opinions on Twitter, Facebook, etc. with comments towards the WIAA’s proposed changes.

Hilbert girls basketball player April Gehl was one of the many who tweeted about the changes. Directly tweeting “Eat sh*t” towards the WIAA, Stan Diedrich, Hilbert athletic director, told her that she would be suspended for five of her games. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, when Gehl’s tweet was brought to the WIAA’s attention, the WIAA informed Hilbert High School via email. Gehl told the Post Crescent: “I couldn’t believe it. I was like ‘Really?’ For tweeting my opinion? I thought it was ridiculous.” Although Gehl was punished for her tweet, it still remains on her account, and she has no intention of deleting it.

At Homestead, kids have voiced their own opinions, and they seem to be on the same page as Gehl. Mike Bruner, sophomore, posted a screenshot of the new rules on Facebook with the comment “Make sure to use each one of these chants.” Being a varsity football player for Homestead, he believes chant-restrictions would cause less people to come to the games. Many students agreed with him, as he implied that the rules were unreasonable. “I think it’s unfair because chanting stuff like what the WIAA banned is part of the reason people go to the basketball and football games. People come to have fun and chant things at the other team, so by banning certain chants less people are going to go to the game,” Bruner said.

Members of Homestead’s student section were upset as well. “I haven’t missed one football game so far; the most exciting part is being able to cheer whatever we want,” Hannah Speich, sophomore, said. “Using the terms that are not considered respectful today have been used for years. It’s part of the game; sports are intended to be competitive.” 

In response to the bold reaction on social media, the WIAA released several tweets to control the unhappiness. At 8:19 a.m., the WIAA tweeted: “To be clear… there has been NO new directives, NO new rules, NO new mandates, NO new enforcement expectations.” Then, at 9 a.m., the WIAA released an email apparently sent to WIAA members, which stated:

“Please let me begin by offering a sincere apology for any distress or dissatisfaction which may have come your way as a result of a sportsmanship email from Todd Clark dated Dec. 22, 2015. The intentions of that email have become much scrutinized and misunderstood… We know that the challenges of keeping interscholastic athletics a fun, safe and educational experience for our athletes, students and fans are never ending. We see and respect the everyday efforts of individual members and conferences in striving to create the positive environment you are proud of–and we appreciate those efforts. Carry on! Please keep up the great work, just as you have been doing.”