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Kentucky's athletic sanctioning body has ordered high schools schools to not engage in a postgame handshake due to the rising number of altercations. There have been more than two dozen in the past three years.
Exterminating the postgame handshake, a tradition where two teams pay respect to one another, seems a bit extreme. Rather than trying to fix the problem, Kentucky's athletic directors have eliminated the problem. The directors have allowed a handful of kids to ruin a ritual that is practiced worldwide. They are setting a poor example.
An alternative route would have been the use of steep suspensions. They should make the athletes who engage in the altercations sit out for two or more games. This would extend the tradition's life as well as reduced the number of altercations.
The directors' hastiness to eliminate the problem has dismissed centuries of sportsmanship; this is not acceptable.
Braxten Ramirez
West Jordan