Stand in the handshake line

Last month following a loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard and Badgers Coach Greg Gard began to argue about a time out that Gard took in the last seconds of their game.

This took place as players and coaches were in the ceremonial post game hand shaking line. Players and coaches from both teams converged to the scene and Howard slapped a Wisconsin assistant making things look really bad.

Howard would be suspended for several games and a couple of players had to sit out a game for taking part in the altercation. Coaches were also fined. Howard would eventually apologize for the incident.

The sporting world debated the necessity of the hand shake line citing instances where players and coaches had just been a part of difficult games and controversial losses and the chance of someone’s anger to flare up was at a peak.

A year ago during the pandemic games, there were no handshake lines as the teams simply waved to the opponent as the teams were leaving the court.

The handshake line was back this year, and of course, there are those times during a big upset that the victors celebrate with each other across the court and may never make it to the line.

Back in the old days when I played, there was no handshake line after the game.

You may have visited with a friend from the other team for a bit, but no line. We used to shake hands with the opponent before the game as we lined up for the jump ball.

The only other time that you would see someone shaking an opponent’s hand was if a player fouled out. As a show or respect and sportsmanship, some players would walk over to the opponent and shake his hand telling him ‘good game’.

Sounds kind of funny now, but there was a great deal of sportsmanship and respect in those handshakes.

I must say that not every person that fouled out received that handshake. And there were a lot more of those handed out during league contests than during district or state competitions.

I’m not sure just when the handshake line came to be, but it is important. I know it isn’t discussed much, but players need to at least acknowledge every player.

I’ve seen on an occasion or two where one of the players refuses to shake another player’s hand totally ignoring them. It’s a game and not life or death.

There are winners and there are losers and a player should always show good sportsmanship.

Handshake lines are different for colleges and high school and lower-grade levels. Once the game is over in college, the head coaches meet around half court followed by the assistants and the players. There are a lot of people in those lines. The majority of them are cordial and usually the head coaches say a few words to each other.

At the high school and below-levels, the teams usually meet by their bench and give a cheer for the opponent and the players go first and the coaches are at the end.

Coaches at this level have a little more time to talk if they want to use it and a lot of that is dependent upon how much they get along personally.

The debate will go on about if the handshake line is needed or not. We have witnessed this part of the game as a ritual as important as the introductions of the teams.

Not everyone is going to be happy with the outcomes of games. We all want to win and be competitive but accepting victory and defeat is also an important aspect of maturity.

Once a team gets in the locker room, the mood can change. But the message should remain the same.

If you lose, you don’t like that feeling, but you should understand what it takes to be victorious. If you win pay respect to your opponent and understand that they are also working hard to be winners.

So get in line and be respectful. Then you truly are a winner.

— Dale Anderson is a Ritzville-based sports columnist. Email him at editor@ritzvillejournal.com.