Rose Law Group Reporter Gripe of the Week
This is about rules, written and unwritten.
The scene is a courtroom, where a jury just handed its verdict to the judge.
“Not guilty!”
The defense attorney throws his papers into the air, jumps onto the table, points to the sky as though sending a message to all his dead realtives, his arms are akimbo as he shouts, “Yes, yes, yes.”
Written rules of decorum shattered.
Meanwhile, sports talk radio has been aflame this week with debate over decorum — excessive celebration — in baseball.
The scene: L.A. Dodger Yasiel Puig twirls his bat and tosses it at home plate in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, raising his arms and celebrating a long drive he thought was a home run. Realizing the ball didn’t clear the wall, he bursts into a dead sprint and legs out a standup triple, celebrating further by raising both arms. Dodger Stadium falls into delirium.
“Puig was castigated as a showboating dolt, too young, green and stupid to understand baseball protocol,” wrote sports columnist Mike Wise.
Baseball is chock full of so-called “unwritten rules.” When it comes to behavior, two are in conflict.
Don’t show up your opponent with exorbitant celebration. But purposefully trying to hurt another player who celebrates in such a way is viewed as a necessary part of the game because it teaches players to “respect” their opponent.
This week’s gripe is really not about whether players who “hot dog” it on the diamond should be part of baseball, rather should hypocrisy be part of the Grand Old Game’s unwritten rules?
