Why We Need To Fight This Good Fight
Why does OSIP have to exist? What happens if we don’t fight this good fight?
First, our kids stop playing sports and stop competing. Not only does it contribute to our childhood obesity crisis, but it prevents them from learning valuable life lessons.
Second, the exponential loss of sports officials in all sports globally is expedited. We’re not that far off from a time when we will not have officials for our sports.
Third, the teachers earning a stipend and the parents who volunteer stop coaching, opening the door for the wrong adults to enter the lives of our youth. And what happens if a vacancy in those roles allows a predator to get close to our kids?
Fourth, our media members continue to spew false information that furthers divisive narratives that promote conflict. Watch any live sporting event on television and you’ll hear a color commentator not knowing the rules of a game and bash an official when it was the correct call or the correct application of a rule.
No matter how you slice it, it’s time we renewed the standard of sportsmanship. This isn’t a political issue. This isn’t a woke issue. It’s an issue about human beings and common decency.
Ghandi said, “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
That’s why OSIP exists, and that’s why OSIP will continue to succeed in its mission to help those victims of senseless sports-related tragedies while also attempting to prevent the next one from occurring.
"It’s very difficult to measure our success. How do you measure tragedies prevented? How do you cut through the legal red tape when these assault victims are embroiled in lawsuits over their tragedies, preventing you from helping? Sometimes, all you can do is pray that your allies are empowered by your message and that those who need this message the most see others leading by example and begin to think about the individual choice to change their ways."
-Founder Jack Furlong
First, our kids stop playing sports and stop competing. Not only does it contribute to our childhood obesity crisis, but it prevents them from learning valuable life lessons.
Second, the exponential loss of sports officials in all sports globally is expedited. We’re not that far off from a time when we will not have officials for our sports.
Third, the teachers earning a stipend and the parents who volunteer stop coaching, opening the door for the wrong adults to enter the lives of our youth. And what happens if a vacancy in those roles allows a predator to get close to our kids?
Fourth, our media members continue to spew false information that furthers divisive narratives that promote conflict. Watch any live sporting event on television and you’ll hear a color commentator not knowing the rules of a game and bash an official when it was the correct call or the correct application of a rule.
No matter how you slice it, it’s time we renewed the standard of sportsmanship. This isn’t a political issue. This isn’t a woke issue. It’s an issue about human beings and common decency.
Ghandi said, “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”
That’s why OSIP exists, and that’s why OSIP will continue to succeed in its mission to help those victims of senseless sports-related tragedies while also attempting to prevent the next one from occurring.
"It’s very difficult to measure our success. How do you measure tragedies prevented? How do you cut through the legal red tape when these assault victims are embroiled in lawsuits over their tragedies, preventing you from helping? Sometimes, all you can do is pray that your allies are empowered by your message and that those who need this message the most see others leading by example and begin to think about the individual choice to change their ways."
-Founder Jack Furlong