Do you play or watch sports? If so, is trash talk ever a part of those games or matches? Do you think taunting, jeering and disparaging your opponents makes sports more fun? Or is it just bad sportsmanship?
In his guest essay, “Hey, Losers! Here’s How to Bring Baseball’s Very Boring Era to an End,” Rafi Kohan makes an argument for bringing trash talk, or “bench jockeying” as it was once known, back to baseball:
Bench jockeying took many forms. Satchel Paige, the legendary pitcher, would do his talking from the mound. Paige named his pitches — the bat dodger, the trouble ball, the midnight creeper — and psyched out hitters by telling them exactly which one he planned to throw or by calling in his fielders, confident in his ability to strike out the side. “I’m gonna throw a pea at yo’ knee,” he’d yell toward the batter’s box. Meanwhile, as a manager, John McGraw, who was said to have “a genius for making enemies,” would go so far as to hire private detectives to dig up dirt on opponents, which served as distracting grist to be bellowed at critical moments in a game.
At the most basic level, talking trash raises the stakes of a competitive confrontation. It puts more on the line — like pride and possible humiliation — and that makes the outcome of the contest matter more than it otherwise would. It puts more pressure on the performances of all involved, both the talker and the target, and demands to know whether they can handle that added stress and expectation.
It’s not just athletes who become more invested by such bluster and abuse, though. We all do. That’s why trash talk is such a reliable tool for marketers in the sports world and beyond. When professional wrestlers cut smack-talking promos on one another, that makes fans care more about the outcome of the match and draws them into the arena. Trash talk is the secret sauce behind the viral success of Wendy’s social-media accounts, and it’s the foundation for basically all reality television and talking-heads debate shows. It gets us to tune in, to not click away.
In baseball, bench jockeying started to fade from the picture sometime in the mid-20th century. Among other factors, the advent of a players’ union and free agency cultivated a feeling of more fraternity among those in uniform. Athletes also imagined themselves as having more to lose as game checks ballooned in size: No one wanted a retaliatory fastball aimed at his head. (Throughout the bench-jockeying era, violence was not uncommon as a response to verbal abuse.) But without trash talk, baseball has lost more than the occasional dugout brawl and well-timed zinger; it’s lost some of its drama.
Students, read the entire essay and then tell us:
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What do you think? Does trash talk make sports more entertaining — for players and for fans? Or is it bad sportsmanship? Explain.
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Do you ever engage in trash talk in the sports you play? Do your teammates? Your opponents? Your parents or coaches? If so, how do you feel about it? Do you accept it as part of the game? Do you enjoy it and find it motivating? Or do you wish it would stop?
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Can trash talk go too far? When, if ever, do you think it crosses a line?
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Mr. Kohan makes a case for allowing trash talk in professional sports. Should youth sports also permit a little taunting and jeering? Or is it different for young players? Why?
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If you’re not an athlete or a sports fan, is trash talk a part of any other area of your life, like when you’re playing video games or are involved in some other kind of rivalry? Does this kind of taunting create more fun in your life? Or do you find it annoying — even hurtful sometimes?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
Natalie Proulx
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