Parenting Your Child Through Sports

If you have followed the NBA playoffs this year, then you certainly have heard about the unordinary ordeal that took place in the Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers series. This past week Lebron James was fouled extra hard by Paul Pierce when driving to the basket. That wasn’t the big story though. The big story came when the mother of Lebron James walked on the court, defending her talented superstar of a son. As Mrs. James yelled at the ref in defense, Lebron approached her and cussed at her telling her to sit down. Fortunately, Lebron was held back by opposing superstar Kevin Garnett of the Celtics.

Sports have a way of bringing about interesting scenarios, with this being one of the most intriguing that I have yet to hear. Though Mrs. James was just supporting Lebron, it forces me to consider, “What is the role of the parent in sports?”

I believe the answer is fairly simple. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says, “And these words which I commanded you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.”
Oh, by the way, these same commands should be in your car rides to and from games. They should be demonstrated through the way you cheer at the games, the way you interact with officials and other fans. These commands deal directly to the time that your kids spend doing sports. Teach them in the midst of all this. Let sports be the greatest learning opportunity that your child has. Teach them to “Do Sports God’s Way.”

Should Lebron's mother defend her son? Absolutely, there's nothing wrong with that. However, the manner in which she did that was in volation of the rules, using crass language, and certainly not displaying herself in a Christlike way. What would you have done in her situation? Or better yet, what does the Word of God encourage us to do at such a time?

Brian Conklin
Omaha FCA Area Director