In conjunction with its state basketball championships, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association presents sportsmanship awards to schools based on the conduct of players, coaches, cheerleaders and spectators at the semifinals and championship games.

Based on what I and some of my colleagues witnessed this past weekend, particularly at the girls championships at UMBC, the committee likely had a hard time finding enough examples of solid decorum to make a determination.

It was, frankly, depressing to see and hear the kinds of vitriol and invective that was hurled on opposing players and officials during the games. A pair of my colleagues, who attended the Mount Hebron-Winters Mill 2A girls semifinal last Wednesday as spectators, report that many of the Mount Hebron spectators, especially the student section behind their basket, were particularly rude to Winters Mill players, booing them and singling out players for special abuse. That continued Saturday night in the final against Poly, only slightly ameliorated by the Hebron fans giving the Poly players a standing ovation as they received their runner-up trophies, but by then the damage had been done.

Topping that, however, was the air of nastiness that permeated the 3A girls final Saturday night between Atholton and Paint Branch. The two student sections, thankfully positioned at opposite ends of the RAC Arena, went back and forth at each other, apparently trying to see who could be more creatively obnoxious. It was as if they had taken notes from watching Maryland and Duke men's basketball games and taken the worst of both.

Even worse was the appalling conduct of parents and adults from both schools. While I more clearly heard the leather-lungs for Atholton who sat behind press row, the folks across the way representing Paint Branch were no less over the top, criticizing every perceived wrong call from both the officials and, at times, the coaches, who, frankly, must be saints to put up with that nonsense from their alleged fan base.

Here's hoping that before next basketball season, school officials take a moment to remind kids and their parents that while cheering and supporting your team is great, denigrating your school's reputation in the process is a lot less so.