I hate trash talk. Athletics is supposed to teach lessons in life to make players better people as they go forward into society. Teamwork, sacrifice, preparation and sportsmanship were all valuable lessons. Sportsmanship - not so much anymore.
I am reminded of speech given by John Loeb, one of the old Wall Street barons, at at his 75th birthday party thrown by his partners at Loeb Rhoades & Co (at the time the 5th largest firm by capital on Wall Street). He said (paraphrasing here), "I was always proud that the firm stood for excellence with elegance - not I guess we will have to settle for excellence." That is how I feel about the lack of sportsmanship. Every time I see a kid trash talking , I wonder how that will help make him a better person better prepared for life. With the lessons these kids are getting, it is no wonder the vast majority of them get washed out so early in life. It is just so sad as so many of them are really great kids and they just need the adults to set better examples and to teach them the virtues of sportsmanship.
I'll get down from the soap box now.