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Although many sports fans believe that expletive use is a typical part of coaching, there is a dearth of research on the perceptions of such behavior. As such, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that expletive use by coaches is more accepted when it is directed at a male team than when it is directed at a female team. As part of a 2 (Expletive Use: Present or Absent) x 2 (Team Gender: Female or Male) between-subjects design, 60 participants (30 women, 30 men) read and gave reactions to a fictitious speech ostensibly given by a male basketball coach to his team. Consistent with predictions, participants rated the speech to be less effective when it contained expletives than when it did not. Furthermore, when the speech was directed at a female team, male participants considered it even less effective if it contained expletives than if it did not. By contrast, when the speech was directed at a male team, male participants rated the speech to be equally effective, regardless of whether or not it contained expletives. Female participants did not exhibit this effect. The present study suggests that expletive use in coaching may be an ineffective strategy, and reveals that males and females have different expectations and opinions of expletive use in coaching. Thus, coaches should be aware of the possible negative ramifications of their use of profanity, particularly with female athletes.
In February of 2009, Oklahoma State University's men's basketball coach Travis Ford was caught by a live television feed screaming expletives at one of his players (Associated Press, 2009). The media was flooded with coverage of the incident and incited public outcry about Ford's behavior. In fact, both the OSU athletic director and the head of the Big-12 athletic conference went on record as disapproving of Ford's behavior. Nevertheless, no action was taken against Ford because, as the Associated Press (2009) acknowledged, Ford is not the only coach to use such language, but was merely one of the unlucky ones to be caught doing so. Replying to the news story online, many sports fans, players, and coaches commented that profanity use by a coach is a "normal [behavior] in competitive sports" and that Ford was simply "doing what works."