Fans shouldn't use profanity

Four-letter words have been finding their way into chants yelled at Assembly Hall. These chants are inappropriate, unnecessary and should not come from the mouth of anyone who's proud to be a Hoosier. \nThere is not a "student" section at Assembly Hall. Still, basketball tickets are readily accessible for IU students trying to obtain them, and students are grouped together in random sections throughout the crowd. Students should have the integrity not to chant or yell profanities when they disagree with a referee's judgement or any other time for that matter.\n Alumni attend IU basketball games frequently with small children, wide-eyed at the sea of red and white. It is inappropriate for any child to hear these words yelled by fans purporting to be adults. This poor sportsmanship teaches children language that should not be associated with Hoosiers or "Big Red." \n Fans are very important to a team's performance. In basketball, they are referred to as the sixth man; cheering of a crowd can make a difference in any sport. Teams traditionally have better records at home, and without supporting fans, the "home-court" advantage would not be so extreme. \nTwenty-two out of 29 teams in the NBA have winning records on their home courts. The IU men's basketball team is 8-0 this season at Assembly Hall -- a record that should improve to 9-0 after tonight's 8 p.m. game against Wisconsin.\nThe crowd's enthusiasm is an advantage in Bloomington. Chants that target an opposing player can hinder that person's abilities in a game. Anyone searching for an example of the phenomenon could point to the Hoosier's 79-51 victory Feb. 5 against Iowa, in which former IU standout Luke Recker was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes of play. \nRecker's misses were applauded by the 17,456 fans during warm-ups. During the game, he was booed every time he touched the ball. The fans gave an obvious advantage in the game that Recker noticed. He admitted letting the fans get to him and said he could not avoid hearing fans chanting at him.\nRecruits are also lured to universities by their fan base. Motivating fans cheer when a player from the home team makes a big play. Players often flap their arms in the air to get fans excited while a home team is on defense.\nIn the Big Ten, teams do remarkably worse on the road than on their home courts, and men's basketball coach Mike Davis admitted that the fans are one reason why teams win more often at home.\nCheering for the men's basketball team is part of what makes Hoosier basketball great. Games, some of which are on national television, should not include the obscenities that have been heard at Assembly Hall. Yelling or chanting profanity shows no class. \nLet's cheer the Hoosiers on to victory as boisterously as we can. But keep it clean.\nStaff vote: unanimous