Bettendorf was ready to play Friday night against the undefeated Pleasant Valley Spartans. Both schools filled trucks with food for the Student Hunger Drive, collected hundreds of cans for a great cause, and started the night on a positive note; however, a night with an electric atmosphere turned sour after the game when photos and unsportsmanlike messages were littered all over social media. A photo of the Bettendorf student section surfaced on Twitter after Pleasant Valley cheerleader, Emeleigh Nevills tweeted about the “lack of respect” displayed by the student section at Bettendorf. While many PV students are still shocked by the incident, Bettendorf students and faculty seem to have brushed it aside.

It Could be Worse:

Bettendorf and Pleasant Valley High School have been bitter rivals for decades. It is unlikely it will ever change and, quite honestly, it shouldn’t. Rivalries are the most entertaining games to watch, those in which all students want to be involved. The games are fought harder and the fans are more involved, giving an environment that can’t compare to any other game. A student section insulting their bitter rival is nothing new, so maybe the complaints should cease. While the Bulldogs were the face of unsportsmanlike conduct on Friday night, to say this type of behavior has happened only at Bettendorf would be a false accusation.

Bettendorf seniors claim they do not support the vulgarity of the whiteboard. It was pretty bad, and they do not disagree with that. Students say a very small group of students should not represent an entire student body; however, with the posting of the vulgar comments across social media, it can be hard to overlook.

After the tweet was sent out, arguments broke out online. The “disrespect” Bettendorf was treating PV students with wasn’t one sided. Bettendorf senior Joey Parker commented about the new 2017 tradition in PV called “Rally in the Valley”. “Rally in the Valley” is where Spartan fans are invited to storm the field after a home win. The sportsmanship of this was challenged after Parker tweeted:

In saying this, Parker wants to capitalize on the fact that the Pleasant Valley student section wouldn’t have appreciated any team storming the field during disappointing 4-5 season last year. It may seem like wholesome fun for Spartan fans, but keeping a visiting team in mind is important. Parker was not involved in the making of the whiteboard.

Bettendorf students as a whole should not be represented by the bad behavior of a few students.

It Couldn’t be Worse:

Whiteboards have been introduced into many student sections recently as a way to communicate to the entire student section and coordinate cheers. After seeing the way these boards were used in the Bulldog student section, Pleasant Valley cheerleaders were very offended by what they saw. A group of varsity cheerleaders commented, “We felt like they could have expressed their own school spirit in a different way. Our student section’s board is used to encourage the crowd, not attack the other team.”

With multiple Bettendorf students posting the pictures, it shows their unified support of the making of whiteboard. Rather than cheering for their own, they chose to degrade their opponent. Making rude comments about the other team doesn’t make your own any better. “Targeting specific players from our team is just petty, and it shows their lack of maturity on and off the field. The disrespect for a school on the same playing field says a lot about the character of its students.” an anonymous PV Cheerleader added.

If Pleasant Valley students were to have copy Bettendorf’s actions, there would have been harsher consequences. PV principal Mike Zimmer says if he were to see a whiteboard with such comments during the game, “the whiteboard would have been taken away and the students involved would have been asked to leave.” If notified after the fact, Zimmers says he “would have dealt with the students individually.”  

The actions Friday night could have happened anywhere. There would be people willing to do the same at PV if they had peer support as well. Though Bettendorf students seemingly didn’t face any consequences, this is a picture that stays with them forever and can have future repercussions. Pleasant Valley Athletic Director, D’anne Kroemer says, “We would obviously take it very seriously. We would never support or condone anything like that. And again, as a district we need to remind students of how devastating social media is.”