Before going any further, take a minute and read this article:

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Pole-vaulter-8217-s-curse-word-costs-team-state?urn=highschool-wp2611

I have been to different schools and sporting events all over Idaho over the past 13 years and one thing I have noticed is the amount of profanity that comes out of the mouths of high school kids. It isn't just the athletes. I walk by kids in the bleachers and I hear every word that would have gotten my mouth washed out with soap 25 years ago.

I'm not stupid...and I am definitely not naïve. I know kids swear and have for ages. But when we swore, back in the day, it was always hidden around adults. Kids these days don't even try to hide it anymore. They don't need to. I have never seen or heard one parent or administrator, that I KNOW heard the language, say or do anything about it. The last couple of years have been the worst, in my opinion. It has escalated from the "minor-league" swear words to the full blown "Major League" words. We hear it all the time during broadcasts - kids swearing after missing a shot, making a big play, etc. Even students in the bleachers just talking to their friends and using it as commonly as "like" and "you know" (which could be a totally separate blog....).

I think the athlete in this article regrets what he did, but I think that he has probably been allowed to use that language in that setting a hundred times before and nothing was ever said to him by his coaches, parents or peers.

My question/discussion starter is this I guess: What do you think is behind the upswing in high school kids swearing unapologetically? What can be done about it? Am I just being prudish and not keeping up with the changing times when it comes to teenage kids?