Daniel Wright, a player on the Seneca Sting men\u2019s basketball team, says it\u2019s just part of the game, and it happens all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-682x1024.jpg\")
\u201cIt\u2019s before the game, it\u2019s during the game. It\u2019s even like, say, two weeks before the game may start, if you know the person,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s that psychological effect, to get them ready, to get them thrown off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The science also says it works. A 2013 Florida State University study of men who trash-talked found that the banter affected not only the men\u2019s performances, but how the men believed they were performing. Another study from Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania found that it even contributes to feelings of rivalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeneca against George Brown, we\u2019re always rivals, so everybody in that game is trash talking at one point,\u201d Wright says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wright says that for him and others, trash talk is so natural that they sometimes barely realize they are doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe don\u2019t realize it till after the fact, like, \u2018Oh, I was really trash-talking. Okay, I gotta back it up now.\u2019 If you don\u2019t back it up, then you\u2019re in for a world of trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wright explained how, beyond the OCAA guidelines of fair play, basketball players followed their own unwritten code of ethics to keep things civil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s friendly bantering, going back and forth,\u201d he says. \u201cThen there\u2019s, say, racial slurs that may come into effect.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Occasionally, Wright says, that kind of talk can spill off of the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat carries on outside of basketball, that carries on the streets too,\u201d he says. \u201cA fight may break out on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He says it can be hard for players who experience racial slurs or trash talk about their families to leave it on the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s really hard to let go, in some cases. Other cases, you can just go up to him and say, I don\u2019t appreciate the way you said this,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Referees also help in dealing with trash talk that crosses a line. Wright says that if a referee overhears, it gets called out right then and there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019ll blow his whistle, stop the game, and say, \u2018You two, come here.\u2019 Talk to them, talk to their coaches, give warnings,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n He says it\u2019s important for players to just not take their banter to that level, but that in general, trash talk is just part of the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrash talk is a part of basketball, whether you like it or not,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wright says that because players on the rival teams have sometimes known each other for years, the chirping isn\u2019t always about what\u2019s happening during the current game. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe kind of bring in old stuff, that may happen back in out of school rec basketball. Say, \u2018Oh, you remember that time four years ago where we beat you in a gold medal game? That might happen again today, you guys are going to lose,\u2019\u201d Wright says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan Lasnier, a mental performance consultant and member of the Canadian Sports Psychology Association, says that keeping players in the past is one of the main goals of trash talk. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf somebody tells you something negative when you compete, you\u2019ll remember this comment,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019ll, in a way, put your mind in the past. And when you compete, you compete in the present. If your mind is in the past, you will not be able to perform optimally.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lasnier says that trash talk mostly serves as a distraction technique, and that athletes shouldn\u2019t let their focus be drawn from the game. One way to keep from getting distracted, he says, is to practice techniques beforehand. One strategy is self-talk, or talking to yourself. Practice can help figure out what an athlete should say to themself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich type of statements am I going to use in my self-talk? Will I say, \u2018Let it go, it\u2019s okay,\u2019\u201d Lasnier says. \u201c\u2018Be here.\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Athletes can also write down keywords or positive affirmations. Lasnier also suggested breathing exercises for when trash talk does manage to get under an athlete\u2019s skin. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n He described a technique called \u201cbelly breathing.\u201d The first step is to inhale, counting four seconds and letting your belly rise with the inhale. Then, you exhale for six seconds, letting your belly flatten back out. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen you use breathing techniques, you\u2019re able to refocus on yourself,\u201d he says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lasnier also says there\u2019s something else important to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrash talkers, they do this because they\u2019re attempting to level the playing field,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen people do this, it\u2019s because they\u2019re scared of you, in a way.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Shikaeb Rahi Soratgar of the Seneca Sting tends to agree. He has played basketball not only in Canada and the United States, but also in his home country of Afghanistan. He says in Afghanistan, players can be given a warning for even the mildest insults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEven if you say something like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re too weak, you can\u2019t guard me,\u2019 the refs back home think it\u2019s not necessary,\u201d he says. \u201cIf someone can\u2019t guard you, they can\u2019t guard you, and you all can see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But while trash talk is common here, Soratgar says he doesn\u2019t let it affect him. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor me personally, if someone trash talks, I don\u2019t really consider it that much. I think that someone trash talks when they are weak,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once, Soratgar played a game of 21 in the U.S., where one player was chirping others frequently. That guy was also the worst on the court. Another athlete had words of advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe, at the end of the game, said, \u2018The person who is the loudest person on the court is the weakest person on the court.\u2019 From that day, I was like, \u2018Oh wow, that\u2019s exactly what I was thinking,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow I know exactly what I\u2019m going to say to someone who trash talks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Kit Kolbegger Smack talk. Chirping. Trash talk. It has many names, and it happens in every kind of competition. Daniel Wright, a player on the Seneca Sting men\u2019s basketball team, says it\u2019s just part of the game, and it happens all the time. \u201cIt\u2019s before the game, it\u2019s during the game. It\u2019s even like, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",829,1244,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-160x160.jpg",160,160,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-640x960.jpg",640,960,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-768x1152.jpg",696,1044,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",696,1044,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",829,1244,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",829,1244,false],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-150x225.jpg",150,225,true],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-300x450.jpg",300,450,true],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-324x400.jpg",324,400,true],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-485x360.jpg",485,360,true],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background-696x1044.jpg",696,1044,true],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",829,1244,false],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/12\/White-background.jpg",829,1244,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"sweatmag","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/author\/sweatmag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Kit Kolbegger Smack talk. Chirping. Trash talk. It has many names, and it happens in every kind of competition. Daniel Wright, a player on the Seneca Sting men\u2019s basketball team, says it\u2019s just part of the game, and it happens all the time. \u201cIt\u2019s before the game, it\u2019s during the game. It\u2019s even like,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1063"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1142,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions\/1142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/sweatmag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}