In this article, Dr. Williams weigh in on extended absence from the classroom adversely impacting learning and high school sports fan behavior .
Article Link: ‘They were in tears’: Unruly fans force California high schools to take action (msn.com)
Then there is the matter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies suggest that an extended absence from the classroom hurt learning, and many high school coaches believe the same is true for fan behavior.
It’s not just that all that time at home made people less comfortable in social situations. According to the World Health Organization, anxiety and depression spiked by 25% in the U.S. during the pandemic. This could help explain why some fans appear more irritable.
“We know that the pandemic caused more dramatic symptoms in emotional disorders like anxiety and depression,” said Dr. Vernon Williams, a sports neurologist at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. “When those things are present, people will respond differently to the same kind of stressors and pressures that they had previously been exposed to. They won’t have the same kind of resilience.”
