Background
for Teachers
Ethics is an important issue in K-12 education, particularly in
the field of athletics. When applied to sports, ethics refers to
the principles and values associated with sports participation,
including sportsmanship and character development.
It is generally acknowledged that sports participation teaches
character and leadership skills that can be applied later in life.
Teamwork, communication, cooperation, peaceful resolution to conflict,
goal setting, motivation, and the work ethic are seen as some
of the positive aspects of sports participation. In addition,
certain values and principles are associated with being engaged
in athletic activities, such as respect (for rules and people),
integrity, balanced competition, fair play, honesty, safety, fairness,
trust, the pursuit of excellence, playing by the rules, and sportsmanship.
Since ethics is often thought about as “doing the right
thing”, then sport ethics means doing the right thing in
a sport setting. Sportsmanship cannot be achieved without ethical
behavior. When an ethical dilemma occurs in a sports setting,
two or more values such as success or wanting to win, versus safety
or fairness are in conflict and the participant is forced to choose
between those values. An example might be playing an injured athlete
in an important game, when the safety of the athlete is not as
important as winning the game. As is often the case in sports,
the need to win becomes more important, and as a consequence,
unethical or unsportsmanlike behavior occurs, such as a coach
playing the injured athlete simply to win the contest, and thereby
jeopardizing the player’s health. The person faced with
the dilemma has two choices that both appear to be right, creating
an ethical dilemma or a right-right dilemma.
The
extent to which ethical issues play an important role in the climate
of contemporary schools and the lives of athletes can be seen
in the results of a number of recent surveys. In a 2004 survey
of 4200 high school athletes, 12% of males and 36% of females
admitted to using performance enhancing drugs in the past year.
In addition, 68% of males and 50% of the females in the study
admitted that they had bullied, teased, or taunted someone in
the past year, and 55% of males acknowledged using racial slurs.
A 2006 survey revealed that high school students involved in athletics
cheat in school at a higher rate than their non-athlete counterparts.
Young
athletes are increasingly the subject of news stories about negative
incidents in sports. Recently, a 13 year old boy was charged with
murder for a fatal attack with a baseball bat on another boy who
teased him about losing a baseball game. Ethical issues involving
school settings are not limited simply to students, but also involve
coaches and parents. In a recent study of 803 athletes ranging
in age from 9 to 15, and 189 parents and 61 youth sport coaches,
poor behavior among parents and coaches was consistently reported.
Among parents, 13% acknowledged angrily criticizing their child’s
performance.
Understanding
the difference between sportsmanship and its counterpart, gamesmanship,
is essential to a discussion of sport ethics. “Sportsmanship”
refers to the virtuous perspective or the way that sport participation
“ought” to be. It includes winning the right way,
being willing to lose gracefully, having appropriate respect for
opponents and officials, understanding and abiding by the spirit
of the rules, and putting competition into perspective.
Good
sportsmanship occurs when teammates, opponents, coaches and officials
treat each other with respect. It can take the form of heroic
deeds or small gestures as simple as shaking hands after a game,
acknowledging good plays made by others, and accepting bad calls
with grace. It includes accepting losing and losing gracefully.
In addition, sportsmanship includes playing fair, playing hard,
giving full commitment to participation, following rules, respecting
the decisions of officials and coaches, and demonstrating respect
for oneself, one’s teammates, officials, and opponents and
coaches on both sides. Good sportsmanship involves self control,
courage and persistence, and avoiding displays of bad temper.
To be a good sport, one does not have a “win at all costs”
attitude, but rather a love and appreciation of the sport and
a genuine sense of enjoyment from participation.
Gamesmanship,
on the other hand, is the winning at all costs mentality, and
is the way that sports “is” and not how it should
be. It includes looking for exceptions to the rules, fake fouls,
illegal head starts, taunting to gain an advantage, intentionally
injuring another player, intimidation, espionage, harassment,
heckling, and trash talk. While winning is commonly the goal in
a sport contest, it is the pervasive notion that it is the most
important aspect of the contest that causes unethical behavior
and even violence in sports. In the 1996 Olympics, a popular Nike
ad sent the message that “you don’t win the silver,
you lose the gold”, and the famous NFL football legend and
coach, Vince Lombard, is often quoted as saying “winning
isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” The
current “steroids in baseball controversy,” alleging,
among other things, that super-slugger Barry Bonds depended on
performance enhancers to set hitting records, serves as a reminder
that sports figures also engage in gamesmanship. These examples
and others perpetuate the notion that winning is the most important
goal in sports, and to be successful, one must attain that goal
in whatever manner available. It is also a perspective that is
not necessarily consistent with what is considered appropriate
ethical behavior.
Gamesmanship
is the opposite of sportsmanship and can also lead to unethical
practices throughout life, according to a survey conducted with
500 of the most successful people in the United States. In other
words, it is very possible that if a person cheats in sports,
then that person may go on to cheat in business, as a doctor,
on their taxes, or on a spouse. If one is dishonest in one place,
they might be dishonest in another. In other words, cheating can
become a way of life.
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