Sports capacity to build character

Last week, we shared the insights of D. Stanley Eitzen from his paper “American Sport in the New Millennium” which is found in the book “Sport in Contemporary Society” (an Anthology). We discussed four reasons why sport is taken seriously: 1) mirrors the human experience; 2) mirrors society in other profound ways as well; 3) combines spectacle with drama and 4) fulfills the human desire to identify with something larger than oneself.

Eitzen, who is a Professor Emeritus of sociology at Colorado State University, earned his Ph.D. at the University of Kansas. Although well known for his scholarship on homelessness, poverty, social inequality, power, family and criminology, he is best known for his contributions to the sociology of sport. In 1996, he was selected to be a Sports Ethics Fellow at the Institute for International Sport.

In the next part of the article, Eitzen cites one all-too familiar paradox: sport has the capacity to build character as well as encourage bad character. Those of us who have been in sport either as participant or as spectator or as both know this too well whether for barangay sports, sports competitions that are originally meant for recreation and leisure, inter-color sport within companies, sports among socio-civic clubs, father-son sports activities, school sports, elite sports and finally, professional sports.

We have heard with our own ears, fathers telling their grade school sons how to go around the rules during a father-son fellowship because if “we don’t do it, the others will and we’ll lose”. We’ve also heard of so-called veteran coaches in the professional leagues working with young, impressionable college kids commanding these young players how to stop an opposing prolific scorer: “If you are going to foul him, make him feel it.”

Thus, as Eitzen says in another article, “Ethical Dilemmas in American Sport”, “I believe the unethical practices so common in sport have negative consequences for the participant’s law. Gresham’s law would seem to apply to sport – bad morality tends to defeat good morality; unfairness tends to encourage unfairness. Sociologist Melvin Tumin’s principle of “least significant morality” also makes this point:

“In any social group, the moral behavior of the group as an average will tend to sink to that of the least moral participant, and the least moral participant will, in that sense, control the group unless he is otherwise restrained and/or expelled....’Bad’ conduct surely drives out ‘good’ conduct with predictable vigor and speed”

It is for the above reason that country clubs and similar social organizations have rules that either prevent certain persons who are deemed to have undesirable traits and reputations or who keep the company of personalities with such traits, from joining such clubs or suspend or expel members who may tend to pull down moral or basic decent behavior and infect the rest of the group.

Eitzen says that on the one hand, sports participation encourages hard work, perseverance, self-discipline, sacrifice, following the rules, obeying authority and working with teammates to achieve a common goal. Sport promotes fair play. There are countless examples where competitors show respect for one another, where sportsmanship rules.

Eitzen regrets that for all the honor and integrity found sport, there is also much about sport that disregards the ideals of fair play. Good sportsmanship may be a product of sport, but so is bad sportsmanship.

 Eitzen cites a number of examples: 1) trash-talking and taunting opponents – Manny Pacquiao emphasizes he looks down on this because “children are watching and they idolize us”; 2) dirty play – Sports Illustrated says “there’s a nasty breed of (football) players who follow one cardinal rule: anything goes, and that means biting, kicking, spearing, spitting, and leg-whipping”; 3) coaches who teach their players how to hold and not get caught; 4) faking being fouled so that a referee who is out of position will call an undeserved foul on the opponent; 5) trying to hurt an opponent; - our example is the “make the opponent feel your foul ” coach; 6) coaches rewarding players for hurting an opponent; 7) using illegal drugs to enhance performance.

One example that I found particularly instructive and which applies to business when a corporate leader desires to crush the competition thus creating, among other things, joblessness among the employees of the “crushed” competitor, is the Laramie, Wyoming girls junior high basketball team which won a few years ago by a score of 81-1, using a full court press the entire game.

Eitzen chastises coaches like Pat Riley (formerly of Miami Heat) who demand that their players not show respect for their opponents. Eitzen alleges that Riley fines his players US$1,500 if they help an opposing player off the floor.

More on the interesting work of sports sociology next week.