Ethics in Sports - When Being the Best Isn't Enough

By Jim Bain   

Sports, whether it be baseball, football, soccer or tidily winks, the type sport in actually means nothing, it's the competition, the us against them or me against you which drives us. Perhaps this basic instinct derives from our ancestors, where if you didn't win the competition for food... you didn't survive.

We all have this basic instinct inside us, although some exemplify it more readily than others, if placed in the right situation of "fight or flight" even the most timid of individuals become raging bulls. It's just being human, a God given survival instinct, which we, as civilized people, have adapted to our sports in lieu of hunting parties.

It's when this drive to compete, to be the best at what we do, collides head on with another basic human instinct, a conflict of integrity arises. This other basic instinct? Ethics, which is more commonly referred to as Fair Play. You may ask "how in the world could two driving forces of being the "Best" and doing it "Fairly" possibly create a conflict?"

I'll use the game of baseball as an example, but only as an example, because All sports are played by humans, and circumstances created by humans create the conflict, not the sport itself.

Whether it be little league baseball, played in small rural towns, or professional ball, played in the limelight of New York city, there are inherent benefits to being the champions, the best of the best.
Obviously, personal pride of achievement and praise of your peers is the first undeniable benefit resulting from being the best. Championship Little league teams will suddenly be inundated with sponsors offering to buy uniforms and equipment, some being the same which flatly refused to consider financial help when approached at the beginning of the season.

Every human being on earth relishes being honored or complimented, positive strokes the mental health people classify it, but few would do something bad or wrong in order to obtain the praise, because deep inside they know it's not genuine, not in terms of actually accomplishing something of value through hard work. However, when the perks begin to become monstrous in terms of money, travel, fame and whatever else one considers dear to their heart, hair line cracks in integrity may begin to appear in otherwise honest people's character.

Somewhere in the recent past, society as a whole, as become derailed by greed, the never ending quest to be the best, not for the sake of being the best, but for the greed of obtaining more than our neighbors, whether it be money, a bigger house, a yacht or a country club membership. This moral decay has not ignored sports.

Cherished and honored records are shattered by athletes using performance enhancing drugs or other methods, which has left sports in shambles. Do you deny the new record because there is strong evidence of cheating, acknowledge the new record but place an X by it?

In any event the record and the 1st player to reach it, has been tarnished.

The game of who dies with the most toys - wins has inflicted our society like a cancer which shows no signs of receding, destroying financial empires, governments and leaving us without a moral compass.

Isn't this getting a little too involved, too deep for sports? I mean, what could sports possibly change in a world gone ethically awry? Possibly everything.

Our youth, hopefully our way out of this chaos, are exposed to the seriousness of sports before anything else in their life. Think about it. Kids play, or at least play at, baseball, football, soccer, marbles, kickball and etc. long before they take educational school serious. They emulate the players they see on television, not their teachers, and that's not to belittle a teacher's importance, it's just fact.
Fortunately, Kids are too young to comprehend the evils committed on Wall Street, ponzi schemes, foreclosures, corrupt politicians, performance enhancing drugs, or spying on a team's practice, but they are old enough and smart enough to learn how to play a game "Fair."

This is where we begin anew. Coaches and parents must put being the champions, through whatever means deemed necessary, in it's proper place...unacceptable. We must teach striving to become the best in everything we do, at least giving our very best, must be done through hard work and dedication. No shortcuts, no drugs, no cheating.

We must reinstitute the moral fiber of it's better to have lost honestly, than to have won by cheating. To fight the good fight, with integrity and high standards, which will re-instill a character of high moral values.

With religions vying for followers, higher education becoming more and more out of reach of the normal person, while public schools continue to get hammered by budget cuts, sports my be the last hope for changing the futures of our youth.

It may be unfair to heave this responsibility on our current and future coaches, but life tends to be unfair. Ethics, high morals and honesty must be taught in our sports programs. After all, our sports are a microcosm of society as a whole and perhaps the best place to begin changing it.

Jim Bain, former Minor league baseball player, who since retiring has dedicated his life to teaching baseball to youth, shares his advice on fielding baseball drills on his exciting info packed website: http://www.learn-youth-baseball-coaching.com

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Being a Team Player in Baseball

By Dan Gazaway

I remember a decade ago I was lacing up for our afternoon workout prior the 7pm home game. The director of scouting for the minor leagues would be observing our workout for the next couple days. He'd be working in as one of the coaches but was also there to get a better sense of who among our minor league team could potentially fill the future role on the Big League roster.

I remember clearly our hitting coach said that the ability to place your teammates above your own needs/stats was highly attractive to the organization. He told us that the win/loss of the team reflected more on our unification as a team which said a lot about us as individual players.

How important is a team first mentality in baseball? Think of it this way. There are 162 games in the regular season; throw in about 30 spring training games and dozens of travel days and these guys are around each other most of each day for roughly 60% of the calender year. That is a ton of time. Team dynamics are extremely valuable. It's not the only factor in winning, but it ranks up there as highly important.

Michael Young of the Texas Rangers is one of these hard-working team first guys. Because of his enjoyment of playing for the Rangers, he has no qualms about being shifted around the infield each year. This may not seam like such a big deal, but it's difficult to play at the elite level in many different positions. It takes a certain type of work habit and personality to build new skill sets each year.

I always love to read stories about the good guys in baseball who play the game hard. Michael Young is one of them.

Dan Gazaway is owner and founder of The Pitching Academy in Utah. Dan teaches pitchers how to throw a baseball.

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Is There Such a Thing As Baseball Etiquette?

By Nancy Kelsey Smith

Some people feel that the term "baseball etiquette" is an oxymoron. These are the people who have witnessed some extremely rude and obnoxious behavior on the part of teammates and sometimes even by the coaches. Unfortunately this experience has not been limited to a small number of people, but rather has been evidenced by a great many individuals, myself included.

At a baseball game (or any other type of sporting event for that matter) people can get excited and tend to be a bit more vocal than they would normally be. This, in and of itself, does not have to be a negative. Cheering and encouraging are always a welcome contribution to the game efforts. Even harmless chatter and good natured "ribbing" have their place on the field. What does not have a place in the game is boorish, demeaning and tasteless behavior. Yet all too often this is the type of behavior that is exhibited by players toward members of the opposite team. Unfortunately, this behavior often starts at a young age and escalates over time. Coaches should accept a certain amount of responsibility for the behavior of their teams. In a perfect world each player (no matter their age) would be able to control themselves without the need for outside supervision or correction. We do not live in a perfect world, however, and many young people are growing up without role models and without a proper understanding of correct behavior.

That is when it becomes necessary for the coach of a team to take charge and make certain that his players understand some etiquette.

It is just as unseemly (if not more so) to see adults on a team exhibit behavior that would be more likely to be seen in a street brawl. It becomes offensive to players and spectators alike when abusive language or gestures are permitted without any consequence. The truth is, it takes a lot of the enjoyment out of a game to have to be subjected to such behavior. It shows such a complete lack of respect. Doesn't everyone desire (and deserve) respect. How about the game itself. Shouldn't there be some respect for a game that has been around for hundreds of years and has even long been considered the "great American pastime"?

One would like to think that as we anticipate the arrival of spring and with it, the wonderful season of baseball, we might see an improvement in the behavior of those who participate and those who view the upcoming games.

Nancy Smith is one of the owners of RobbinsSports.com, an online retailer specializing in volleyball nets and basketball backboards.

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