Raul Carreiro / 15 Nov 2010 19:28
In the world of flying Tipplers, How many persons are willing forsake their
Integrity/honesty so as to achieve fame and recognition? Win by any means
necessary! Well their very well may be a few that will! all without regard
to ethics.
Ethics is a matter of being good (character) and doing right (action).
As with ethics, when we talk about "sportsmanship," we are talking about
someone's character and actions, but specifically in the context of sports.
Here is a general definition for sportsmanship: Sportsmanship is a matter of
being good (character) and doing right (action) in sports.
Given these two definitions, we see a connection between sportsmanship and
ethics, that they both involve character and action -- but so what? Why do
they necessarily go hand in hand?
We can get to the heart of this connection by asking one more question: How
many unsportsmanlike acts can you think of in the tippler sport that would
not be called unethical? In other words, if unethical acts are wrong because
they are unfair, dishonest, disrespectful or against the rules, how many
unsportsmanlike acts can you think of that aren't wrong for the very same
reason?
Precisely why are unsportsmanlike acts wrong or bad?
Here's the point: The majority of acts that we consider bad in sports and
call "unsportsmanlike" are bad precisely because they are unfair, dishonest,
disrespectful or against the rules. They are unsportsmanlike because they
are unethical.
In most cases -- and especially in Tipplers -- sportsmanship and ethics turn
out to be two sides of the same coin. That coin represents our standards of
right and wrong, of good and bad, of fairness and unfairness, of honesty and
dishonesty, of respect and disrespect, of following and breaking the rules,
among other things.
Notice that I am talking about the Tippler sport, but ultimately it makes no
difference whether we are talking about sports or not. Most of the acts we
call unsportsmanlike are going to be wrong or bad outside the sports arena
as well. The same goes for sportsmanlike acts.
A cheater is a cheater. An act of respect is an act of respect. Breaking a
rule is breaking a rule. A good role model is a good role model.
So, when all is said and done, we could say that "sportsmanship" is the
sports world's all-encompassing word for "ethics." That being sportsmanlike
is being ethical in sports. That being unsportsmanlike is being unethical in
sports.
And we can better appreciate why calling someone unsportsmanlike can be just
as serious as calling someone unethical; why describing someone as
sportsmanlike can be just as complimentary as describing someone as a very
ethical person.
We can also better appreciate why there's no concept or value more important
to our hobby than sportsmanship. It's our foundation, our starting point. it
gives us our very best reason to play fairly, to show respect to opponents
and officials, and to follow the rules -- because all that is the right
thing to do. The ethical thing.
With sportsmanship, we see that there's simply no escaping the ethical
dimension of sports.
Without it, the game's over.
Submitted by Raul Carreiro on 11/15/2010 7:18:39 PM
(As modified for the tippler sport, original
from: Dr. Russell Gough, Pepperdine University)
http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/NCAANewsArchive/1996/19960722/comment.html