Saturday, February 16, 2008
Cheating In Sports
By now I'm sure we've all heard about Bill Belichick and the admitted cheating done by the Patriots in filming the Jets' defensive coaches during their week one matchup.
Of course, those of you who are Chargers fans saw firsthand what the Patriots are capable of with or without the aid of extra film. I'll give you a moment to collect yourselves; I know it's a painful memory.
Welcome back.
I bring this all up because it occurs to me that we need to discuss the prevalence of cheating in sports, both professional and amateur, and what, if anything, is being done about it.
First, we need to ask if cheating is something that happens a lot, rarely, or not at all. I don't think I'm alone in assuming that there has to be some kind of illegitimate advantage being sought throughout professional sports, but how much does it really happen?
The place where it seems to happen the most is in NASCAR, where the old motto of "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" still has some hold on the way things are done. Consider that both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who are currently tied for the points lead after the first race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, had their crew chiefs suspended for a month this season after illegal modifications were found on their cars.
Some kind of shady business is almost always going on, whether it's as sly as Kevin Harvick's team rigging up his fuel tank before qualifying, or as blatant as Sterling Marlin climbing out of his car under a red flag to pull a fender away from his front tire. Cheating in NASCAR goes by a lot of different names, but that just means that it's a pretty big (and accepted) part of the sport at this point.
It's obviously a lot harder to tell if and when cheating is happening in other sports, mostly because there isn't any kind of post-game inspection of athletes, equipment and film. Although, given the current NFL scandal, perhaps something like that isn't too far off.
But I'd say it still happens, like when we saw some kind of "substance" on Kenny Rogers' pitching hand during last year's World Series, or when Sammy Sosa's "practice" bat littered Wrigley Field with cork after it split open, or when John LeClair gets sent back to the bench to change hockey sticks because the curve on his blade doesn't meet specifications (again).
These little nuances of the game make most fans wonder, "If they're catching these guys, how many others are getting away with it?"
Obviously we can't answer that accurately, but if I'm going with my gut feeling, I'd have to say there's probably a whole lot more going on than we as fans realize. I can't imagine every athlete who gets paid to excel in such a highly competitive arena will also have the moral fortitude to turn down an advantage that may or may not be noticed.
So if we assume that cheating is happening, and that it's happening in more instances than what is being caught, what can we assume is being done to protect the integrity of these games?
I suppose we should first ask what a game's integrity entails, because some could argue that these aspects help shape the sports we know and love, and are therefore just as important as any other tradition. If push came to shove, I suppose I'd probably have to agree with this thought, mostly because the vast majority of illegitimate competitive advantages are minimal at best, and unless your name is Gaylord Perry, they usually come back to haunt the players involved.
But we must always consider the effect these things have on amateur and youth sports.
It goes without saying that the message we all want to send young players is that cheating is bad. But we also have to send a message about why cheating is bad, and specifically why cheating is still bad even if you don't get caught.
I don't think we want to get bogged down by too much social commentary, so I'll just say that it's still very important -- perhaps even more so these days -- to instill a sense of integrity and pride in our youngsters. The idea that a job well done isn't as important as a job correctly (and properly) done carries over into so much of life, and since sports do so much in teaching kids life lessons, it seems important to maintain this attitude in friendly athletic competition.
In the end, the problem with filming your opponents' coaches, or using a corked bat, or qualifying on a nearly-empty tank of fuel isn't that it's morally reprehensible, or that it's going to turn kids into lousy stinking cheaters.
The problem is that it makes it that much harder for caring, hard-working coaches and parents to remind young athletes that competition isn't just about beating the other guys.
It should be about making yourself better in more ways than just the statistics.
Of course, those of you who are Chargers fans saw firsthand what the Patriots are capable of with or without the aid of extra film. I'll give you a moment to collect yourselves; I know it's a painful memory.
Welcome back.
I bring this all up because it occurs to me that we need to discuss the prevalence of cheating in sports, both professional and amateur, and what, if anything, is being done about it.
First, we need to ask if cheating is something that happens a lot, rarely, or not at all. I don't think I'm alone in assuming that there has to be some kind of illegitimate advantage being sought throughout professional sports, but how much does it really happen?
The place where it seems to happen the most is in NASCAR, where the old motto of "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'" still has some hold on the way things are done. Consider that both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who are currently tied for the points lead after the first race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, had their crew chiefs suspended for a month this season after illegal modifications were found on their cars.
Some kind of shady business is almost always going on, whether it's as sly as Kevin Harvick's team rigging up his fuel tank before qualifying, or as blatant as Sterling Marlin climbing out of his car under a red flag to pull a fender away from his front tire. Cheating in NASCAR goes by a lot of different names, but that just means that it's a pretty big (and accepted) part of the sport at this point.
It's obviously a lot harder to tell if and when cheating is happening in other sports, mostly because there isn't any kind of post-game inspection of athletes, equipment and film. Although, given the current NFL scandal, perhaps something like that isn't too far off.
But I'd say it still happens, like when we saw some kind of "substance" on Kenny Rogers' pitching hand during last year's World Series, or when Sammy Sosa's "practice" bat littered Wrigley Field with cork after it split open, or when John LeClair gets sent back to the bench to change hockey sticks because the curve on his blade doesn't meet specifications (again).
These little nuances of the game make most fans wonder, "If they're catching these guys, how many others are getting away with it?"
Obviously we can't answer that accurately, but if I'm going with my gut feeling, I'd have to say there's probably a whole lot more going on than we as fans realize. I can't imagine every athlete who gets paid to excel in such a highly competitive arena will also have the moral fortitude to turn down an advantage that may or may not be noticed.
So if we assume that cheating is happening, and that it's happening in more instances than what is being caught, what can we assume is being done to protect the integrity of these games?
I suppose we should first ask what a game's integrity entails, because some could argue that these aspects help shape the sports we know and love, and are therefore just as important as any other tradition. If push came to shove, I suppose I'd probably have to agree with this thought, mostly because the vast majority of illegitimate competitive advantages are minimal at best, and unless your name is Gaylord Perry, they usually come back to haunt the players involved.
But we must always consider the effect these things have on amateur and youth sports.
It goes without saying that the message we all want to send young players is that cheating is bad. But we also have to send a message about why cheating is bad, and specifically why cheating is still bad even if you don't get caught.
I don't think we want to get bogged down by too much social commentary, so I'll just say that it's still very important -- perhaps even more so these days -- to instill a sense of integrity and pride in our youngsters. The idea that a job well done isn't as important as a job correctly (and properly) done carries over into so much of life, and since sports do so much in teaching kids life lessons, it seems important to maintain this attitude in friendly athletic competition.
In the end, the problem with filming your opponents' coaches, or using a corked bat, or qualifying on a nearly-empty tank of fuel isn't that it's morally reprehensible, or that it's going to turn kids into lousy stinking cheaters.
The problem is that it makes it that much harder for caring, hard-working coaches and parents to remind young athletes that competition isn't just about beating the other guys.
It should be about making yourself better in more ways than just the statistics.
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