Sportsmanship vs. Gamesmanship

[Skyline]

Saw this article posted over at another forum I frequent, and thought I'd see what you guys thought/felt about it. Was the coach right in his decision? Does the need to follow the rules always win out in every scenario in competetitions?

 

Read the Article Here

 

Personally, I think that was a huge dickmove, and entirely uncalled for. I would be ashamed to have won under such circumstances, definitely not something to be proud of I think. Following the rules is an important thing, and "rules are rules" is an important lesson to be learned for sure, but as with anything there are limits to how much good being unwaivering in your beliefs might provide.

[Bleu]

That's the most pathetic excuse ever used to deny someone victory. I would be disgusted if it were done to me, and I would be ashamed if it were my side doing it to a rival school.

 

There is the law (or the rules) and the spirit of the law. When did that coach stop thinking straight ?

Over-competition just kills the game.

[Red_A]

Does the coach have a death wish?

 

When I first went to seattle 20 years ago, I was warned that people had guns, and to be careful about keeping to the letter of the law. It was Ok to be right but it did not help you if you were dead!

 

You may be correct in taking a parking space but to the other person, your were stealing HIS space. Prohetically somebody was killed because he parked in the wrong space.

 

That apart what message does that send to his pupils? It is OK to lay in wait to ambush the unexpected innocent.

[*HJ*]

Okay, I agree. That was a dick move, a huge dick move. If I would have been on the other team I would not have accepted the victory. In my mind I would have known we didn't deserve it. I would have also told that coach where he could stick his un-deserved victory. Just wrong, wrong indeed. If I were that coach I wouldn't go down any dark alleys .

[Aeroplane]

So a team lost. That's unfortunate for them.

 

But someone had to lose.

 

Life is unfortunate and unfair, and people hold petty rules and regs over your head all the time.

[wildone]

Yeah, the coach was a jerk to point out the violation, when he knew that this girl legitimately beat his team.

 

Yeah, there is a rule saying no jewelry.

 

I just want to get off my high horse though and say I really don't know if I'd react differently. Anyone who has played any competitive sports know that at that age, for the coach and the players you look for any and all advantages to make you win.

 

In my case it was hockey. Usually you would wait to near the end of the game and then call for a stick measurement on someone from the other team and hope to get a two minute power play out of it. Generally you did, cause someone was either ignorant to their stick or on purposely had a curve to intensify their shot.

 

I've seen in university and professional football a player on the other team pointed out to the ref that may be missing a knee pad resulting in the player removed from the game for a play and a ten yard penalty.

 

Rules are rules, and they are their for both sides.

 

I wonder if the losing team coach would have been all high and mighty if he noticed one of the other team members in a violation of a rule? I think not.

 

Yes there is a bad guy in this story, as there usually is in life. I just feel that the media created a story out of nothing over sour grapes.

[PrivateTim]

Yeah, the coach was a jerk to point out the violation, when he knew that this girl legitimately beat his team.

 

Yeah, there is a rule saying no jewelry.

 

I just want to get off my high horse though and say I really don't know if I'd react differently. Anyone who has played any competitive sports know that at that age, for the coach and the players you look for any and all advantages to make you win.

 

In my case it was hockey. Usually you would wait to near the end of the game and then call for a stick measurement on someone from the other team and hope to get a two minute power play out of it. Generally you did, cause someone was either ignorant to their stick or on purposely had a curve to intensify their shot.

 

I've seen in university and professional football a player on the other team pointed out to the ref that may be missing a knee pad resulting in the player removed from the game for a play and a ten yard penalty.

 

Rules are rules, and they are their for both sides.

 

I wonder if the losing team coach would have been all high and mighty if he noticed one of the other team members in a violation of a rule? I think not.

 

Yes there is a bad guy in this story, as there usually is in life. I just feel that the media created a story out of nothing over sour grapes.

I think it presumptuous to accuse the other coach of being willing to go to the same level to win a meet based on no evidence.

 

I was raised on the concept of fair play and stories like Luz Long and Jesse Owens where sportsmanship was more important than merely winning.

 

I have seen many examples of fair play from coaches and players over the years although they seem to come fewer and fewer these days.

 

But I believe as you sew , so shall you reap. No one is going to cut Monrovia High any breaks. This might bite them in the ass and then some.

[OBTN4790]

So a team lost. That's unfortunate for them.

 

But someone had to lose.

 

Life is unfortunate and unfair, and people hold petty rules and regs over your head all the time.

 

OK.....

 

Douchebag Coach. No matter how you try to justify it, that guy should not be coaching anyone.

[Nicholas J. Covington]

Some people don't get it at the high school level Esp. It is not just about the championship. The competition is hard for these boys and girls your win your teams championship and that can mean important scholarships for them, you cost your team it's championship and it can quite literally cost you your potential future.

 

For a coach to not consider these consequences is inexcusable, to call foul on a girl who obviously is a better athlete then your team, over an obscure rule and a piece of string is the most ridiculous excuse for gamesmanship following the letter of regulations blindly is just as stupid and breaking them willfully.

 

To also look at the spirit of the rule not just follow them blindly is also important. Metal jewelry can cause injury in sports as such it is logical to make wearing jewelry a violation of sports regulations but such rules have such vague wording the spirit of the rule and its intent at preserving safety and the carrying out of the rule often are not alway fair and balanced the risk involved from a string friendship bracelet is negligible it is not like she was wearing a diamond tennis bracelet.

 

This while strictly within the letter of the law is a extreme abuse of power and spit in the face of true sportsmanship.

 

 

[Tomas]

Not really surprised. The paradigm for all sports these days, whether team or individual, has become win at all costs.

[Graeme]

For a coach to not consider these consequences is inexcusable, to call foul on a girl who obviously is a better athlete then your team, over an obscure rule and a piece of string is the most ridiculous excuse for gamesmanship following the letter of regulations blindly is just as stupid and breaking them willfully.

Rules are there for a reason. What appears to be missing from the rules in question is common sense. The correct approach would be for a neutral adjudicator to make a call on the correct penalty, based on the situation. Many sporting events I've been to have the option for disputes to be lodged, and for those disputes to be then judged on their merits. That doesn't appear to be the case here, so the disqualification is valid, if frustrating and demeaning.

 

To also look at the spirit of the rule not just follow them blindly is also important. Metal jewelry can cause injury in sports as such it is logical to make wearing jewelry a violation of sports regulations but such rules have such vague wording the spirit of the rule and its intent at preserving safety and the carrying out of the rule often are not alway fair and balanced the risk involved from a string friendship bracelet is negligible it is not like she was wearing a diamond tennis bracelet.

I was going to make the point that rules regarding wearing jewellery in sports have a concrete basis. I used to be a basketball referee at the local competition and would tell players to removed rings and earrings before playing. Too many other refs didn't, so the players tended to think I was being overly officious. Okay, I was, but all I had to do was to tell them that I'd seen part of ear ripped off because the earring had caught on something/someone, and I didn't want to see that again. It wasn't true, but it was a lie in the spirit of the rule -- the rule was there for a good reason.

 

The rules of the competition weren't unreasonable, in that they allowed an option. If the jewellery was taped over (rings or earrings, including studs), they could play. That goes back to common sense -- the rule was to prevent injury, and taping was an alternative to removal that would prevent injury.

 

Thinking about it, I would probably have insisted on the removal of friendship strings, too, because if a player got a finger caught in one, it's possible that their finger could be bent backwards, causing an injury, before the string broke.

 

Having said all of that, there's an essential difference to this particular situation. What was the risk involved with a friendship string in this particular sport? Pole vaulting is a non-contact sport (okay, so is basketball, technically, but we all know that that is a polite fiction) and unless there is a danger from it catching on the pole, I think the rule is overkill.

 

On a personal note, I've had a case where I was 'unfairly' treated by a rule. Before I started playing and refereeing basketball seriously, I was involved in athletics. I used to do race walking (the only event I was any good at -- the rest would be poor to really bad). I was good enough to make the district finals one year (the last year before I switched to basketball).

 

In race walking, you must keep one foot on the ground at all times and there are requirements about 'locking' the knee (to force it to be a walk, not a run). Judges around the course would report walkers who violated this rule. If you 'broke' three times, you were disqualified. The top six non-disqualified walkers would qualify to compete at the state level. I finished sixth... until I was told I was disqualified because TWO (not three) judges had reported me as having 'broke'. Why was I disqualified? Because the rules stated that the chief judge's reports counted as two, and one of those two judges was the chief judge.

 

It took me a long time to get over that disappointment, and to accept that it wasn't 'unfair'. It was just the rules. It is up to the coaches and players to understand the rules. They don't have to agree with them, but they have to know them, and if they violate them, they have to accept that there can be a penalty.

 

Was the penalty in the case above fair? I don't think so. It's a case of the penalty definitely not fitting the crime. But that's the penalty on the rules book, and so that's the penalty that was applied.

 

Was the opposing coach right to point out the infraction? That's a more difficult question to answer. I think it was cynical and self-serving, but I think he certainly had the right to do so. He also had the right to refrain, and then have over-zealous parents of the losing team raise hell, pointing out that the other side 'cheated' by using a competitor that should have been disqualified (sorry -- I've seen too many over-zealous parents in my day to not believe it wouldn't happen).

 

There are many sports where people play the rules to win. That's not only when there are high stakes (the America's Cup sailing races are more famous for the court cases than the actual racing), but also at much lower levels when there's little at stake apart from simply winning or losing a match. This particular case is sad, but, alas, not exceptional.

[Skyline]

Rules are there for a reason. What appears to be missing from the rules in question is common sense. The correct approach would be for a neutral adjudicator to make a call on the correct penalty, based on the situation. Many sporting events I've been to have the option for disputes to be lodged, and for those disputes to be then judged on their merits. That doesn't appear to be the case here, so the disqualification is valid, if frustrating and demeaning.

 

 

Pretty much agree with everything you said in this post, so to make my post smaller, I just quoted less haha.

[PrivateTim]

Rules are there for a reason. What appears to be missing from the rules in question is common sense. The correct approach would be for a neutral adjudicator to make a call on the correct penalty

I agree and I officiate two sports (or four if you want to be technical). The sports I do are water polo and wrestling, but in wrestling I do three distinct types of wrestling, American folkstyle (what we do in high school and college), Freestyle and Greco Roman (what you see in the Olympics and the rest of the world).

 

The contrasts between how officials who only do American folkstyle and those who also do the international styles is stark. American sports have a the "rule are the rules" mentality, black and white, it says it, that is what it is. International sports are more about the spirit and the intent of the rule and getting a fair result.

 

And if you needed MORE reason to dislike the Monrovia coach........ he did not field his top team on the boy's varsity level, he dropped any athlete who was a freshman or sophomore to the frosh-soph team(9th-10th grades or roughly 15-16 for our foreign friends) off varsity (highest level) so they could win the league title at the lower level.

 

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