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Philosophy and Sport

Sport and Moral Relativity

Hal Charnofsky argues that in a society obsessed with competition, sport is bad for our souls.

Today in the realm of sports, including amateur and professional sports, kids’ and adults’ sports, ethical behavior is taught and adhered to less as an absolute value than as a practical means of avoiding the ‘appearance’ of cheating. In other words, whatever a team or an individual athlete can get away with, while ‘seeming’ to be honest and forthright, is considered not only acceptable but positively admirable. “Nice guys finish last” (attributed to the late baseball manager Leo Durocher) implies that those who play by the rules may be seen as good people but they do not win, and as Vince Lombardi, the late football coach, is said to have stated: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!” Both of these comments make success more important than values such as sportsmanship, the ‘fun of the game’, and being a good loser.

Al Davis, the controversial owner of the Oakland Raiders professional football team in the USA, is fond of saying, “Just win, baby!” This epithet has become the battle cry of his team, and the Raiders have earned a reputation as one of the roughest and dirtiest teams in all of the National Football League. What’s more, their fans have acquired a label as the foulest and least sportsmanslike of any home town group in the League.

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