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Win at all costs, lose for a price – what do we exchange for purity in sport? Win at all costs, lose for a price – what do we exchange for purity in sport?
(7 months later)
For at least 2,500 years people have talked about the ethical dimension of sport. Plato recommended sport as a means of teaching good character in The Republic. The Olympic Charter claims the practice of sport as a human right. Even Popes have offered their two cents on the ethical value of sport – Pope Pius XII said “Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance”.For at least 2,500 years people have talked about the ethical dimension of sport. Plato recommended sport as a means of teaching good character in The Republic. The Olympic Charter claims the practice of sport as a human right. Even Popes have offered their two cents on the ethical value of sport – Pope Pius XII said “Sport, properly directed, develops character, makes a man courageous, a generous loser, and a gracious victor; it refines the senses, gives intellectual penetration, and steels the will to endurance”.
But flick over the sports headlines today and you’ll get a very different story. First it was the Essendon saga, running since 2013 and revived last week after the CAS verdict and James Hird’s “tell-all” interview. Yesterday as the Australian Open began we were informed of the so-called “Tennis Racket” – allegations of widespread match-fixing and corruption in professional tennis.But flick over the sports headlines today and you’ll get a very different story. First it was the Essendon saga, running since 2013 and revived last week after the CAS verdict and James Hird’s “tell-all” interview. Yesterday as the Australian Open began we were informed of the so-called “Tennis Racket” – allegations of widespread match-fixing and corruption in professional tennis.
At first sight these two cases seem diametrically opposed. On the one hand, Essendon’s willingness to operate either at the boundaries of what was legal, or entirely beyond those limits, demonstrates an excessive attitude toward the importance of winning. By contrast, the willingness of certain tennis players to throw matches or tank sets in exchange for a payout shows a deficient attitude toward the fair competition inherent to sport.At first sight these two cases seem diametrically opposed. On the one hand, Essendon’s willingness to operate either at the boundaries of what was legal, or entirely beyond those limits, demonstrates an excessive attitude toward the importance of winning. By contrast, the willingness of certain tennis players to throw matches or tank sets in exchange for a payout shows a deficient attitude toward the fair competition inherent to sport.
Related: Hird accepts 'a level' of responsibility for Essendon supplements scandal
Anyone who has studied undergraduate philosophy is familiar with Aristotle’s notion of the Golden Mean. It’s the idea that we can discover a virtue by looking for the mean (as in arithmetic mean, not nasty mean) between two vicious kinds of behaviour – the vice of deficiency and the vice of excess. On that understanding, these two cases are literally the opposite to one another, erring toward different extremes.Anyone who has studied undergraduate philosophy is familiar with Aristotle’s notion of the Golden Mean. It’s the idea that we can discover a virtue by looking for the mean (as in arithmetic mean, not nasty mean) between two vicious kinds of behaviour – the vice of deficiency and the vice of excess. On that understanding, these two cases are literally the opposite to one another, erring toward different extremes.
There’s an academic neatness to this interpretation but it risks overlooking a common element between the two cases – a belief that is responsible for some of the most insidious ethical violations we see every day: “win at all costs”. It’s an insidious mentality not unique to, but to typical of, professional sport, and it makes ethics, law, player safety all become subservient to some greater “good”.There’s an academic neatness to this interpretation but it risks overlooking a common element between the two cases – a belief that is responsible for some of the most insidious ethical violations we see every day: “win at all costs”. It’s an insidious mentality not unique to, but to typical of, professional sport, and it makes ethics, law, player safety all become subservient to some greater “good”.
It’s pretty clear how a win at all costs mentality informed the Essendon decision. Ironically, Essendon’s 2013 motto was “whatever it takes”, which they had apparently taken very literally the previous year. We shouldn’t be surprised to see this mentality in professional sport – a world where being a “winner” or “loser” is more than a metaphor, it’s reality.It’s pretty clear how a win at all costs mentality informed the Essendon decision. Ironically, Essendon’s 2013 motto was “whatever it takes”, which they had apparently taken very literally the previous year. We shouldn’t be surprised to see this mentality in professional sport – a world where being a “winner” or “loser” is more than a metaphor, it’s reality.
The same belief may well sit at the heart of the corruption that has been alleged against professional tennis. Tanking matches and accepting bribes to lose may seem like the opposite of a “win at all costs” approach, but that’s only if we have a narrow conception of winning. If we allow the possibility of winners and losers off the court as well it’s easier to see the common element here.The same belief may well sit at the heart of the corruption that has been alleged against professional tennis. Tanking matches and accepting bribes to lose may seem like the opposite of a “win at all costs” approach, but that’s only if we have a narrow conception of winning. If we allow the possibility of winners and losers off the court as well it’s easier to see the common element here.
By accepting bribes in exchange for losing what former tennis player Daniel Köllerer (a convicted match fixer who maintains his innocence) describes as “one stupid match”, tennis players reveal their desire to be financial “winners” – it can guarantee a relatively low-ranked athlete a life of comfort and success at the end of their career, even if they never reach centre court. If the cost is occasionally throwing a low-profile match, so be it.By accepting bribes in exchange for losing what former tennis player Daniel Köllerer (a convicted match fixer who maintains his innocence) describes as “one stupid match”, tennis players reveal their desire to be financial “winners” – it can guarantee a relatively low-ranked athlete a life of comfort and success at the end of their career, even if they never reach centre court. If the cost is occasionally throwing a low-profile match, so be it.
Related: Not tennis too! Are there any 'clean' sports left?
There are structural and individual lessons to be taken here. On an immediate level, it highlights the need for senior sports administrators to recognise the tension between the “purity” of sport and its corporate nature. Taking money out of sport isn’t going to happen, but the ways it can compromise integrity and public trust can be recognised as a threat and managed transparently, coherently and responsibly. Otherwise, professional sport – populated by would-be “winners” – will remain especially vulnerable.There are structural and individual lessons to be taken here. On an immediate level, it highlights the need for senior sports administrators to recognise the tension between the “purity” of sport and its corporate nature. Taking money out of sport isn’t going to happen, but the ways it can compromise integrity and public trust can be recognised as a threat and managed transparently, coherently and responsibly. Otherwise, professional sport – populated by would-be “winners” – will remain especially vulnerable.
It also highlights why any sport on which a betting market exists needs to be able to provide its athletes with a reasonable wage. Yes, the refusal of Football Australia to pay the Matildas a fair wage is sexist and unkind, but it also makes Australian football vulnerable to corruption. If it’s possible to make as much money by giving away a penalty in “one stupid match” as you make in a year, it becomes much easier to say yes.It also highlights why any sport on which a betting market exists needs to be able to provide its athletes with a reasonable wage. Yes, the refusal of Football Australia to pay the Matildas a fair wage is sexist and unkind, but it also makes Australian football vulnerable to corruption. If it’s possible to make as much money by giving away a penalty in “one stupid match” as you make in a year, it becomes much easier to say yes.
On an individual level it highlights the practical danger in turning professional athletes into “winners”. Not only does a “win at all cost” mentality have on-field consequences – as the Essendon case reveals – but it undermines public trust in sport and athletes altogether.On an individual level it highlights the practical danger in turning professional athletes into “winners”. Not only does a “win at all cost” mentality have on-field consequences – as the Essendon case reveals – but it undermines public trust in sport and athletes altogether.
When Popes and philosophers wax lyrical about the value of sport, they recognise the intrinsic value of sport to living an ethical life. Sport promises the development of virtue, the opportunity to overcome physical limitations and the opportunity to engage with your physical embodiment.When Popes and philosophers wax lyrical about the value of sport, they recognise the intrinsic value of sport to living an ethical life. Sport promises the development of virtue, the opportunity to overcome physical limitations and the opportunity to engage with your physical embodiment.
It’s romantic to think these traits would be the only ones inculcated in athletes, but it’s not too much to hope they might be seen as costs any professional athlete would be unwilling to pay in exchange for victory.It’s romantic to think these traits would be the only ones inculcated in athletes, but it’s not too much to hope they might be seen as costs any professional athlete would be unwilling to pay in exchange for victory.