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Cheating in Sports
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| Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 | Emily Halevy | CWK Producer |
“Coaches have an excellent opportunity to direct kids in the way of high morals and ethical behavior. I think they have a responsibility to, and what we find is that is what the best coaches do and it pays off.”
– James Millhouse, Ph.D., psychologist
Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France victory; Marion Jones has been asked to give back her Olympics medals; the New England Patriots were fined for stealing the signals of another team. How does all this cheating in sports affect our children, and how can parents and coaches ensure a level playing field?
Bishop and Davon have played four years of high school basketball and they’ve seen their share of dirty tricks.
“Grabbing jerseys, holding, there’s all sorts of tricks,” says Davon, 17.
“Elbows to the face will definitely get the defender out of the way,” says Bishop, 18.
In fact, according to a survey of student athletes by the Josephson Institute of Ethics in California, 37 percent say it’s okay for a coach to teach kids how to fake an injury or how to hold or push your opponent illegally. In the survey, 59 percent agreed that successful people do what they need to do to win -- even if it means cheating.
“People in real life take shortcuts because sometimes, maybe in one instance, they got away with it, and they try to do it again,” says Davon.
Why do kids cheat? Experts say, ironically, they think cheating creates a level playing field.
“One person will do it because the other person will do it. They feel they have to match each other and go to the lowest possible level, it seems,” says James Millhouse, Ph.D., psychologist.
Millhouse says that parents need to make sure they don’t put winning ahead of fair play, especially if they feel the coach ignores or encourages cheating.
“They absolutely need to talk to the coach about it and have a dialogue and say, ’What’s going on here?’ and explore it,” says Millhouse.
If that doesn’t work, Millhouse says that parents should strongly consider pulling their child from that team. Many experts agree that the morally ambiguous attitude of some high school athletes is a reflection of society, but since coaches control who plays and how they play, they also have the power to teach and instill high standards.
What We Need To Know
- Despite the tendency of competition to dampen the expression of empathy, sports are often emotionally charged experiences that can provide rich opportunities for developing empathic skills. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS)
- Sports can build character, but only if coaches deliberately seek to do so and are adequately informed regarding the educational processes required. (HHS)
- All sports have rules. These are important to make sure that the game is fair. If rules are broken then there are penalties. (Nemours Foundation)
- Many students are concerned that others will “cheat the system,” and over time cheating can demoralize those that play it straight. Providing rules that make it hard to cheat and make the contest more honest tends to appeal to adolescents. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC)
- If a student feels that others are cheating, or if a student has been cheating, it might help to talk the problem over with a parent, teacher or counselor. Choosing to play fair and be honest again can help a child feel relieved and proud. (Nemours Foundation)
- Kids who don't cheat are true winners because, when they win, they do it fair and square. (Nemours Foundation)
Resources
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Nemours Foundation
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
