One’s Own Merits

“Whatever it takes to win.”

Since when is deceit part of the game? Oh, it makes for some good storytelling about “legendary” and “quirky” plays and players and coaches. But unless we’re talking about actual war, “whatever it takes….” doesn’t work. It’s out of bounds. And even war-making supposedly has rules and guidelines.

Baseball, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, golf, horse shoes, swimming, figure skating, even football— the beautiful game or whatever product it is that the NFL puts on the field– aren’t warfare, as much as players and advertisers and league officials might want us to think otherwise. No doubt, competition is fierce, and there’s a lot on the line the deeper a team goes into a season and the playoffs, but, again—it’s a game we’re talking about here. There’s a line that can’t be crossed in competition. Cheating is degrading behavior embraced by adults and taught to children. It might be raised to an art form, but it’s always wrong. And always disappointing.

A competitive edge is some holy grail worthy of pursuit only to a point, as an individual or team practices hard, trains hard, strategizes and gets in the right mindset. Steroids aren’t part of this, sign stealing isn’t part of this, nail files and Vaseline aren’t parts of this. Foot wedges, deflated footballs or wagering aren’t included in this.

It might have been Casey Stengel who said that he’d do whatever it took to win, or “…it’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.” Really? This win at all costs mentality has no place in sports. There’s a difference between being competitive and being deceitful. That’s not winning, that’s just cheating, a sign that you’ve gone too far. A fear issue, a control issue.

The hidden ball trick is one thing. Steroids and sign stealing and loading up a ball and point shaving are something else entirely. The latter have no place in sports at any level, and are simply indications of someone taking things way too seriously. Succumbing to such unfair advantages, such crutches, feeling the need to go there, says more about a person’s confidence level and character than anything else. The desired outcome ends up being weakness, not strength.

And if “everybody’s doing it,” then it’s all one big deception. Fraud passed off as athletic prowess, as achievement.