The Ethics of Sport

THE ETHICS OF SPORT By Jno. J. Tigert, U. S. Commissioner of Education [At the Recreation Congress recently held at Cleveland, Ohio, the follow- ing address was jmade by Commissioner of Education John J. Tigert. At the request of Executive Director Oscar A. Kirkham, a copy of the address has been furnished the Improvement Era with permission to publish. We commend the Commissioner's message to the students and friends of our colleges and high schools. — Editors.] Sports of all kinds have proved beneficial to man for centuries and there is no one who challenges the admiration more than a true sportsman. Since the days when the Greeks held their Olympic games and deified the victors with the crown of wild olive, no people have ren- dered such homage to manly contests of physical prowess as the American people; since the time. of those memorable festivals at Olym- pia, perhaps there has never been a type of manhood which so nearly approached the Greek ideal of physical perfection as the American college athlete. And yet there is much in our sports, particularly in college athletics, which lends itself to adverse criticism. So much so that many thoughtful men in our colleges severely condemn inter- collegiate athletics, as now conducted. After years of experience with school and college athletics, both as participant and as an enthusiastic supporter, my mature conviction is that the value of sports in our colleges is problematical . In the first instance, it is well to remind ourselves that the physical gain that comes from these strenuous contests, accompanied as they are with intense excitement, is often grossly exaggerated and it is recognized by experts that some forms of sport have actually been physically injurious. Many of our colleges have abandoned rowing on this account. The greatest benefits which come from these contests, if they come at all, to the players and spectators alike, are the implant- ing or strengthening of moral qualities or habits which are useful in the course of human life. Many sports are thought to breed only immoral habits and traits of mind, such as dishonesty, contempt, scorn, ridicule, cursing, gambling and immorality in its most disgusting forms. There is no one who can deny that, as our sports have been conducted, many of these evils have arisen in connection with them, but we believe that college athletics may be put on such a basis that these things can be eliminated and thereby become entirely a source from which spring honor, integrity, admiration, praise, clean speech, strong bodies and pure minds. Of the evils mentioned perhaps there is none which has injured true sport so much as the pernicious practice of betting on contests.

THE ETHICS OF SPORT 281 It was this which banished horse-racing, once the finest of sports, from the confines of most of our states. Betting was largely respon- sible for the downfall of the boxing game which undoubtedly can be carried on in a way that is helpful. Thoughtless wagering is a menace to good sport in many of our colleges today. No boy, who has the slightest instincts of true sportsmanship, would lay a wager on a con- test in which his fellow students were competing or would want to compete in such a contest, thus lowering them or himself to the level of the cock in the cock-pit or the horse on the race course, besides forming the infamous habit of reckless gambling. There is no place in the college life where a larger opportunity is offered for the exhibition of honor or dishonor than in athletic contests. Here the athlete is put into the crucible and he will emerge either as a despicable fraud and a cheat or filled with the very noblest sentiments of honor and integrity. The motive for unfairness in our sports in undoubtedly a mistaken but overwhelming belief that we must win, entertained by players and spectators alike. No one, who has any respect for himself or his opponent, would ever enter any kind of a contest without the idea of doing his best to win, but every true sportsman will remember that the true end of good sport is not the winning of the game, but the fostering of those highest qualities of manhood which are incident to the playing of the game. The question is not so much whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. It is because of their matchless qualities of honor, chivalry, and fairness that the knights of the middle ages so much challenged our admiration. What boy today would read a book whose hero practiced such a code of honor as some practice in our sports today? Ivanhoe is a book dear to the heart of every boy. I recall the incident when Ivanhoe, after defeating several knights in succession, finally found himself facing in the lists his most dangerous antagonist — the young and valiant knight DeGrautmesnil. As their horses came careering upon each other, the noble Ivanhoe saw that his opponent had lost control of his impetuous steed and rather than take any advantage of so redoubtable an antagonist, he lowered his lance and passed him by rather than unhorse him. This act so unnerved DeGrautmesnil that he was easily vanquished by the magnanimous Ivanhoe. Is there any reason why the same spirit which swayed Ivanhoe and other true knights should not characterize our sports today? Let us strive to vanquish our antagonist by our generosity rather than by seeking to overcome him by some trick transgression of the rules, or foul play. Let the spectators and players praise and applaud rather than scorn or ridicule the visiting team. Nothing could be more shocking to the sense of true sportsmanship than a practice, all too common, of jeering at visiting players when injured in football games, calling them "yellow," etc. The practice in some places of mocking and endeavoring to rattle basketball players while making free throws

282 IMPROVEMENT ERA is not only contrary to the rules but shameful. Spectators should re- main silent or, if they must make a demonstration, let it be in the nature of a plaudit and let the plaudits be rendered to the visitors as well as to the home team. Spectators who will not do this are not worthy to be spectators. Above all things, all the rules of the game should be rigidly enforced. If you cannot observe the rules of the game, by all means do not play. Spectators and players should allow the interpretation and enforcement of the rules of the game to the properly constituted officials. If the spectators find that they have an irrepressible desire to express themselves, let them commend and assist the officials rather than criticize and obstruct. If any rules are necessarily dispensed with, such dispensation should apply alike to both teams. When you are defeated, it is poor sportsmansip to attribute your defeat to some chance circumstance or to some disadvantage under which you were laboring. Some teams always have an "alibi" (in athletic vernacular) . The best sportsman will never fail to con- gratulate his competitors, whether victorious or defeated. When we have won a victory, let us try not to display our exultation and joy to those we have vanquished, but rather let us endeavor to show sym- pathy and render what encouragement we can. Let us not "crow" over our defeated opponents nor "brag" over our victories. * * * "To brag little; to show well; to crow gently if in luck — to pay up, to own up, and to show up, if beaten, are the virtues or the sport- ing man." The Angel's Prayer How dear we must be to those angels of light, Who hover so near us by day and by night. How dear are those angels, their true love so deep. They share with our sorrow, and w?ep when we weep. When they see our cross is so heavy to bear, And they see some burdens they have no right to share. They go to the Father, for us intercede, That he in his mercy will grant what we need. To lighten our burdens enough, when it's best, Give renewal of courage to go on with the rest. Through his love for the angels their sorrows to spare, He goes right at work to answer their prayer. Lift up your eyes, ye that are weary, Be joyful, be faithful, be true. The angels who love you so dearly Are pleading and praying for you. Vancouver, B. C. E. L. SPRING.