What lessons do sports really teach?


Reply
  • Page 1 of 2
  • 1
  • 2
 
Topic Tools Search this Thread
nightling is offline nightling Post #1  March 31,2010, 5:59am
nightling's Avatar

all I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.

Power Poster

Joined: Sep 2009

Misery

Posts: 6,943

See profile

I thought this a pretty thought-provoking article, particularly as it relates to competitive team sports for our kids in school, where coaches want to WIN and the rivalries between schools are played up to encourage that winning attitude ... I myself played a lot of sports and learned a lot of good things from it, but this is food for thought.

The Morally Questionable Lessons of Formal Sports II: Moral Disengagement in the Drive to Win | Psychology Today


You are a college basketball player. Your coach and everyone on your team knows that the star on the opposing team has just recovered from a serious ankle injury. Nobody says, "Let's try to make him injure that ankle again, to get him out of the game," but you know very well that that's what they mean when they say, "Let's run on him." Do you do it? Do you single him out and deliberately make him run more, jump more, and fall more than you would if he were not so vulnerable to injury? If you do, you are deliberately trying to hurt a fellow human being. If you don't, you may be letting down your teammates, your coach, and your whole dumb college, from the president on down, who believe that winning at sports is what makes their college look great.



More in the actual article
 
  Reply With Quote
PY_2 is offline PY_2 Post #2  March 31,2010, 3:34pm

Unregistered

Joined: Oct 2009

Posts: 6,908

See profile

I don't watch sports, I watch cooking and home garden shows instead
 
  Reply With Quote
D_Lion is offline D_Lion Post #3  March 31,2010, 5:27pm
D_Lion's Avatar

- Ladies want to wring my neck - you have been warned!

Sage

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 31,698

See profile

If you know you're trying to run a business (such as Ford) and a key competitor (Toyota) made a fool of itself, do you advertise accordingly?

If you don't, you aren't ready for adulthood, let alone a job which actually pays a living wage.
 
  Reply With Quote
bigfincat is offline bigfincat Post #4  March 31,2010, 11:57pm
bigfincat's Avatar

Virtuoso

Joined: Nov 2008

Posts: 4,077

See profile

Sports definitely teach some good lessons & some bad lessons.

I don't think that running on a player is unethical but I am reminded of the movie The Karate Kid of a clear example of over the line behavior. LOL.

I think that the lines of ethics in life are crossed all of the time. Using loopholes & sidestepping intent of the law cross that line.

Some people take with them the idea that life is a game or a competition which I think is a poor job of teaching.
 
  Reply With Quote
nightling is offline nightling Post #5  April 1,2010, 11:06am
nightling's Avatar

all I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.

Power Poster

Joined: Sep 2009

Misery

Posts: 6,943

See profile

D_Lion wrote :
If you know you're trying to run a business (such as Ford) and a key competitor (Toyota) made a fool of itself, do you advertise accordingly?

If you don't, you aren't ready for adulthood, let alone a job which actually pays a living wage.
Here's an orange for that apple.
 
  Reply With Quote
nightling is offline nightling Post #6  April 1,2010, 11:15am
nightling's Avatar

all I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.

Power Poster

Joined: Sep 2009

Misery

Posts: 6,943

See profile

bigfincat wrote :
Sports definitely teach some good lessons & some bad lessons.

I don't think that running on a player is unethical but I am reminded of the movie The Karate Kid of a clear example of over the line behavior. LOL.

I think that the lines of ethics in life are crossed all of the time. Using loopholes & sidestepping intent of the law cross that line.

Some people take with them the idea that life is a game or a competition which I think is a poor job of teaching.
I think so too, bigfincat. You can't forget that in these games the moving pieces are not made of wood, but flesh and blood.

And yet ordinarily, playing as well as you can also means taking advantage of the available weaknesses.

It's just food for thought, I think. Young minds are so impressionable. I'm definitely not being anti-sports, of course. I played basketball, tennis, cross country and learned a lot of good lessons from each.

Maybe being on a girl's team, I was never encouraged to do anything that would lead to the physical harm of an opposing player. (I'm not sure a coach could have even convinced me to do that. I would just looked at him like he had lost his marbles.)
 
  Reply With Quote
D_Lion is offline D_Lion Post #7  April 1,2010, 4:15pm
D_Lion's Avatar

- Ladies want to wring my neck - you have been warned!

Sage

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 31,698

See profile

nightling wrote :
Here's an orange for that apple.

Really?

By the time a person plays sport at college level, they usually have over $100 k of free college, often more in the grey area the pathetic NCAA mandates (oh, a free $2.7 million house for your parents, who would notice?)

Athletes should take every opportunity to score that next goal - since one false step could mean an injury that ends an athletic career permenantly.
 
  Reply With Quote
nightling is offline nightling Post #8  April 1,2010, 5:16pm
nightling's Avatar

all I'll leave are smoke rings in the dark.

Power Poster

Joined: Sep 2009

Misery

Posts: 6,943

See profile

D_Lion wrote :
Really?

By the time a person plays sport at college level, they usually have over $100 k of free college, often more in the grey area the pathetic NCAA mandates (oh, a free $2.7 million house for your parents, who would notice?)

Athletes should take every opportunity to score that next goal - since one false step could mean an injury that ends an athletic career permenantly.
The type of harm in your original post and the type of harm in the article are two different things, froggy. Targeting a guy in a game to make him fall and hurt himself is far different than outcompeting a rival business with a competent advertising campaign.

That is the orange to the apple I was referring to.

I do think individual players should do their best to score. But everyone on a team saying let's get shortie to me is far different.
 
  Reply With Quote
D_Lion is offline D_Lion Post #9  April 1,2010, 5:30pm
D_Lion's Avatar

- Ladies want to wring my neck - you have been warned!

Sage

Joined: Aug 2008

Posts: 31,698

See profile

I don't see the difference?

Few college athletes will make a professional team. Those who do may make a lot of money.

Employees of a company which succeeds may have a mortgage paid this month, a health cover paid, etc.

Toyota terminated workers due to the media publicity over its recalls; March auto sales indicate US automakers benefited. This is peoples' futures at stake.

Some of the employees of these companies have the rest of their lives materially effected by that.

I don't see the difference at all.

People do not succeed unless they take the opportunity in front of them. The college players who wish to get with a pro team will be those who see and react to opportunity.
 
  Reply With Quote
scarlet13 is offline scarlet13 Post #10  April 1,2010, 5:37pm

no stuntman surprises or houdini like disguises for death defying escape

Unregistered

Joined: Apr 2009

Where the clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky

Posts: 10,721

See profile

I didn't read the article,and i've had a few glasses of wine, but this is what sports taught me.

that in 1979 there were no girls soccer teams, and if you tryed out you had to be better than the best boy player they had if you wanted to play. a coach would take the most uncoordinated boy who would rather be at his sister's dance class over any female player, no matter how good she was. *

also, you could be co captain of the gymnastics team but you would not make the cheerleading squad if you wore too much black eyeliner and hung out with the kids who wore Motorhead teeshirts, even if you could do back handsprings in your sleep. **

yes. sports taught me a lot.


*not bitter- i made the team.

**bitter. i will hate those pom pom witches forever.
 
  Reply With Quote
Reply
  • Page 1 of 2
  • 1
  • 2


« OK let's stir the pot! If she's good lookin', great job, great personality, up for fun times, AND she likes you!! YEAH YOU... | Chit Chat | Beware the shapeshifters »
Topic Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new topics
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off

Similar Topics
Topic Topic Starter Board Replies Last Post
Ladies: what did your mother teach you about love? eHA_Admin_Lori About You 8 February 10,2010 8:02pm
Men: What did your father teach you about love? eHA_Admin_Lori About You 4 February 10,2010 4:47pm
Don't Get Your Hopes Up!! Dating Lessons learned... jussmile Dating 33 January 30,2010 6:54pm
If I could only teach him/her to do one thing well it would be... WeDesignOurLives let's talk about sex 48 January 11,2010 8:35am
What sport(s) did you play as a kid? eHA_Admin_Lori Sports 18 January 5,2010 11:55am

Looking for a Great Relationship?

Get started now. Fill out this form and take the questionnaire to receive your matches.

First Name:

I'm a:
seeking

Postal Code:

Country:

Email:

Confirm Email:

Password:


How did you hear about us?


Latest on our Dating Advice Discussion Boards

“He broke up...The best way to stay hung-up is to keep dwelling,wishing, hoping, reminiscing....Like staring at an empty bottle of booze when you are trying to quit drinking. Rather than focus on a ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Can I wait and move on at the same time?” discussion

“Oh how annoying - I had typed a HUGE post prompted by TheThinker's query as to why I would think it a good idea to wait 5-10 years to date/or until children are out of the house. I am too annoyed to ... ” –  picklesNcream

Join the “Transition from dating to relationship” discussion

“This is very true. If someone has a truly old /outdated account since the questionnaire was altered then it's a decent solution. It's become an urban legend on eHA that this is a good idea. Mostly ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Different Strategy” discussion

“Shared interests and ones who are laddetts for mine.” –  ian80au

Join the “Green Flags in Profiles” discussion

“Completely cancel /delete your existing account. That will also cancel /delete all long-dead, geographically irrelevant matches. Since you are in a new area it's silly to use an old /outdated ... ” –  Wiseman2

Join the “Removing old matches - there has to be a better way” discussion

“I'm very sorry for your loss, Suzanne. It's not surprising you're feeling confused and making some memory errors. That happened to me too when my mother died. Life just isn't normal for awhile. ... ” –  Sassafras54

Join the “Photo Review” discussion

“I am closing this thread since the Original Poster (OP) was asking about the eHarmony of 2-1/2 years ago -- the thread is old (see date in the upper right of the first post). Some responses will no ... ” –  Sassafras54

Join the “What about a "PET BOX" ?? again this sounds simple or??” discussion

“Thanks for your advice guys, really helps out. I guess everything is a matter of balance, which isn't something that I can work out right now. I think I will focus on school for the remaining 3 years ... ” –  jrw93

Join the “Should I ever date in college?” discussion



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 4:18am.

Discussion Boards Archive

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0