Sports is an athletic activity with a set of rules or customs to govern it, ofttimes undertaken with a competitive spirit. Sports is a wonderful instrument that can be exploited in favor of many other activities such as significant access to higher studies through quotas, enhancement of leadership traits and most importantly the incorporation of sportsmanship which is highly essential to cope up with others. A person who is involved in Sports always possess a positive approach towards issues as he is psychologically trained with or without his knowledge to analyze the pros and cons of a move, learn discipline and practice teamwork.
Perhaps at times, it is treated as an effective tool to gamble, mock or tease another player and all these unethical acts play a major role in administering a spirit of vengeance and retribution eventually losing the real essence and charm of the game. It is a natural tendency of human in some occasions to intend to evade rules, as it is thrilling to break rules and gives an unique pleasure. In case of sports, the violation of rules does not stop with thrilling you but additionally provides with a competitive advantage over the other players and competitors.
Let us have a look at few of the unethical strategies which are used to gain a competitive advantage over the other players. Few rules of games are exploited in favor of the team. For instance, the game of football can be delayed, in spite of the penalties that are being issued to players who carry it out, this particular act is followed as a strategy to win the game. These are so common and so much in practice that they are specifically recognized as “Strategic Fouls”.
Although the game is being monitored by a referee it is not all that easy for him to stay focused all the times. There are cases were a foul could be left undetected. In the intention of physically hurting the opponents or averting the balls from the opponents, players grab shirts, push or pull the co-players down and such activities which is nothing but the intentional violation of rules are left unnoticed. Self hurting acts like collapsing to the ground, diving etc to gain a yellow or red card to the opponents are also few unethical practices in use.
Practices such as match fixing – the process of the player driving a game in the direction assigned by the gambler with an intention of earning extra money , gambling which is similar to match fixing and equipment tampering – the process of designing or preparing the equipments such as bat, ball, or ground in favor of a team or in hindrance of the opponent team are made use by the unethical players in favor of their winning. Harassments like threatening the team members and inflicting the pain in them are also done.
Even advancement in technology is exploited as it is sometimes helpful for teams to track the opponent’s game plan, signal and strategies. This is done using a hidden camera or a microphone either fixed in the dressing room, discussion hall or wherever suitable. Let us turn our attention towards doping. World Anti-Doping agency states doping is the illegitimate drugging toarouse aggressive in return induce spirit of winning in a player. Doping is a term which originated from Africans with “dop” being a product from grape leaves which possess the property of intoxication when administered.
Steroids like nandrolone, testosterone, anabolic steroids, growth hormones, specific medications, stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, biological determinants such as myostin, leptin, therapeutic antibodies and cyytokines, alcohol, cigarettes, the practice of blood doping, use of synthetic erythropoeitin and nitrogen tents are methods of doping in Sports. Strong and stringent laws are enforced to penalize the players who are proved to be positive to the test. There are few exemptions if the player has a valid therapeutic prescription supplemented with a valid record of the related abnormality.
While inducing aggressiveness to capture the spirit to win, is the intention behind the usage of the above mentioned drugs, some cases where players consume supplements which are cross contaminated with illegal inducers or mislabeled products are also considered disqualified to participate in events. A sportsperson is supposed be vigilant in the usage of drugs. All the edibles, medications and inducers should be ensured that they are not forbidden being consuming it.
Anti – Doping agency’s efforts to enforce stringent laws and conduct expensive doping tests are done with the objective of cultivating good qualities in the players. The fundamental anti-doping principles are to protect the player’s health, abide by the sports ethics to respect it and to ensure a healthy competition by being unbiased and assuring an equal chance for all. Coaching is an important part of any sport as the coach assumes the absolute responsibility in teaching the game, training the player, explaining ethics of the game and helping him learn the nuances of the game.
A good coach is concerned about the safety of the player therefore he will not suggest him an illegitimate sedative or inducer, he is concerned about the well-being of the player therefore he will not recommend him to go by the strategic fouling and the other unethical practices for the winning of the game, and he is bothered about the future of the performer therefore he will not allow him to stand by unethical activities like match fixing, equipment tampering or any other illegal activity.
The above mentioned applies in cases where the coach is player oriented or team oriented, in cases where the coach is bought by the opponent team or if the coach is sponsor centered he cannot be always expected to teach the players the right ethics, or feed the players the real charm of the game. As coaches stay with the players for a long period of time, they get to know too much of their personal information unavoidably and so are the players. There should prevail a mutual loyalty and honesty between the player and the coach to forge a good relationship between them so as to support the smooth going of the team
A real sportsman is liable to possess integrity such that he should be prone to follow conscience and abide by the principles framed. Few harmful acts against the teammates like spreading rumors, gossiping and betraying their trust ruins the harmony and effectiveness of the team. These are acts against loyalty which is not considered the good sign of real sportsperson. It is a challenging deal and incurs a great sense of satisfaction to be honest by accepting the truth while playing a game rather than gaining an advantage by telling a lie. He should wish to carry himself by being polite in his language and activities.
He has to be very particular about not hurting, embarrassing, insulting or putting the co-players down. The patience to stay clam, the tendency to help others and tolerate others mistakes and versatility are few traits to be adopted to become a successful player. A sportsperson will never support discrimination be it based on religion, caste or race. Prejudice and favoritism are qualities that is kept far from sports. He is expected to stay unbiased, assume accountability, follow fairness and establish self control. A quality sportsperson should follow his conscience to be a role model and a lesson for all ages.