Sports, whether it be soccer, football or baseball, would mean nothing without fair play and ethics. Sports are also an extension of our desire for competition and achieve victory. In peaceful societies, sports are actually a replacement for hunting parties and other forms of more aggressive activities. Ethics and fair play is often used interchangeably. We should be aware that all sports are created and played by humans. In this case, people are actually creating conflicts, not the actual sporting activity. Obviously praise of our peers and personal pride of achievement are the undeniable benefits that we gain from being the best. Modern sports have become an industry that’s inundated by sponsors offering large amount of money if their brands and products are highlighted on uniforms and sports activities. People relish being complimented and honored. They would do many things to obtain the praise and they deserve it through those hard works. They also receive significant amount of fame and money. In such an enticing situation, hairline cracks in integrity could eventually start to appear, even in otherwise good and honest people’s character.
Sports industry as a whole could become derailed by real greed as everyone has a never-ending quest for perfection. Moral decay is something that we can’t ignore in sports. Honored and blemish-free records are shattered as athletes start to used performance-enhancing drugs and other substances. Many records are removed because there are strong evidences of cheating. Foul plays could inflict the world of sports like cancer with little signs of receding.
Young children should understand about the serious of sports and they should take this before anything else. When children are playing soccer, football and baseball, they should be considered as educational activities where they can emulate honesty, instead of bad ethics. Fortunately, many children are too young to understand the evils that are committed by some bad individuals who spy on other teams or use performance enhancing drugs. When they are smart and old enough, they will be able to play games fairly.
Parents and coaches should be able to uphold honesty and do everything that’s deemed necessary to make sure the ethics are prioritized. Athletes should give their best to achieve success through dedication and hard work, no cheating, drugs and shortcuts. In fact, it is better to lose honestly, instead of win by cheating. We should fight the good fight through maintaining high standards and integrity. This will instil high more values in the world of sports.
Sports are essentially low-cost, affordable activities that can be considered as recreational for common people. Although public schools are struggling to cope with budget cuts, sports could be among the remaining effective ways to teach children about fair play in life. Honesty, high morals and ethics can be taught through sports programs. After all, sports are essentially the microcosm of our community as a whole. If we want to change the community, we could start by begin changing the way we perform sports.