The Sport Ethic

The Sports Ethic by Hughes and Coakley is an article that discusses positive deviance within sports. Sports Ethic is defined as, "when athletes...emphasize the sacrifice for The Game, seeking distinction, taking risks, and challenging limits". In this article Hughes and Coakley discuss how athletes are deviating from norms in a positive way. Hughes and Coakley argue in the article how through sports ethic, athletes within a sport feel the need to show their commitment to a value system that we stress; however, it is not due to the disregard or rejection of cultural/social norms.

In the article Hughes and Coakley refer to four dimensions of sport ethic: being an athlete involves making sacrifices for the game, striving for distinction, accepting risks and playing through pain, and refusing to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities. In the article Hughes and Coakley explain that athletes are pushed to conform to these boundaries by coaches; however, it is still considered something that is completely voluntary.

They also explain the two conditions that can lead to athletes over conforming to the sport ethic. They explain that athletes who have low self-esteem and those who will sacrifice anything for their achievement are prone to the over conformity. In the article I believe the most important line is: "attempting to change the behavior of such person by helping them learn to conform to social rules and live up to social expectations would only increase their [positive] defiance". With that quote in mind, it makes sense that these individuals that are prone to over conform are also the ones being told to change. Personally I don't understand why there is an issue of over conforming. If someone over conforms to the sports ethic, it only affects the person who is doing the over conforming. According to an article posted by sportsinjuries.org high school athletes alone account for an estimated 2 million injuries a year. With this statistic in mind, I can understand why there might be a concern; however, it shouldn't be an issue to anyone but the athlete and these 2 million injuries could easily be as little as a sprained ankle. Thus, I don't quite understand why there is a concern for the over conformity.

I personally have experienced all four the dimensions of sports ethics. I was taught the sports ethic by my parents and coaches. While they didn't call it the sports ethic, they had certain expectations of me that are very similar to the sports ethic. When I was in martial arts, I had to continue to fight a sparring match with a broken foot; which demonstrates the accepting risks and playing through pain. I also refused to accept the limitations I had when I had knee surgery and continued to play varsity soccer and club volleyball. In addition to those two examples, I have also sacrificed time in school to travel with sports teams, which shows sacrifice. Seeking distinction is difficult for me to relate too. If there is one experience that I believe is closely related to seeking distinction is doing sports that are not as popular as football, basketball, and baseball.

Through this article I have learned what the Sports Ethic is, what the four dimensions are, and also who is prone to over conforming to the sport ethic. As someone who is surrounded by sports on a daily basis, I found this article interesting and helpful in understanding why competitive athletes are the way that they are and what rules some of them live by.

References:
Hughes and Coakley: Sports Ethic
http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org/media/statistics.aspx