@Jennifer1984 Said 
Wow.... this thread has really moved on, and there are a lot of very interesting, objective points.
I agree with most of what you say, Leon and you hit a lot of nails very firmly on the head.
I started this thread with the cartoon because it not only illustrated the point that one sport is "recognised" as having players of stronger character than the other, but also because this perception is now so deeply ingrained that it has become almost a stereotype.
You are quite right when you say that all sports have players who will "tough" it out for the good of the team.... including football.... but these players are often overlooked because the faking and the feigning is highlighted to an excessive degree by media such as TV. When a player dives and gets a penalty the incident is replayed and analysed to death by pundits, but if a player takes a hard knock and simply gets up and carries on, then it is completely ignored.
It's taken this long to arrive at this conclusion because the thread branched off into lots of different areas and we all get sidetracked... the lines get blurred... the message is lost. You'll know (if you've ever read any of my threads before) that's always been a source of irritation to me. But all that goes to show is that sport is a many-headed beast and there are a lot of aspects to this particular situation.
My personal viewpoint is concerned with the sporting aspect of it all. It quite disturbs me to see that some people seem to regard cheating (the gaining of an advantage by unfair means) as acceptable.... the end justifies the means.....
I personally do not endorse that view.
If the player who takes the injury simply accepts it as a part of the game... a consequence of playing that he knew was possible from the outset.... carries on attempting to do his best fairly and within the rules of the game, then I can admire that player. It's not about the degree of injury or how "hard" he is or whether there is blood gushing from open wounds. That's not what I'm about. It's about the character of the individual, performing to his best despite personal hurt or wounding for the benefit of the team.
What I see as contemptible is the player who is so weak or so lacking in moral fibre and conviction that he has submitted to his own inadequacy. By cheating he is making a statement to the effect of "You are better than me. You are a better player, a better person and a better competitor. I cannot beat you by fair means and so I will resort to trickery, chicanery and cynicism. I care nothing for the nobility of sport, I only care that I win the contest and enrich myself in terms of money, status and glory that I do not really deserve".
That is the creed of the cheat and I cannot condone that.
We know it goes on to a greater or lesser degree in all sports.... although in football it seems to be more prevalent than in any other game, and I wish I knew why that is, but I don't and nobody here seems to be able to explain it, either.
Some instances of cheating are carried out in the heat of the moment.... the fierce fury of competitive action. That is understood. It doesn't make it acceptable, but it does make it more understandable and if a player is willing to admit afterwards that he did something wrong, then he can at least be forgiven his moment of rashness.
In a rugby European Cup final, Leicester flanker Neil Back put his hand into a scrummage illegally and deprived Munster a chance to make a score that would surely have won the game. He cheated blatantly and got away with it. In his biography, he said he did it on the spur of the moment and is wracked by remorse. His admission doesn't alter the result but his apology at least shows he felt bad about what he did in the heat of the moment. He has been forgiven by the Munster players who were deprived the greatest prize in the club game..... but doesn't that forgiveness, which is one of the finer traits of humanity show them up in an even better light..?
Contrast that with the actions of Diego Maradona in the 1986 world cup and his infamous "Hand of God". Despite being caught on camera and exposed as a cheat, Maradona has never apologised for what he did. He has never accepted that he did anything wrong. It is the darkest stain on the character of a man who should be recognised as one of the greats, but will always be tainted by a misdeed for which the book can never be closed.
Sport is only a metaphorical battleground, Leon. Nobody should die playing sport (although some do, which is a terrible sadness). Nobody should suffer life changing injury, but again, they do and that is sad, too. Games should be made as safe as possible for participants, but everybody knows that when you cross the white line, it is possible that today, you may just get the hit that puts you in a wheelchair for life. All players know it, and mostly, they accept the risk.
Sport isn't perfect. Human beings aren't perfect. When the prizes for success are enormous, the temptation put in front of fallible people can be irresistible. But it is how you conduct yourself on the field of sport that marks out the person you are and what you stand for.
At the end of the day, when the game is over, the trophies handed out and the medals draped around necks, will they be able to live with what they did and how they conducted themselves...?
The player I respect is the one who would rather lose with decency than win with dishonour.
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I remember discussing all of this in an earlier thread and, while we had differing opinions of what constituted cheating and what did, I do remember telling you that I agreed that diving should be considered as such and that it's practice is to be frowned upon.
Oct 28, 2011 @ 14:23:53
