Obsessed With Winning: An Ethical Dilemma

Remember that life old phrase, “It’s not whether you win or lose its how you played that game that matters?”  Yet does that still apply in today’s sports?  Illegal performance-enhancing drugs, commonly steroids, have been a hot topic in the media.  Many top-athletes with record breaking performances have been found guilty of using banned drugs.  Technically, they should be striped of any awards because they were achieved with the extra help of drugs.  Yet, what do the rules say about a player who took prescribed medication for a cold?  Realistically they felt better after taking the medicine and I would venture to say it enhanced their performance.  However this does not apply to world of sports because they have not broke any rules.  The problem is they argue performance-enhancing drugs are wrong, but they cannot state what is wrong about them. One might argue that not all athletes taking steroids would produce the same performance and outcomes as some have because like all medications they affect everyone differently.  Nonetheless, that still does not give them the right be treated differently than any other player because they are essentially breaking the rules even if they are not justified.

Baseball’s slow response to the acknowledged problem has demonstrated that yes we have a problem, and no we really aren’t going to do anything about it.  Today, everyone is obsessed and primarily concerned with their ends (being winning) and not their means (how they achieve their ends).

Baseball’s standards do not measure up to standards set long ago by other sports.  Stats are important to players because they determine salaries.  After all, who wants to make 2.5 million when they can make 3 million?  What happened to playing the game because you love the sport?

Baseball stands are not packed like they used to be.  Why not?  Perhaps, fans notice the shift of just mere playing the game to have fun verses playing to win and making money.  I might add that I find it disgraceful that they boys who really played the game (Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth) lose their spotlight for a player that really did not deserve any recognition.

It has been implied by Former NFL player Joe Ehrmann that ethical issues in sports today stem from what he calls “The Crisis of Masculinity”.  Athletic programs focus on winning.  Young boys are taught from an early age that masculinity stems from athletic ability.  I thought it was to help develop character; to teach kids that you won’t always win.  Also, you learn the fundamentals of team work and friendship.

The ethical dilemma is we all want to win and we that instant gratification without the work and time required to do so.  Coaches must make punishments visible to promote integrity; to show that you cannot get away with everything, and if you are caught you will have to endure the consequences.

Fans need to quit being so overly supportive of players who obviously care about their own self-interest.  Take for instance Manny Ramirez; after being suspended for testing positive on a drug test, fans cheered as he returned to the field.  It sounds to me like we are re-enforcing their bad behaviors.  After all, we are apparently are going to cheer if you get into trouble for performance-enhancing drugs, but would they cheer for a player if he perhaps cost them the World Series?  I seriously doubt that.  In the end, it only matter if you when, or at least that is how it seems.