Yahoo sportswriter Pat Forde recently wrote about the resiliency of college athletics, and how even with seemingly rampant cheating, college athletics are as popular as ever before. Forde’s column illustrates case after case of college programs breaking the rules by cheating, and disregarding the pillars of integrity that we expect sport competition to be built upon. Ironically, Forde may have actually been limiting in his views of sports and what we will accept/endure, for when we take ten steps back and a broader view it’s quite remarkable what we will tolerate for sports entertainment.
Below are a few examples not mentioned in Forde’s column that provide stark evidence that when it comes to problems in sports, sports fans really don’t seem to mind much:
- Most recently, the NFL was prompted to deal with domestic violence after the Ray Rice wife-slap tapes were found. Even after Commissioner Goodell botched the case (and other NFL player cases surfaced), and after protests, public service announcements, and demonstrations, fans still filled stadiums, bought merchandise, and supported the league like never before.
- The NFL has also been dealing with safety issues (i.e. concussions) that has lead to law suits, player injuries, and even concussion-related deaths. Still, fans don’t seem to be impacted by any of it.
- In baseball, a 2-decade long span has been called the “Steroid Era,” but even as countless players juiced up (and later got caught), fans didn’t appear to be the least bit bothered as ticket sales went through he roof (in fact, you could argue the steroid era actually helped baseball!).
- Drilling deeper, seemingly every week a player, coach, or team is caught cheating, breaking rules, or in trouble with the law (off the field), yet sports fans seem desensitized and hardly bat an eye.
Sport psychologists and sociologists wonder why sports fans endure so much and expect so little when it comes to sports entertainment and playing by the rules? Is there a future “tipping point” that has yet to be reached that will result in fans expecting more integrity and better decision-making from athletes? If the past tells us anything at all it’s that we care far more about the thrill and entertainment on the field and a lot less about the problems we see in sports today.
www.drstankovich.com
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cheating, Coaching, forde, integrity, model, pat, psychology, role, safety, sociology, sport
