RE: "It's Part of the Game"

Jon Reischal, of Integrity in Youth Sports blog, writes:

"...It's part of the game." The phrase is simple enough, but in certain situations, it's one of the great cop-outs of all time. And just yesterday one of the planet's most famous baseball players used it shamelessly.


"Check out the story on MLB.com. Here's the scenario: New York Yankees playing the Tampa Bay Rays in a critical series between arguably the two best teams in baseball to help decide the division championship. Derek Jeter is at the plate when a pitch sails in high and tight. Jeter cringes and doubles over in pain. The umpire awards him first base thinking the ball struck him in the hand. The Yankees manager and trainer come out to attend to their supposedly injured star.

Rays manager Joe Maddon argued ferociously that the ball didn't hit Jeter at all, that it hit his bat instead and rolled fair. Maddon couldn't convince the men in blue and was eventually thrown out of the game. Well it turns out Maddon was right. Replays showed that the ball hit the bat and not Jeter, who played it up like he was on Broadway and helped sell the false idea to get himself on first base.

Jeter dismissed it with "it's part of the game." I thought it was cowardly. Jeter thinks getting on base is his job, even if it takes bold-faced lying to get there. I think he demonstrated a complete lack of principle. Jeter thinks winning is more important than character. I think it's funny and sad all at once that he lost both the game and his integrity in one bad night.

The worst part is there are youth baseball players all over the country who now think a little bit more like Derek Jeter thinks. That there are no absolutes in sports, no black and white. Some cheating is OK. You can give away part of who you are as long as you get on base. It's alright to sacrifice a little integrity if it moves your team a little closer to victory.

I don't care what Derek Jeter says. Those things aren't part of the game..."

Dan here:

I appreciate Jon's frustration.  How do we stand a chance in helping our children discern right from wrong when their heroes appear to struggle with the same issues? Perhaps within that very question lies the answer.

There is no reason to assume that Derek Jeter has spent time reflecting upon such things as gamesmanship, or the importance placed upon winning and losing 'at all costs', etc. And without such reflection, there is simply no way for Jeter---or anyone, for that matter---to behave with "integrity".

The term "integrity" derives its meaning from the root, integration. When I consider my integrity, I commit to a process that includes a rigorous examination as to whether or not my actions and perceptions and beliefs come from a place of insight and truth, or whether instead they are borne of my fears, insecurities, greed, or other such emotions.

When I am acting in ways that are consistent with a commitment and dedication to truthfulness, my actions are far more often than not integrated with my beliefs.

I assume that many professional athletes---and many amateur athletes as well---"believe" that gamesmanship is acceptable because they are perhaps afraid that believing differently might be seen as a sign of weakness. The irony, of course, is that we derive great strength from our willingness to act in ways that are integrated with our sense of right and wrong.

As we work with the young athletes whom we coach, it is incumbent upon us to model for them our own commitment to self-examination, and to awareness. I never teach my soccer players how to "game" the system. That is a conscious decision that I have made based upon my desire to integrate my beliefs with my actions. And I always take time to explain to them why I make such a choice.

But let me be clear: I also never tell my players that such actions are wrong, per se. They have to come to their own decisions on these types of issues. Yes, they are not allowed to engage in gamesmanship when they are playing on a team that I coach. But another coach might allow such actions. And I cannot, in good conscience, take the position that somehow I am right and the other coach is wrong. I do not want to put players in the position of finding themselves caught in the middle while two "adults" take different sides on an issue.

Let's be honest. What do kids see when they watch professional sports? They see tactics employed by professional players---tactics in soccer that include delaying the game, shirt-pulling, so-called professional fouls, etc.---all aimed at "gaming" the rules in the quest for a positive result. Whether this is right or wrong is not the central issue. Opinions will always vary. The issue, it seems to me, is whether or not we, the coaches of our youth players, have taken the time to think about why we either find gamesmanship to be acceptable or not, and whether we have shared our thoughts and observations with our players.

If we are truly committed to helping the kids that we coach become more self-aware, than I believe we need to facilitate a process that gives them the space to come to their own decisions about such things.