A spiritual insight into cheating in American sports
INTRODUCTION
There are few so gross as to imagine that we can direct infinite wisdom in the dispensation of providence, or persuade it to alter the laws it devised before the foundation of the world to put things on a regular course.. – Matthew Tindal, 1653-1733
He will not strain with prayers and supplications, fasts and
genuflections, to change the mind of ‘Infinity’ or alter the course
of the nature; nor will you employ others to do those things for you … You will know that honest work is the highest form of prayer. He will not spend time ringing bells or moving sensors, or singing the litanies of barbarism.… – Robert Green Ingersoll, The improved man, 1890
Both Tindall and Ingersoll, centuries apart, expressed opinions on an issue that, centuries later, informs a question of ethics and fair play in modern sports competitions.
Matthew Tindall perceived requests for outside help from a divine supernatural force as a great impertinence, an affront to any deity. How dare mere mortals be so gross as to seek adjustments in the laws set on a regular course by Him with infinite wisdom?
Robert Ingersoll also noted that a much desired Improved man I would be grateful for the folly of pestering the Infinite to change my mind or alter the course of nature. How disrespectful. Honest work, translated in the world of sports as hard training and dedication, is the only ethical path to glory.
SPORTS COMPETENCES AND THE ETHICS OF SEEKING FOREIGN HELP
What happens when a baseball player points to the sky as he approaches home plate after hitting a home run, suggesting a conspiracy with a sky god who somehow provided help?
Is that fair?
Isn’t that outside help?
Or in soccer, when a player scores a touchdown and engages in a ritual that suggests borrowing from a higher power, not even on the field of play, he appears to be receiving credit for the player’s success.
Should home runs, touchdowns, etc. count if athletes seek or receive outside help?
ï »Shouldn’t everyone be required to respect a level playing field where everyone does their best, relying solely on preparation, teammates and their own talents?
Have the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros not found each other in recent years after getting help with signals to the plate from team members who weren’t on the field? If mere mortals are forbidden to interfere, how much more blatant is the violation if a competitor enlists the help of the ruler of the universe?
FOREIGN ASSISTANCE IN TRIATHLON
I have competed in triathlons for 40 years, and I can assure you, dear readers, that getting help from any source is strictly prohibited according to Article III, Section 3.4 of the Racing Rules of Conduct. The penalty for receiving outside assistance is a DQ (ie disqualification).
However, despite this rule, many triathletes invite outside assistance. We know this, not because the race officials or anyone else witnessed such assistance, but because the winners have openly declared that they have had outside help, even bragging about it. What’s more, they publicly thank their unauthorized beneficiary and show no remorse for deliberately getting illegal help from a powerful ally.
Reforms are needed.
Don’t you think it’s about time those of us who play fair, rely on intense training and hard-earned skills, and never seek or receive outside help in racing, demand a halt to shameless testimonials praising non-compliance? the rules of outside interference in our beloved sport?
That was a rhetorical question. Of course it is time, it is time!
Just play fair. You did the training, you do the race.
A GUEST COMMENT
Is invoking divine intervention from an imaginary deity really a trap? Of course, there is intention, but if the request is directed to the clouds and it can be proven beyond doubt that no one lives in the clouds, then surely speaking into the air cannot constitute an indiscretion. Insanity, maybe. Delirium, certainly. You are probably trying to cheat. External assistance, doubtful.
(Guest comment by Grant Donovan, Perth, Australia)