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Acton Commentarybringing moral reflection to bear upon current events September 5, 2007 Obviously, Sports Do Not Build CharacterIf you are one of those people who believe the old adage “sports builds character,” you have some explaining to do. Why are so many professional athletes, who have spent their entire lives in organized sports, masters at cheating, serial adultery, drunkenness, compulsive gambling, drug abuse, and thuggish fighting (to name just a few of the vices)? The truth is that sports no more builds character than attending Clemson University football games qualifies you to replace Tommy Bowden as head coach. By character I mean moral excellence: a life characterized by prudence, fortitude, self-discipline, and humility in pursuit of what is good. University of Colorado sociologist Dr. Jay Coakley, in his book Sports in Society, explains that we mistakenly believe that sports builds character for two reasons. First, we wrongly assume that all athletes have the same experiences in all organized sports. Secondly, we wrongly assume organized sports provide unique learning experiences that are not available from any other activities. Unfortunately, whatever character-building potential may exist in the world of athletics is often overwhelmed by a profit motive devoid of moral constraints. Increasing ticket sales, advertising revenue and winning, by any means necessary, are more important in professional sports than the character of those athletes we cultivate to get there. It is an inhumane system. Michael Vick is only the latest and most sensational example. Vick has possibly ruined his career after pleading guilty to federal dog fighting conspiracy charges. Why didn’t anyone ever sit Vick down and explain to him why participating in dog fighting while you have a $130 million NFL contract -- or at all for that matter -- is stupid? Vick likely was viewed less as a person worthy of dignity and more as an “it,” a mere commodity, during his formative football years. Did sports build the character of Travis Henry? In August, the Denver Broncos running back was ordered to provide $3,000 a month for an Atlanta-area boy he fathered out of wedlock three years ago. Henry, 28, reportedly has sired nine children with nine different women in at least four states. In the Georgia case, Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger wrote that Henry also displayed "bad judgment in his spending habits," dropping $100,000 for a car and $146,000 for jewelry. College athletes fare no better. The Benedict-Crosset Study of sexual assaults at thirty major Division I universities reports that one in three college sexual assaults are committed by athletes. The three-year study demonstrates that while male student-athletes comprise 3.3 percent of the college population, they represent 19 percent of sexual assault perpetrators and 35 percent of domestic violence perpetrators. In 2006, Duke University’s lacrosse team got drunk and hired strippers for fun and for some reason we all acted surprised when it came to light. This year’s Tour De France was mired in blood doping controversies. T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz, 26, now faces a possible two-year ban from competition and could be required to repay a year's salary, estimated at $684,000, for a doping violation. Michael Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, lost two key crew members back in February when NASCAR penalized his team for using a fuel additive, NASCAR's biggest cheating scandal to date. Hypocrisy blares like Ohio State’s marching band when we express outrage at professional athletes’ lack of character. Athletes are merely putting on display the character of the adults who nurtured them. School-age athletes are immersed in a world of adults who are masters at cheating, gambling, violence, serial adultery, lying, drunkenness, drug abuse, and misogyny. “Bad company corrupts good character” is such compelling ancient Greek wisdom that it is quoted in the Bible (1 Corinthians 15:33). By the time many young athletes become “professionals,” they have already adopted the dissolute values learned in the company of malformed adults. Sports do not build character in young people but virtuous adults do. In one sense youth sport is simply a medium for adult mentoring within the context of challenging situations. Character is bestowed -- or not -- from one generation to another. Until adults in the world of sports are willing to commit their own lives to virtuous character, until they are willing to pair a valid desire to make money with an equally powerful concern for the true welfare of athletes, the cycle of young “professional” adults ruining their lives will continue. In athletics as elsewhere, we reap the moral character we sow. |
 Anthony B. Bradley is a research fellow at the Acton Institute, and assistant professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Recent articles by this author:“Hip Hop’s Delusional God-Talk” “One Million Reasons For Radical Education Reform” “A New Vision for America's Black Men” “Moving On, Without Wright” “Sowell's Facts Annihilate Political Fictions” More commentaries by 
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Comments
howdyrudy: merriweatatr@att.net- [ comment edited]
Mr. Bradley speaks of hypocrisy but he's very hypocritical himself and since when did being involved in sports meant you just HAVE to be above reproach?!! We glorify ALL kinds of sleazy,disgusting,perverted,loathsome,detestable groups of celebrities in this country and I don't see ANYONE especially holier thans like Bradley attacking them instead they are giving ridiculous,inane b.s. excuses to explain away their behavior and frankly this whole article smacks big time of bandwagon jumping racist high-tech lynching by the spoiled,black media elite. If he really wants to go there why doesn't he mention the WHITE male athletes who are accused of disgusting and criminal behavior or when it's movie stars,tv actors,politicians,supermodels,book writers, or the media themselves noone ever expects THEIR chosen profession to 'build character'. Darryl Strawberry and Kobe Bryant don't have to be ANY more of a role model than Tommy Lee or Ozzy Osbourne or the Kennedys or Brittany or Marv Albert or anyone else and they certainly don't need self-righteous snots like Bradley playing 'what will whitey think' moral grandstanding games.
joe: joedozer31@hotmail.com- Sports do build character, it is the nature of man to need wealth that tears the character they have built throughout all the years they have played apart. This sounds like another article from a person who does not like sports because they were not gifted with talent enough to play. So if you have never played a sport and do not know the feeling of competition and being on the field with 21 other men all working toward one goal. Please do not say sports are not good for people. It almost angers me that a person could think so lowly of something so great and needed in this country. Who knows what kids in high school may be getting in too if there was no sport to play after school. It teaches you that if you work hard toward your goal you will reap the benefits when you are an adult. Some people i admit do take what they have for granted, but that is what kind of person they are sports has nothing to do with that. there are a truly good and talented people in the NFL and all other sports it is how they are raised from when they are babies and what their parents have tought them. Look at hines ward for example about to break a record in pittsburgh and one of the best people you will ever meet as well. People can be good and be professional and have lots of money. For a person to assume that every person that is professional or has money is not right. You cannot judge a book by its cover. You a person by how much money they have or how talented they are. That is called hating what you are not. Those of you that think people in the NFL are bad people are the bad people for judging somebody you don't even know.
Marcus: marcus_fulton@Hotmail.com- I can agree somewhat, mostly with the last paragraphs speaking on the adults. It's the adults who builds character in the youth. Sports is the vehicle used to help instill the character. As long as the adults are character-driven to produce athletes who are well-rounded, not just superstars, then there will always be a difference. But there is also an undertone of this problem. As you watch many youth, high school, and college teams, most coaches are white, and most skill players are black. Most white coaches look at the black skilled athlete as a "horse", a "stallion", look at Julio Jones in Alabama, who is the number 1 ranked player in the nation. He is given the ball so much, and he is esteemed so highly, if it wasn't for his parents, who can tell him what to do? After all, he is the bread winner for his coaches. From playing youth, high school, college, and had NFL tryouts, alot of coaches treat the black star athletes as prized possessions. Run boy run is the mantra, and we will overlook your faults. How can character be instilled when athletes are treated unequally amongst each other?
As far as Travis Henry, and Michael Vick, these guys grew up being idolized, treated special, and have received several breaks from coaches, parents, police officers, and other officials all the way up to the NFL. Now we expect them to turn off that invincible complex now that they are millionaires? Let's be real!!! And Michael Vick, who was convicted of a social past time of the south, was treated unfairly. We have to understand that people are products of their environments, if they are raised well, then they will be okay. If not, then expect how they were raised to come out, especially when they make the millionaire money.
scooper: scooper007@gmail.com- Interesting article, and certainly professional sports and college sports fail to provide "character building" on a regular basis. Indeed, the nature of the business of sport, combined with the profit motive and false worship of the player, generally seem to induce behavior that is absolutely reprehensible. However, I do think sports do offer a unique opportunity, in its truly innocent and honest form to provide an adult the chance to teach a child about sacrifice and effort needed to obtain an objective, which in the case of a game may be to win, or simply to compete well. But in life, it is as St. Paul wrote, to run the good race, to gain everlasting life. In helping to promote such understanding, sport can be used in a very positive sense.
Joe Amschlinger, Acton U. '06: amschlinger@yahoo.com- An additional criticism that can be leveled against Vick is that he is supposedly a college educated man. Whoopie Goldberg's "cultural" defense of his actions being a Southern phenomenon is ridiculous. That defense has an implication that he is poor and uneducated. Well Mr. Vick is certainly not poor, and I am assuming the recipient of a bachelor's degree from Virginia Tech. We all know that a college education is no guarantee (or sadly almost no chance) of any moral formation.
Kurt Nothstine: nothstinekurt@hotmail.com- This is not a problem unique to sport. These are the actions of spoiled brats who have been rewarded and/or encouraged for their cheating or otherwise inappropriate behavior. We have parallel examples from the business and religious community. This is just another illustration of Lord Acton's “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Charles Poulos:- Perhaps a coach or some other sports figure, could be a good example for someone, but how could a particular sport have anything to do with the a person's conduct?
Charles Poulos:- Sports can not change a person's heart. If a person is successful at sports, he/she can earn a lot of money, but it will not necessarly make a saint out of anyone.
BOC560: xkecho@lycos.com- I wholeheartedly agree with your appraisal of sports as a failure at character building. Competitive sports are, by their very nature, anti-Christian. I was encouraged (as most youngsters are) to participate in sports because it would produce an admirable character in me. What I found was the exact opposite.
Sports boasts, “I’m faster!” “I can squash you like a bug!” “I’m great and you’re dung!” “Kill ‘em!” “Destroy ‘em!” “Look at me!” “Boy, am I wonderful and all you guys are bums!”
Does this sound like an asset to building character? People don’t need encouragement to boast, belittle others or to show off their arrogance and pride. Pride is not an asset (contrary to popular teaching). Parents often tell their sons, “Boy, you be proud!” Instead, they should be saying, “Son, you should have some humility and show some respect for the weaker students.”
Sports are popular because it puff up the ego (mostly of the adults and the sports FANatics). Sports are a major reason why our society has turned into a self-centered egomania of degradation.
We need to be teaching humility; we don’t need to encourage pride and arrogance.
Yvette:- Johnathon Milk: Your comment makes it painfully obvious that you indeed didn't read the entire essay. You shouldn't comment at all if you can't muster the energy for that small task.
Johnathon Milk: clefboyrg@gmail.com- First off all, I only read the first paragraph of this because...boring. But the idea of denying ALL SPORTS any merit as vehicles for character development based on professional athletes is comical. Using this logic, Religion does not build character either---just look at Ted Haggard, Catholic controversies and lots of lists of abuses that professional religious leaders have committed. It is not the activity that fails to do something positive; the flawed nature of man leaves humans struggling with moral perfection.
C. Stanley Morton: csmorton6399@msn.com- It is about time somebody told the truth. The sad thing is many African Americans look to sports figures to be role models for our kids. They would be better off pointing to people like my Uncle Bill - a mailman in Indiana who raised 6 kids who are all professionals, was married about 60 years, taught Sunday School and lived for Jesus and died at the ripe old age of 96, surrounded by his kids. Now that's a role model if I ever saw one.
Vincent Penzo: vincentpenzo@comcast.net- Professor Bradley,
You say "...whatever character-building potential may exist in the world of athletics is often overwhelmed by a profit motive..." How often? Compared to the thousands of athletes involved in sports in this country, I'm not sure the relatively few examples you name really prove anything. The 'character' that sports builds is particular to 'perseverance' - you get knocked down, you get back up. You keep fighting until the very end. This is an important aspect of character, but as far as other qualities of character, even if the adults who coach the athletes were all great teachers and examples of right living, there is still free choice. Some kids choose to do wrong and will even under the best of circumstances. The fact that there is such outrage when these athletes commit crimes speaks well of our society. We expect better and sense that this is an inherent contradiction in what our athletes should be living up to.
Jude: judechua@yahoo.com- I'm inclined to believe that sports, done in a certain spirit and taught and evaluated with that certain spirit , can cultivate moral attitudes. The japanese martial sport, Kendo, comes to mind. There's a very interesting BBC production called Way of the Warrior, and the part on Kendo is worth a look. You should be able to find it on youtube. As you listen to the interviews, you will grasp that for them the point of the sport is not to win, but to do a certain act well, and to perfect one's behavior. Sport is a very broad term, and WWE wrestling is arguably also a sport, but I would agree a very educationally damaging kind. Asian sports (though not all!), from what I can see, has a strong slant on building an interesting balance of fortitude and caring, rather than the senseless violence that some sports promote. Another interesting sport is Aikido, and the founder of Aikido has an interesting moral philosophy of his sport.
Joshua D. Lewis: principalityclothing@yahoo.com- Always a pleasure to hear your side Anthony!
It goes beyond disgusting for our media to idolize these figures who reenforce stereotypes and increase racial distinctions. Is it too much to ask athletes given this wonderul gift from the Creator to use it to pursue good? Not merely throwing cash or blingage at the problem, but living by example.
Cyclical ignorance.
Bill: bmathews@lwcc.com- Sports build character, if you play within the rules and not just to win. Spectators at all levels demand WINNING at ANY PRICE. It begins with spectators/parents at the lowest levels of competition. Sports and education and competition of any type. Doesn't matter. Parents don't their children to suffer loosing, or getting beat. When they grow up, mom and dad can't take care of everything like when they were children. College competition hasn't done anything but get worse. It's ALL ABOUT MONEY and WINNING at ALL COSTS. Scholarships use to be for less fortunate kids to get a GOOD EDUCATION. Now it's TV and MONEY.
E: ecom24@hotmail.com- Always enjoy Mr. Bradley's writings.
Good job!
anthony hall: alh@theipinionsjournal.com- Professor Bradley,
With all due respect, I think youAre confusing sports qua sport with sports for the sake of making money (which, incidentally, is what even the college programs you cited have become).
After all, for every professional (or professional wannabe) athlete who personifies the scroll of vices you cite, there are thousands of young boys and girls engaged in organized sports purely for the holistic benefits of good health, esprit de corps and wholesome fun. And, moreover, these boys and girls are nurtured by Avirtuous parents [and coaches]A who recognize the undeniable role sports can play in building the character (ie, self-confidence, discipline, respect for authority, rules and the competition) of these young children.
But even if we were to limit the target of your condemnation to professional athletes, it would still overshoot its mark, if not be found entirely unwarranted. After all, social statistics show that the percentage of professional athletes who are Amasters at cheating, serial adultery, drunkenness, compulsive gambling, drug abuseA A is no greater than the percentage of actors, rappers (ie, entertainers) and spoiled rich kids who exhibit similar narcissistic and anti-social behavior.
Obviously, Sports Do Not Build Character