Why is sportsmanship important?

**Curt James** · 01-12-2017, 01:58 PM

Q: Why is sportsmanship important?

A: Good sportsmanship is important not only as a practice of etiquette and respect in sports but also because it helps teach young athletes good behavior that carries over into other aspects of life.

For example, a young athlete who believes that it is appropriate to gloat when his or her team wins may believe that such condescending and rude behavior is appropriate in other aspects of life. While sports provide physical activity and competition, these activities are also forms of social engagement that are guided by a set of behavioral rules much in the same way that other activities like business place a secondary emphasis on social behavior.

Fair play, adherence to rules, respect for authority and kindness toward opponents are all values that are part of sportsmanship, but theses ideals are also essential components of mature behavior in other contexts.

Athletes who display poor sportsmanship, including cheating, attempting to sabotage the other team and losing one's temper when a referee makes a disputed call, are not only violating tenets of good behavior on the sports field, but are also acting generally rude based on wider, non-sports-specific social rules.

Sportsmanship is also important in the context of athletics in order to make the experience of play sports more pleasant for everyone involved.

https://www.reference.com/sports-act...08#full-answer

**Curt James** · 01-12-2017, 01:58 PM

And then there's this.

**guruhonza** · 01-12-2017, 02:33 PM

Not important at all.... Good sporting events full of excitement are important.

**PTB** · 01-12-2017, 02:34 PM

This is probably the worst ever.
This same guy is responsible for the murder of boxing analyst Max Kellerman's brother... he was sentenced to 29 years in jail:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

**Curt James** · 01-12-2017, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by guruhonza

Not important at all.... Good sporting events full of excitement are important.

Honza, are you saying good sportsmanship is not important at all?

Good sporting events full of excitement take place all the time. There are winners and there are losers. The loser can shake hands and congratulate the victor after taking that loss, right?

They can wait for their chance to win during the next competition without diminishing whatsoever the excitement that just took place, right?

**Curt James** · 01-12-2017, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by PTB

This is probably the worst ever.
This same guy is responsible for the murder of boxing analyst Max Kellerman's brother... he was sentenced to 29 years in jail:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They should have arrested him on the spot. Perhaps Kellerman's brother would still be alive had the boxer learned his lesson?

But, hey, "Good sporting events full of excitement are important." -_-

**~gymdiva~** · 01-12-2017, 07:23 PM

a very general statement to make but it can show who are true assholes and who are not

**Curt James** · 01-12-2017, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by ~gymdiva~

a very general statement to make but it can show who are true assholes and who are not

This.

**Poker face Ace** · 01-12-2017, 10:55 PM

It's safe to say I display enough of it here

**guruhonza** · 01-13-2017, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Curt James

Honza, are you saying good sportsmanship is not important at all?

Good sporting events full of excitement take place all the time. There are winners and there are losers. The loser can shake hands and congratulate the victor after taking that loss, right?

They can wait for their chance to win during the next competition without diminishing whatsoever the excitement that just took place, right?

As a fan watching the event I absolutely do not care if there is or is not any sportsmanship. They can do whatever they wanna do but I will not enjoy the sport more. I can actually enjoy sport more if those athletes dont like each other or hate each other and tension is real high and they never shake hands. It makes me even more excited.

**Mobster** · 01-13-2017, 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by Poker face Ace

It's safe to say I display enough of it here

You do let us josh you. Shall we shake on it (quick someone... take a photo!!)

**Curt James** · 01-13-2017, 06:56 AM

Originally Posted by Poker face Ace

It's safe to say I display enough of it here

Originally Posted by Mobster

You do let us josh you. Shall we shake on it (quick someone... take a photo!!)

Yes, you're definitely a good sport nearly all the time.

(reaches for camera)

...

Damn! He got away again!

**Curt James** · 01-13-2017, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by guruhonza

As a fan watching the event I absolutely do not care if there is or is not any sportsmanship. They can do whatever they wanna do but I will not enjoy the sport more. I can actually enjoy sport more if those athletes dont like each other or hate each other and tension is real high and they never shake hands. It makes me even more excited.

Okay, thanks for explaining. And, yeah, I do get a laugh when someone gets beat who deserves it. Like Rousey with Holm. RR dismissed her in interviews, refused to touch gloves, #BOOTTOTHEHEAD

**Curt James** · 01-13-2017, 10:40 AM

Honza, I was thinking about and context of the topic. You're right, Ali vs. Frazier wouldn't have been as exciting without the tension, the hatred...

ali frazier.jpg

But what if your 8-year-old says, "Dad, can you get me a football?" And then asks his friends to play ball only he can't throw the ball as far as his friends. What if he got angry and refused to play with the other children? Took his ball and went home instead?

In that context, is good sportsmanship necessary? Would it be a benefit to use that inability or lack of skill as motivation? Or would you cheer him on?

There's context, of course, and good sportsmanship is essential for more than sport. You're in the work environment. You and a friend/co-worker are both up for promotion. She gets it and you don't. Now she's your boss rather than a co-worker. Would it be smart to show good sportsmanship and congratulate her on the promotion or do you choose to not "like each other or hate each other and tension is real high"?

So, yes, I agree on tension and excitement but given the context I also believe good sportsmanship is vital in many cases.

**sassy69** · 01-13-2017, 03:22 PM

Good sportsmanship reflects so much on the person you're talking about. Sometimes you can appreciate a competitor's frustration at certain situations, but shitty attitude, intentionally hurting someone outside of the rules, etc. really just demeans the sport, the other competitors (i.e. those who do play by the rules) and says if you do display shitty sportsmanship, means you don't know how to control your behavior.

One of the situations that immediately came to mind was Mike Tyson taking a chunk out Evander Holyfield's ear years ago. WTF? As I noted, many situations, the details behind it do matter and can make for an understandable response, but so many others just mean the person simply isn't mature enough to deal w/ one of the possible outcomes of deciding to engage in something that has a set of rules or expectations around it.