Philosophy
A number of sports stories in the news lately. Today, the trial began for a football coach from Louisville, Kentucky charged with reckless homocide for running his team so hard in the heat and depriving them of water that two of the kids ended up in the hospital, one of them, a fifteen year old child, died. In Texas, the girls' basketball team from the Covenant Academy displayed a true spirit of Christian charity, beating an opponent 100-0. After running up the score, the school apologized for continuing their full court press and taking three-pointers, but the coach Micah Grimes said that there was nothing to apologize for. In a basketball game between Houston and Arizona, Houston player Aubrey Coleman intentionally stepped on the face of Arizona player Chase Budinger, showing no sense of empathy or concern for him afterward at all.
The culture of sport has become a repository of everything poisonous in our society. I am not anti-athletics. I was a division I athlete. Sports helped pay for college and I want my children to learn what sport has to teach them about physicality, team work, humility when things are good and bad, focus and hard work, finding that your limits beyond where you think they are. But the virtue of sport is eclipsed by the culture, enforced by many coaches whose warped and dangerous picture of masculinity (which has infected women's sports as well) hurts the children, hurts the game, and hurts the society which venerates athletes above those who make actual contributions to the culture.
How do we get it back from them? How do we put sports in their proper place as enjoyable? It is something you do for fun, for health, for socializing. But not if you look at high schools or even the older divisions of little league. Do we cut our losses and form other sporting communities with a different ethos? I think the popularity of soccer, for example, is a reaction to the unhealthy hyper-masculinty of the football world. Similarly, ultimate frisbee is not merely a great game, it is a culture unto itself with a funky spirit, a character that makes it the game it is. Bowling is perhaps the best example of a sport with its own way of being in the world.
Is this a cop out? Is it realism to admit defeat? Can we reclaim sports?
- Revisions And Performance
Two questions from JB. First, "Since your Einstein book was published, what would you go back and change/update?"I would add a chapter concerned with the relation between politics in the 20s-30s, the history of anthropology, and eugenics. ...
- How Good Is Too Good For Little League?
Confused, Maybe Not sent me the link to this article about a nine year old boy who can throw around 40 miles per hour. He is not allowed to pitch because he throws that fast. The opposing coaches claim that it is a safety issue, that they are afraid of...
- Sex Segregation In Sport
Richard over at Philosophy, etc. has an interesting post questioning sex segregation in sports. Is there a principled reason why men and women compete separately in sports? Presumably it allows women to compete who wouldn't stand a chance otherwise....
- How Big A Deal Is It If Nadal's Uncle Was Coaching Him?
There was a dust-up at the French Open, in which Roger Federer accused his arch-rival Rafael Nadal of cheating. The claim was that he was being coached by his Uncle Toni from the stands. If you are unfamiliar with tennis, you might wonder why this would...
- It's "madness" For Sure
"College Sports Spending: The Real March Madness? by Sean Gregory March 21st, 2013 Time Who pays the bills for college sports? At most public institutions, it’s students and taxpayers. And in an era of rising tuition costs, and economic uncertainty,...
Philosophy
Reclaiming Sports
A number of sports stories in the news lately. Today, the trial began for a football coach from Louisville, Kentucky charged with reckless homocide for running his team so hard in the heat and depriving them of water that two of the kids ended up in the hospital, one of them, a fifteen year old child, died. In Texas, the girls' basketball team from the Covenant Academy displayed a true spirit of Christian charity, beating an opponent 100-0. After running up the score, the school apologized for continuing their full court press and taking three-pointers, but the coach Micah Grimes said that there was nothing to apologize for. In a basketball game between Houston and Arizona, Houston player Aubrey Coleman intentionally stepped on the face of Arizona player Chase Budinger, showing no sense of empathy or concern for him afterward at all.
The culture of sport has become a repository of everything poisonous in our society. I am not anti-athletics. I was a division I athlete. Sports helped pay for college and I want my children to learn what sport has to teach them about physicality, team work, humility when things are good and bad, focus and hard work, finding that your limits beyond where you think they are. But the virtue of sport is eclipsed by the culture, enforced by many coaches whose warped and dangerous picture of masculinity (which has infected women's sports as well) hurts the children, hurts the game, and hurts the society which venerates athletes above those who make actual contributions to the culture.
How do we get it back from them? How do we put sports in their proper place as enjoyable? It is something you do for fun, for health, for socializing. But not if you look at high schools or even the older divisions of little league. Do we cut our losses and form other sporting communities with a different ethos? I think the popularity of soccer, for example, is a reaction to the unhealthy hyper-masculinty of the football world. Similarly, ultimate frisbee is not merely a great game, it is a culture unto itself with a funky spirit, a character that makes it the game it is. Bowling is perhaps the best example of a sport with its own way of being in the world.
Is this a cop out? Is it realism to admit defeat? Can we reclaim sports?
- Revisions And Performance
Two questions from JB. First, "Since your Einstein book was published, what would you go back and change/update?"I would add a chapter concerned with the relation between politics in the 20s-30s, the history of anthropology, and eugenics. ...
- How Good Is Too Good For Little League?
Confused, Maybe Not sent me the link to this article about a nine year old boy who can throw around 40 miles per hour. He is not allowed to pitch because he throws that fast. The opposing coaches claim that it is a safety issue, that they are afraid of...
- Sex Segregation In Sport
Richard over at Philosophy, etc. has an interesting post questioning sex segregation in sports. Is there a principled reason why men and women compete separately in sports? Presumably it allows women to compete who wouldn't stand a chance otherwise....
- How Big A Deal Is It If Nadal's Uncle Was Coaching Him?
There was a dust-up at the French Open, in which Roger Federer accused his arch-rival Rafael Nadal of cheating. The claim was that he was being coached by his Uncle Toni from the stands. If you are unfamiliar with tennis, you might wonder why this would...
- It's "madness" For Sure
"College Sports Spending: The Real March Madness? by Sean Gregory March 21st, 2013 Time Who pays the bills for college sports? At most public institutions, it’s students and taxpayers. And in an era of rising tuition costs, and economic uncertainty,...