Chapter 10 Sporting Behavior

1. Chapter 10 Sporting Behavior C H A P T E R 10 Sporting Behavior

2. Chapter Outline • Sporting Behavior at Different Levels of Sport • Youth Attitudes • Development of Moral Values • Moral Values Applied to Sport (continued)

3. Chapter Outline (continued) • Moral Values Taught Through Sport • Strategies for Good Sporting Behavior • Chapter Summary

4. Good Sporting Behavior Sporting behavior, sportsmanship defined: • The ethical behavior exhibited by a sportsperson or athlete generally considered to involve participation for the pleasure gained from a fair and hard-fought contest, refusal to take unfair advantage of a situation or of an opponent, courtesy toward one’s opponent, and graciousness in both winning and losing.

5. Sporting Behavior at Different Levels • The behavior of professional athletes influences youth athletes. • Media and coaches emphasize winning and competition. • Athlete needs to be taught fair play, moral development, character. • Participation sports tend to be more balanced.

6. Youth Attitudes Toward Sporting Behavior (Josephson, 2007, 2008) Survey of 5,275 high school athletes reports: • Girls more committed to honesty, fair play. • Baseball, football, and basketball players indicated inclination to worse behavior. • Poor behavior by coaches was reported by 25% to 33%. (continued)

7. Youth Attitudes Toward Sporting Behavior (continued) • Survey of 5,275 high school athletes reports: • Of males, 60% thought it proper to inflict pain. • Majority said hazing, stealing, cheating okay.

8. Development of Moral Values Some theorists believe behavior is based on moral development.

9. Kohlberg’s Six Stages of Moral Reasoning • Preconventional 1. Punishment and obedience 2. Pleasure or pain • Conventional 3. Good boy or girl 4. Law and order (continued)

10. Kohlberg’s Six Stages of Moral Reasoning (continued) • Postconventional 5. Social contract 6. Principled conscience

11. Barriers to Good Sporting Behavior • Importance placed on winning • Intellectual understanding • Coaches’ attitudes • Parental pressure • Traditions and customs

12. Sport as a Builder of Character and Morals • Values can be learned through sport socialization. • Some factors related to sporting behavior: • Sport type • Performance level • Position

13. Key Point Cause and effect cannot be determined because athletes may have already had good or bad traits before participating in sport.

14. Discussion • First, think about this question: What is character? • Now consider this: Does sport build character?

15. Two Types of Character • Social character: Teamwork, loyalty, work ethic, and perseverance • Moral character: Honesty, fairness, integrity, and responsibility • Discussion: Where do you think individual-sport athletes, team-sport athletes, and nonathletes rank in each of these two categories?

16. Sport Ethic of High-Performance Sport (Coakley, 2004) • Striving for excellence • Competing to win • Sacrifice • Love of the game • Commitment to team • Playing with pain and adversity

17. Strategies for Good Sporting Behavior • Parents teach values to kids at young age. • Coaches and officials need to prohibit play if rules are not followed. • Parents, coaches model good behavior. • Fans decrease rowdiness and alcohol use. • Professional athletes and organizations must realize that they are role models. • We must reward good behavior!

18. Discussion • What strategies do you think could promote good sporting behavior? • Consider the possibility for success of campaigns such as Colorado High School Activities Association’s Game Management and Sportsmanship Expectation Guide (2009).

19. Program Resources for Promoting Good Sporting Behavior • True Competition (www.truecompetition.org) • National Sportsmanship Day • Colorado’s sportsmanship program • Josephson Institute of Ethics(www.charactercounts.org)