Sports Ethics

Vince Lombardi, most likely the best coach to ever lead a team to victory or multiple ones on a football field. His ethics sometimes questionable, but never misunderstood, were always meant to lead and encourage his team to be nothing but the best, and the best was achieved in 1967. After nine incredible winning seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi decided to retire as head coach. The Packers had dominated professional football under his direction, collecting six division titles, five NFL championships, two Super Bowls and acquiring a record of 98-30-4. After less than a year, however, he realized that he still wanted to coach. He accepted the head coaching position for the Washington Redskins in 1969. During that season, he kept what had become the Lombardi tradition and led the Redskins to their first winning record in 14 years. In January of 1970, his professional coaching record stood at a remarkable 105-35-6, and the NFL named him their acclaimed "1960s Man of the Decade." His statement that "winning is the only thing that matters in sport", is one of the truths that is still inherent in today's world of sports. Athletes are willing to cheat to guarantee success, either through the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or through the act of injuring others. These days, drugs, blood doping, corruption, injuring others and the consequences of winning and more importantly losing is all evident. Lombardi's statement is not only applicable to athletes, but it also applies to the countries that the athletes are representing. Events such as the Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey, are a source of national pride and some countries are willing, and fully wanting to try and do anything to bring prestige back, many of them resorting to unethical tactics. Lombardi's statement does not only affect players, or athletes, it also affects coaches, owners, and managers. They too place winning as their number one concern. In many cases, fair play generally

Cited: 1. A September to Remember. 7 Apr. 2001 . 2. Beckham, Darren. Blood Doping: Is It Really Worth It? 25 Apr. 2001 . 3. Jennings, Andrew. The New Lords of the Rings. Toronto: Pocket Books, 1996. 4. Lajis, Razak Haji. The History Of Drug Abuse In Sports. 14 Apr. 2001 . 6. Simon, Robert L. Fair Play Sports, Values, & Society. San Francisco: Westview Press, 1991. 7. Stoll, Sharon Kay. Who Says This is Cheating. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1993. 8. Ten Controversial Olympic Moments. 15 Apr. 2001 . 10. Washington Post. The Tonya Harding Nancy Kerrigan Saga. 12 Apr. 2001 .