GAMESMANSHIP

Gamesmanship
Jock Mutschler
November 1, 2013
COED 6170
Ohio University

Gamesmanship

GAMESMANSHIP

A thoughtful and meaningful examination of sports culture reveals that sport mirrors
human society in a myriad of ways. Both sport and society share many of the same fundamental
characteristics. Some characteristics are viewed positively and some negatively. The
combination of these characteristics meld together to give society and sport a certain duality that
researchers have been exploring and expostulating on for many years. First, there are particular
behaviors in sport that can best be described as unwritten codes that are essentially informal
norms of the sport. Second, there is a difference between gamesmanship and sportsmanship.
Third, there are different goal perspectives in regard to personal competitive orientation and
coaching orientation. Fourth, there is an inherent duality in sport that allows it to provide a both
a healthy environment while also being a breeding ground for destructive and negative values.
Holmes, Baxter and Peltz (as cited in Eitzen, 2012) say buried deep within the soul of
every sport is a select group of traditions that are followed religiously. These are often
characterized as the unwritten code of conduct. These common practices do not adhere to the
laws or regulations of the game but are accepted by the majority of players and coaches as
conforming to the informal norms of the sport (Eitzen, 2012). Retaliating against an opponent
after one of your own players has been subjected to a careless, rough or malicious foul is an
example of an unwritten code in soccer.
It was a hot steamy night in 1985, under the lights at Central Florida. The Fighting Irish
of Notre Dame had traveled deep into the southland to challenge the University of Central
Florida in a Division 1 soccer match of titanic proportions. Both squads had fine records and the
match was expected to produce superb tactics and technique. My recollection of the match,
however, remains focused on the unwritten code of conduct and the central role I played in it as

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it unfolded that evening. Our star striker was maliciously taken down from behind and suffered a
significant injury while he was in the process of beating a UCF player off the dribble midway
through the second half. Our striker had been creating havoc for UCFs defense the entire
contest. Soccers unwritten code of conduct calls for immediate retribution in kind for the
offending teams striker. The responsibility for retaliation fell upon me as I was a captain,
recognized leader and ideally positioned to execute a retaliatory tackle on UCFs striker, as I was
NDs stopper. The stoppers main function is to neutralize the opponents best goal scorer.
Nobody verbalized that I should take action. My coach and my teammates didnt have to.
However, there was an air of expectancy that both teams recognized. I clearly understood the
unwritten code and, however reluctant I might have been to execute on that unwritten code of
conduct, I understood that it was important that it be accomplished. I blatantly brought down
UCFs best goal scorer at my first opportunity. There was a touch of theater to it. I violently
pushed him down, hacked his ankle, and glowered at him as he lay on the pitch. The referee,
clearly understanding and complicit in this tableau, must have been fingering his yellow card,
anticipating the retribution, as he carded me quickly. And off we went, both teams resuming play
and carrying on as if two cruel and unnecessary acts of violence had not just been executed by a
couple 20 year olds on a hot, steamy night, under the lights, in central Florida.
Gamesmanship can be defined as the use of dubious methods to gain an advantage in a
sporting match. Conversely, sportsmanship is an ethos that a sport will be played and enjoyed
for its own sake. Fairness, respect, honesty, should be on display. There is often a sense of
fellowship involved in respect to the relationship with the opposition. My high school boys
soccer squad just competed in a sectional semi-final match this weekend. I made a mistake and
our team wore dark jerseys to the match (ostensibly a neutral site, but actually the home field of

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that days opponent). We were instructed, per Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
rules, to wear a white jersey. We were an hour away from our school and had no other options as
we did not bring our set of white jerseys with us. I consulted with the opposing coach and he
agreed to switch his players into white jerseys assuming he could find enough. He suspended his
teams warm-up, organized a search mission to find white jerseys (they were wearing blue as
well), found some, and instructed his players to change jerseys and socks to reflect a white kit.
This is an excellent example of good sportsmanship. The coach was certainly within his right to
refuse to inconvenience his team. He could have insisted my team meet the requirements or
postpone the match. The WIAA could have imposed sanctions on our school. However, he
addressed the situation with strong leadership and great sportsmanship.
Researchers like to examine moral issues from an achievement goal perspective. The
central tenant of this theory is that individuals put in achievement type situations are driven by
the demonstration of competence (Kavussanu & Roberts, 2001). Two major competitive
orientation goal perspectives are task goal orientation and ego goal orientation. As a player, I
personally identify myself as task goal oriented. Task oriented individuals concern themselves
with the task, not the self (Kavussanu & Roberts, 2001). Consequently, the task oriented
individual is motivated to do ones best and to fulfill ones potential as opposed to the ego
oriented individual that is preoccupied with winning, and is more inclined to circumvent rules.
As a player, I try and perfect my technique and sense of tactical play. I am less concerned with
the opposition. I know that if I execute my roles and responsibilities on the field, my team will
be in a better position to win. I am not interested in employing trickery, gamesmanship or
unsportsmanlike behavior. Interestingly, I failed to act in a task oriented way when I sought

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violent retribution in the unwritten code example that I shared earlier. The unwritten code
overrode my task orientation inclination.
Coaching orientation is typically categorized as either adult centered or athlete centered.
Adult centered orientation is typically bureaucratic, organized, focused on winning, and
sportsmanship is not always adhered to. An adult centered orientation has several dangers
associated with it to include; beginning too early, specialization, excessive parental demands, and
dietary dangers (Eitzen, 2012). An athlete centered orientation is characterized by player
control, action centered, and more creativity. I personally subscribe to an athlete centered
coaching orientation. I encourage players to take responsibility for solving their own problems.
The process of individual and group solution seeking result in meaningful and impactful
discoveries. For example, during a ten minute halftime break in high school soccer, I encourage
the players to take the first four minutes to hydrate, relax/regroup and problem solve between
position groups. I take the remaining six minutes to recap and highlight areas I feel need
attention and focus. I would consider this an athlete centered coaching orientation.
Participating in sports has benefits. It has negative aspects as well. Eitzen (2012)
outlines many positive character traits that athletes demonstrate to include determination,
dedication and teamwork. I would cite my high school boys soccer team and their efforts to
make sound nutritional choices as an example of the benefit of playing a sport. We conducted a
nutritional seminar in the preseason complete with recommended sample menus, selected
specific snacks to consume on the bus before and after the match, suggested and held dinners the
night before matches, and generally outlined healthy food choices. The players and their parents
were profoundly affected in a healthy, positive, and complete lifestyle kind of way.

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Conversely, sport has the potential to promote violence, poor sportsmanship, criminal
behavior and selfishness. As Benedict & Keteyian (2013) report, the Ohio State tattoo-gate
scandal is an example of the pressures of college football resulting in shockingly poor judgment
by Jim Tressel, head football coach at Ohio State. Tressel received notification from an
acquaintance in April, 2010, stating that the federal government had conducted a raid on the
house of Edward Rife. The authorities were investigating homicide and drugs. Tressel was then
informed that several of his current players at Ohio State had taken signed Ohio State
memorabilia to Rife and that they sold them for profit. This was obviously a major NCAA rules
violation. At this point, Tressel, a veteran college head football coach with lots of experience,
had a choice. Logical choices might have been to report what he had just learned to local law
enforcement. Perhaps he could have informed the universitys legal counsel. Tressel, when
faced with the pressure to win another national championship and one of the players implicated
in the scandal was a star player, responded to the email by forwarding it to one of the players
trusted advisors and effectively burying the devastating information. He was later exposed, the
university severely penalized and Tressel was sacked. Here rests a sordid tale that highlights the
negative effects of sports.
As we have seen, sport mirrors human society in a multitude of ways. Weiss and
Bredemeier (as cited in Kavussanu & Roberts, 2001), state that judgments about committing a
violent act on the field, exercising poor sportsmanship and willingness to break the rules are
moral issues. Often, athletes do not take the time nor do they make the effort to critically
examine their set of beliefs (Zakus et al., 2000). The proposition that sport has both healthy and
destructive elements, suggests that it would behoove the athlete and coach to understand the
study of ethics and to be comfortable with the process of moral reasoning. Internalizing a basis

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or establishing a rationale for why we act the way we do is a healthy exercise, which might lead
to an enlightened view of sports and an athletes role in it.

References

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Benedict, J. & Keteyian, A. (2013). The system: The glory and scandal of big-time college
football. New York: Doubleday.
Eitzen, D. S. (2012). Fair and foul: Beyond the myths and paradoxes of sport (5th ed.).
Lantham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Kavussanu, M. & Roberts, G.C. (2001). Moral functioning in sport: An achievement goal
perspective. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 23, 37-54.
Zakus, D.H., Malloy, D. & Ross, S. (2000). Sport ethics: Concepts and cases in sport and
recreation. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.