The Sport Ethic

     Sport Ethic, is a value that is often imposed onto athletes practicing any sport, whether is be competitive or club sport, as a society we hold the participants to a certain level accountability towards the 'morals' they display on the field. According to Hughes and Coakley, sport ethic is "the criteria for defining what it means to be a real athlete" (1991). This criteria is derived on the following 4 premises:

1. Being an athlete requires making sacrifices for The Game- willing to take the steps necessary to be perform to their best ability.

2. Being an athlete involves striving for distinction- developing an identity on the field by breaking records and winning; making their appearance be noticed.

3. Being athlete involves accepting risks and playing through pain- exposing their bodies to the possibility of an injury willingly; "an athlete does not give in to pressure, pain or fear"(Hughes and Coakley 1991).

4. Being an athlete involves refusing to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities- going above and beyond in their performance to break through limits and barriers.

    

    Often times, athletes become so involved in their sports that they begin to over-conform with the criteria they are socialized into practicing. For some, this type of behavior may seem deviant, in that they took it too far, however, many athletes do not see their overconformity to the sport ethic as deviant; they see it as confirming and reconfirming their identities as athletes and as members of select sports groups (311). There have many times that during a sport, athletes have pushed their body to extreme measures, sacrificed everything they have to perform to their maximum ability.

   For many athletes, the sports they practice not only become their passion, they become their lifestyle. It is through the practice of their sport that they feel as if they can accomplish everything else in life, this is why I believe they over conform to the sport ethic. As a non-athlete, I have never experienced any of the sport ethic dimension, but coming from an athletic family, I did have indirect connections to these dimensions. From very early on in my life I learned that soccer in our family was a priority, Sunday dinners often had to be put off for a soccer game, my brothers often missed school to travel to games, and literally nothing came before the sport. It always astonished me how fervent and dedicated an athlete can become to their sport.
-Rosy Garcia