Question

Sportsmanship can be conceptualized as an enduring and relatively stable characteristic or disposition

such that individuals differ in the way they are generally expected to behave in sports situations. In

general, sportsmanship refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control, courage, and persistence, and has

been associated with interpersonal concepts of treating others and being treated fairly, maintaining self-

control if dealing with others, and respect for both authority and opponents. Sportsmanship is also

looked at as being the way one reacts to a sport/ game/ player.

The four elements of sportsmanship are often shown being good form, the will to win, equity and

fairness. All four elements are critical and a balance must be found among all four for true

sportsmanship to be illustrated. These elements may also cause conflict, as a person may desire to win

more than play in equity and fairness and thus resulting in a clash within the aspects of sportsmanship.

This will cause problems as the person believes they are being a good sportsman, but they are defeating

the purpose of this idea as they are ignoring two key components of being sportsman like. When athletes

become too self-centered, the idea of sportsmanship is dismissed.

Today's sporting culture, in particular the base of elite sport, places great importance on the idea of

competition and winning and thus sportsmanship takes a back seat as a result. In most, if not all sports,

sportsmen at the elite level make the standards on sportsmanship and no matter whether they like it or

not, they are seen as leaders and role models in society.

Since every sport is rule driven, the most common offence of bad sportsmanship is the act of cheating or

breaking the rules to gain an unfair advantage. A competitor who exhibits poor sportsmanship after

losing a game or contest is often called a "sore loser", while a competitor who exhibits poor

sportsmanship after winning is typically called a "bad winner". Sore loser behavior includes blaming

others for the loss, not accepting responsibility for personal actions that contributed to the defeat,

reacting to the loss in an immature or improper fashion, making excuses for the defeat, and citing

unfavorable conditions or other petty issues as reasons for the defeat. A bad winner acts in a shallow

fashion after his or her victory, such as by gloating about his or her win, rubbing the win in the face(s) of

the opponent(s), and lowering the opponent(s)'s self-esteem by constantly reminding the opponent(s) of

"poor" performance in comparison (even if the opponent(s) competed well). Not showing respect to the

other team is considered to being a bad sportsman and could lead to demoralizing effects; as Leslie

Howe describes: "If a pitcher in baseball decides to pitch not to his maximum ability suggest that the

batter is not at an adequate level, [it] could lead to the batter to have low self-confidence or worth.

I. Is it necessary to strike a balance between all the four elements of sportsmanship?

a) No b) Yes c) Any 2 can be balanced d) Only 1 is sufficient

II. Why has sportsmanship taken a backseat today?

a) Due to lack of balance between the elements

b) Due to the emphasis on winning

c) Due to drug abuse

d) None of the above

Answer 1

Answer:

sportsmanship can be regarded as an (enduring) and relatively stable characteristic or disposition such that individuals (differ) in the way they are generally expected to behave in sports situations.