This document discusses the concept of sportsmanship and ethics in sports. It defines sportsmanship as playing fair, with integrity and respect for others. Gamesmanship is the opposite, focusing only on winning through any means. The document examines sportsmanship expectations for players, coaches, owners, fans and how their behaviors can positively or negatively impact communities. Examples of both good and bad sportsmanship from professional and amateur sports are provided. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of integrity and positive spirit in athletics at all levels.

1. ANNA NARDELLI
SPORTS AND SOCIETY
MR. CURRIE
MARCH 16, 2016
8.3 SPORTSMANSHIP CASE STUDY

2. SPORTSMANSHIP
• Sportsmanship is a lot of different things, and applies to many different people. It applies to everyone
involved in the game; players, coaches, and even fans.
• When applied to players, sportsmanship should be defined as playing with your best efforts, without
breaking any rules of the game, or trying to gain an unfair advantage over the competition. Treating
everyone involved in the game with respect is a huge part of good sportsmanship.
• The purpose of sportsmanship is to play with fairness, integrity, responsibility and respect (Hanson and
Savage).

3. SPORTSMANSHIP
 Sportsmanship is really about having good ethics and morals about every aspect of sports, for all
people involved

4. GAMESMANSHIP
 Gamesmanship is thought to be the complete opposite of sportsmanship.
 Gamesmanship furthers your own team’s score, benefiting one team even if it is cheating
 Doing whatever it takes to win
 A base notion of gamesmanship is that “It’s only cheating if you get caught” (Hanson and Savage)

5. ETHICS – OWNERS AND COACHES
 The sportsmanship of owners and coaches of teams set the impression on the players. They are at
the top, and the attitude of the team starts with them.
 Sportsmanship in owners and coaches goes beyond the game.
 Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey demonstrated good sportsmanship when he kept the Jimmy Fund in
good hands. He adopted the Jimmy Fund as the Rex Sox’s official charity back in 1953.
 This was a great act of sportsmanship. Charity is a great cause and this one was for research and
care for cancer patients.
 Sports may not always be about the game, but instead the good things a team does for society,
such as charity games.

6. ETHICS – OWNERS AND COACHES
 The attitude and sportsmanship of players directly descends from their coaches actions
 Mike Tomlin, coach of the Pittsburg Steelers was fined 100,000 dollars and penalized during the draft
pick by the NFL for unsportsmanlike behavior. During a kickoff return, on the side lines, Tomlin stood
very close to the white line with his back to the play. His actions slowed the run of Baltimore’s kick
returner Jacoby Jones.
 Tomlin was penalized by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct, proving everyone is responsible for
having good sportsmanship

7. ETHICS – OWNERS AND COACHES
This is the symbol representing how the
Red Sox sponsor The Jimmy Fund. It shows
that they have been involved for 60 years,
and continue to do good work with the
charity.
This is an image showing how Tomlin
reacted to losing. He stood on the line and
was penalized for his actions. As the coach
of the team, he did not show good
sportsmanship.

8. ETHICS – HEALTH AND SAFETY
 Sometimes, injuries occur as a result of playing the game. These are called ethical injuries. In other
cases, injuries can be unethical, or intentional.
 Hurting another player intentionally is an example of very bad sportsmanship
 When another player is hurt unintentionally after an accidental collision, one can show good
sportsmanship by helping the other player up or apologizing

9. ETHICS – HEALTH AND SAFETY
 Sports injuries occur in professional sports all the time, some of which are just a result of playing the
game, and some are unnecessary and a result of poor sportsmanship.
 An example of an injury that occurred in professional sports as a result of poor judgement by trainers
and coaches, and the individual’s drive to win and push himself was the knee injury Robert Griffin
received.
 Decisions like this put the players health at risk

10. ETHICS – HEALTH AND SAFETY
 The care an injured player receives can also be related to ethics
 When I received my injury I received what I consider ethical medical care because I was treated right
away and taken good care of
 Griffin did not receive ethical care because both coaches and trainers allowed him to continue to play
when they knew he was injured

11. ETHICS – HEALTH AND SAFETY
Here is an example of an athlete receiving
good care. He is receiving the right
treatment to get in back on the field as
soon as possible.
This is an image of the moment Griffin
severely hurt himself. This injury was a
result of playing on his knee that was
already hurt, with permission from his
trainer.

12. ETHICS – ATHLETES AND COMMUNITY
 Athletes contribution to their community is a huge part of sportsmanship
 Sports go beyond just the game
 There are many athletes that do charity work to help their communities and make the world a better
place. An example of an athlete that had an impact on his community was Sergei Fedorov. He helped
his community in a positive way by doing charity work.

13. ETHICS – ATHLETES AND COMMUNITY
 The actions of professional athletes, whether showing good sportsmanship or bad directly affect their
community.
 An example of this is the whole deflate ball issue involving Tom Brady
 His actions and the situation he created did have a negative effect on not just his team or his
community, but the whole country and football league.
 It had a negative affect because some people thought he was dishonest and the commotion tore fans
apart.

14. ETHICS – ATHLETES AND COMMUNITY
This is a picture of Sergei Federov. He
created a foundation for charity that
impacted his community in a positive way.
Tom Brady affected his community
negatively because of the scandal he was
involved in with the deflated footballs.

15. ETHICS – FAN BEHAVIOR
 Fans are also responsible for demonstrating good sportsmanship
 There is a line between getting into the game and being upset by a bad call, and going too far, taking
your actions to a whole other level such as fighting with the other team’s fans
 Fans can get very upset by calls, even get into fights with the other fans and referees.
 In my own experiences, I have played games both home, and away. At home games there is a lot more
support. One time we were playing an away game and a group of boys from the other team’s fans were
yelling mean unnecessary things at my team’s players, and the referees. They were so obnoxious they
were asked to leave.

16. ETHICS – FAN BEHAVIOR
 At a Western Hockey League playoff game, some fans got in a fight with the visiting players. In this case,
four fans were even arrested, five were kicked out of the game, and a police officer trying to break up
the fights was injured.
 This is a link to the game where this extremely bad sportsmanship happened:
https://youtu.be/gAyYK-Mdlt0

17. ETHICS – FAN BEHAVIOR
This is an example of good fan behavior. They are
cheering on their home team with a good attitude,
unlike the fans at the game I played in where the
fans were thrown out of the game.

18. CONCLUSION
 Sportsmanship is very important in not only professional sports but sports at all levels. Keeping the
spirit of the game positive and keeping the integrity of the game intact will make a better
experience for the fans and both teams.
 In the future, I think professional sports will become more honest and hopefully have better morals
 This is a video of some great moments of amazing sportsmanship in high school sports. I chose
this video because it is very moving and inspirational. I also chose this because it is so relatable
and it made me ask myself, ‘what would I do if I was in their situation?’
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:11157816