This order must have been left off the 15... err... 10 Commandments... Thanks Mel Brooks. Oh well, how about the modern interpretation—cheaters never win! Forget "never say never." This is the exception. I'll say it once again: Cheaters Never Win!
They never win because nothing good comes from cheating. Cheating is the ultimate shortcut in sports and in life. In sports, cheating occurs because of one feeling: "I want to win!" Yes, cheating is a me-me-me sentiment. It's all about winning for yourself, without playing up to fair competition. It's about money, jealousy, endorsements (more money), glory, and/or fame. Even if you value such pursuits, none provides lasting satisfaction for long if you're cheating. Just ask Bill Belichick and the Patriot’s coaching staff if they're satisfied.
No, don't worry; you're not like The Pat's coach if you've ever cheated in your life. People make mistakes. I can't even begin to untangle the academic pressures to cheat that almost all have succumbed to. Everyone has done some version of "Gameshark" or turned on invincibility during Goldeneye so that you can romp the computer. Why? Because we all want to win, and when it's taking advantage of a computer we don't give a damn. When it's a person, it's a different story. It's a dirty one.
The most obvious and, unfortunately, highly publicized dirty trick is cheating on your spouse. And yes, even this very personal indiscretion infiltrates the sports world. See Mr. Woods or Mr. Bryant. It's probably because we choose to catapult sports stars into "star people" and judge their every move while bombarding them with countless temptations. Hmmm… that sounds fair. But they chose to be athletes and must accept such responsibility, right? First off, a combination of their God-given talents and work ethic allowed them to play a game they love for a career. We, as fans, chose to put such athletes on this “role model” pedestal. Why aren’t the teachers of our children (and thus our future) mounted on the same pedestal? Second, do you really expect that people who spend ridiculous amounts of time perfecting a sport at the professional level ALSO be trained to be model citizens, parents, and spouses? Don’t think so. See Mr. Roethlisberger or Mr. Cabrera.
While I disagree with the fact that athletes’ lives are under the microscope I do agree with society’s simple rules including that whole “not cheating on your spouse rule.” In case you’ve lived in a hole the past year, Tiger missed this memo. The man succumbed to the temptations at the expense of his wife and kids. When he got caught his life went to ruins (rightfully so) and his game went to **** (rightfully so again); a far fall for the man who single-handedly dominated the sport for the past decade! Karma is a “female dog”, Tiger. Even if the media weren’t involved, I still believe his conscience would have torn his golf game apart. It’s too difficult to maintain mental toughness in anything when your entire world is flipped upside down because of your poor mental choices.
My problem with Karma is that it needs to extend beyond the likes of Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant to that other circus—politics. Like I said, the social pressures sports stars deal with are not reflective of what they are trained to handle. On the other hand, political figures are supposed to uphold the law. Ya’ know, the fabric of society that keeps us from tearing each other apart? Yet, when politicians cheat, they get 1/billionth the amount of attention Tiger gets. How is that fair? Isn’t the media setup to expose and discuss issues that affect our lives? What about the people that mold the rules we all follow? We cheapen ourselves when we discuss the moral fabric of an athlete over the “educated” and supposed leaders of our country and future.
I’m not just talking about cheating on your wife, but rather cheating on your responsibilities. Where’s the integrity? Must be a Calipari-Kiffin democracy. How about we stop cheating the public and stealing their money for our own gains when we should be doing our job and making this country a better place! No, it doesn’t mean funding wars and cutting Planned Parenthood. Nor when the going gets tough should we run away and find the easier solution, a la Pete Carroll.
We must stick to our guns and work with what we got. However, politics doesn’t function perfectly in its supposed democratic form. It’s become elitist and, as a result, the uneducated and poor are being exploited. Too many are deprived from making educated votes (if they vote at all). I say, until politics turns the corner, sports can be our pillar of support because sports reach EVERYONE (except teenage girls…)! Let us spotlight the good that sports brings us all, not the bad. Highlight charities like “Play 60” and “NBA Cares.” Highlight the stories of overcoming hardship such as Donald Driver and the ’09-10 New Orleans Saints. Highlight what we can achieve with sports, not what we should run from.
It’s our responsibility to demand what is right, not what is wrong. It is unproductive to showcase the bad aspects of society such as cheating. It teaches us nothing other than “don’t get caught.” However, much can be learned from focusing on better acts such as charity and teamwork. These teach us how to treat one another properly, a much more direct teaching. In fact, the only reason we choose to focus on “the bad” is because we cheat the system. We want people “less than ourselves” so we feel better about who we are. This is cheating! It doesn’t set us up any better than before. It’s simply an illusion. Let us break the habit and promote what is good so that we no longer have to cheat our way through life.
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