Competition: Where do you draw the line?
For many, competition is instinctual. It drives one to excel, to push past boundaries and overcome challenge once thought insurmountable. For some, it is the freedom to propel beyond previous natural limits. It can be thrilling. Yet, it can also drive malice and harm to those caught in the crossfire of egos and wins.
In light of recent events in athletics, across all levels, high school, college, and professional sport, one may call into question the boundaries around competition. Do boundaries exist? Who sets them? Are they adhered to? Are they monitored? Do some suffer…?
For instance, ESPN's 30 for 30 revisits coaching legend, Bobby Knight, who was caught on film choking his own player during an IU practice. Nothing was done by the Indiana University administration, the school President, or the athletic department in response to this incident. In fact, they denied the accusation rather than investigating the truth. An egregious act of violence unmonitored, unchecked, that devastated a young mans life. And, Coach Knight is still permitted to coach today... (Click here for podcast).
Yet, Knight is not a solo actor in this broken system. Other NCAA coaches have been similarly reported and documented for abuse towards players, both physical and mental. And, it’s not just college sport. The pressure to compete and to win drives harm, abuse, and neglect towards athletes’ even at the high school level.
So one again must reflect: Do boundaries exist? Who sets them? Are they adhered to? Are they monitored? Do some suffer…?
How can one person, one coach, have this kind of unmonitored, unquestioned power—working within larger, governed systems?
That’s a million dollar question— which is yet to be figured out. Not because we don’t know how to solve it, but because many are reluctant to try. The culture of sport, with a drive to win at all costs, is deeply entrenched. Most are reluctant to challenge “the power system of sport.”
Years of focusing on the win to please fans and media, and to build million dollar salaries and billion dollar industries has blinded us to the potentially devastating toll on athletes. While coaches garner the negative attention and blame, many fail to recognize that coaches work within a much larger system. At the high school and college level of sport, the larger system is the institution: a system that vows integrity, education, respect, and wellbeing. So who really is to blame?
- The issue of abusive coaching and harmful practices will continue to surface until educational institutions implement regular checks and balances within their athletic departments (i.e. system of reporting, academic oversight, presidential oversight, climate assessments, end of year student-athlete meetings with AD).
- The issue of abusive coaching and harmful practices will continue until educational institutions enact ‘zero-tolerance’ polices that protect the wellbeing of every athlete.
- The issue of abusive coaching and harmful practices will continue to harm until educational institutions hold themselves to a higher standard that demands uniform care for every student across the institution. This must start from the University President and must be monitored regularly by the University President.
- The issue of abusive coaching and harmful practices will continue to harm until educational institutions ask themselves: What are we actively doing to develop holistically effective coaches and support our athletes?