A few weeks ago I had the privilege of listening to an outstanding talk given by Dr. Amy Sherman of the Sagamore Institute, a think tank based in Indianapolis. Dr. Sherman was discussing people and organizations, and the impact they ought to have on their communities. She posed a question related to outcomes and process, using the idea of carpet as her example.
We were asked if carpet is a good thing. And in general, it’s hard to argue that carpet is anything other than good. It might be ugly, but the purpose of carpet is to keep floors and feet clean. Done well, it can add beauty to a room or a home. Carpet is good.
However, what if we were to learn that the carpet was created by oppressed child laborers in horrible, abusive, poverty-like conditions? Is that same carpet still “good”? Most people would agree that the carpet in question is no longer a good thing at all. Whatever positive value it has is completely negated by the manner in which it was created.
As usual, we’ll bring this analogy into the realm of athletics. Is it a good thing to win a game? Yes. Is it a good thing to win a championship? Definitely. Unless…
Unless those victories were achieved as the result of some form of cheating. Unless that championship was won by using ineligible players. Unless the well-being of children was compromised in the name of the almighty W. Unless players, parents or coaches verbally (or worse) abused umpires or officials, throwing a cloud over the entire experience. Unless an athlete enhanced his/her performance by being on the juice….and the list could go on.
How we win matters as much or more than whether or not we win. At some level, most of us understand that. So why do we so often behave like that’s not the case? Why do we yell at officials? Why do we tell ourselves that we don’t care if our favorite college recruits illegally, as long as they don’t get caught? Why is the unofficial slogan of NASCAR “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin'”? Why has every Tour de France title since like 1834 been vacated? What are we doing? Is it too much to think that we can win with honor? No, it’s not.