Lentius, Inferius, Debilius: the ethics of ‘not trying’ on the Olympic stage

Abstract

This article examines whether elite athletes have an ethical obligation always to try their best, especially when representing their countries at the Olympic Games. Through an analysis of cases of athletes failing to try their best at the London 2012 Olympics, this paper analyses the moral acceptability of not trying. By applying the sport ethics literature on personal bests, duties to one's self, and game flaws, this article distinguishes when failing to try one's best can be considered a legitimate strategy in line with the ethos of the game, and when failing to try should be condemned.

Notes

^1. See www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2182065/London-2012-Olympics-Badminton-Eight-badminton-players-disqualified.html#axzz2Js1TYGeK

^2.Pelesthaty, ‘Shuttlecock Scandal’.

^3. The badminton tournament's round-robin format was called into question by some journalists and badminton fans who suggested that blame ought to be placed on the sport's governing body, the BWF, for creating a flawed tournament. For the 2012 Olympics, the BWF initiated pool play, where teams played each other in round-robin format with the top two teams from each division advancing to the knockout rounds. The problem was, however, how teams were placed in the knockout brackets. Places in the brackets were determined by their pool and their rank, which meant that teams knew ahead of time who they would be playing, and also who to avoid.

^4.Klemko, ‘Coach Tells Japanese Olympic Soccer Team’.

^5. Ibid.

^6.Kitson, ‘Taoufik Makhloufi Wins’.

^7.Ziegler, ‘IOC Says Team GB Gold Will Stand’.

^8. Additionally, South African sprinter Caster Semenya was also accused of not trying her best to win the gold medal in the women's 800 m, in order to avoid a negative media storm like she faced in 2009 when her sex was called into question. As Semenya does not acknowledge easing up at the end, like her critics suggest she did, and instead strongly denies doing so, there is no evidence to suggest that she did not try her best. However, the idea that Semenya did not win gold in order to avoid reopening discussions of her right to compete in the women's category raises serious ethical issues about the state of sexism in the Olympics that are beyond the scope of this article. See Telegraph Sport, ‘Caster Semenya Denies Accusations’.

^9.Wendl, ‘The Olympic Oath’. The Olympic Oath appeared in many variations in each update to the Olympic Charter after it was first added to the Opening Ceremonies in 1920 at the Olympic Games in Antwerp. However, the text of the Olympic Oath is no longer included in the Olympic Charter as many rules and instructions were removed when the IOC created Technical Manuals in the 1990s, most of which are unavailable to the public. For an illustrated history of the Olympic Oath see www.olympic-museum.de/oath/theoath.htm

^10.IOC, Olympic Charter.

^11.Brown, ‘Personal Best’.

^12. From the Metaphysics of Morals, Brown points to Kant's claim that ‘there is only a law for the maxims of actions, which runs as follows: “Cultivate your powers of mind and body so that they are fit to realize any ends you might encounter,” however uncertain you are which of them could sometime become yours’. Brown, ‘Personal Best’, 7.

^13.Simon, Fair Play.

^14.Brown, ‘Personal Best’, 8–9.

^15.Hyland, ‘Competition and Friendship’, 31.

^16. Hyland explains: ‘I am called upon, or call upon myself to have a heightened sense of openness toward my surroundings. Skiing, I must be far more aware than I usually am of subtle variations in the quality of the snow, steepness of the slopes, location of the trees and other people. … But openness is not the whole of the distinction. It is hardly sufficient while skiing simply to be open to the various nuances I mentioned, to take notice, as it were, and leave it at that. Rather, I have to be capable of responding to that openness in a way called for by the situation, and my success as a skier depends in good measure precisely on my capacity to respond appropriately to each developing situation’. Hyland, ‘“And That Is the Best Part of Us”’, 38.

^17. See Kretchmar, ‘From Test to Contest’.

^18. Ibid., 26.

^19. Ibid., 27.

^20. Ibid., 29.

^21.Simon, Fair Playt, 27.

^22.Feezell, Sport, Play, and Ethical Reflection, 118, as cited in Fry, ‘On the Supposed Duty’, 2.

^23.Loland, Fair Play in Sport, 129.

^24. See Feezell, ‘Sportsmanship and Blowouts’; and Hardman et al., ‘On Sportsmanship and “Running Up the Score”’. Furthermore, Sailors has argued that mercy rules should be employed, regardless of the moral status of blowouts, which would eliminate the problem of blowouts while still obligating athletes to try their hardest. See Sailors, ‘Mercy Killing’.

^25.Dixon, ‘On Sportsmanship and “Running Up the Score”’.

^26. Fry, ‘On the Supposed Duty’.

^27. Ibid., 3.

^28.McKay and Martin, ‘“Lay Down Sally”’. This example was brought to our attention by Jane E. Hunt from Bond University.

^29. At these same Olympics, marathoner Paula Radcliffe also broke down, abandoned her pursuit of an Olympic gold medal, and quit the race; however, rather than being vilified by the press, she was treated with sympathy. See McKay and Martin, ‘“Lay Down Sally”’.

^30. Fry, ‘On the Supposed Duty’, 5–6.

^31.Kretchmar, ‘Game Flaws’, 36. While Kretchmar's goal in this article is to show that games that are regulated by time (such as basketball, football, and soccer) are more likely to be flawed than games regulated by events (such as the 100 m dash, tennis, and rowing) his arguments about game flaws can shed light on the legitimacy of sandbagging as an acceptable or flawed action. For a discussion of Kretchmar's argument on game flaws see Davis, ‘Game Strengths’.

^32. Ibid., 37.

^33. Ibid.

^34. Ibid.

^35. Ibid., 40.

^36. Ibid., 39.

^37.Suits, The Grasshopper, 55.

^38.Kretchmar, ‘Game Flaws’, 41.

^39. Ibid., 43.

^40. Loland argues that when evaluating sport, aspects of the ‘moral life’ ought to be considered, such as the moral status of persons, intrinsic value of social relations, and the binding force of contracts and promises between persons. In this vein, free moral agents (like athletes) have an obligation to ensure fairness and maintain the ethos of the game. Thus, according to Loland, ‘What counts in sport is not ethical reflection but practical action. There is no clear ethos here with any normative force. The only consensus, if any, among competitors is that of trying to secure victory with whatever means it takes. Hence, the very idea of intentional ethos violations does not make sense. Rule violations and deceit are considered efficient if one is not caught and penalized, and attempts to violate the rules are therefore acceptable’. Loland, ‘The Varieties of Cheating’, 16.

^41.Torres, ‘Un olímpico desprecio por la competencia’.