sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A sore loser refers to one who does not take defeat well, whereas a good sport means being a "good winner" as well as being a "good loser".^[1][2]

Sportsmanship can be conceptualized as an enduring and relatively stable characteristic or disposition such that individuals differ in the way they are generally expected to behave in sport situations. In general, sportsmanship refers to virtues such as fairness, self-control, courage, and persistence,^[3] and has been associated with interpersonal concepts of treating others and being treated fairly, maintaining self-control in dealing with others, and respect for both authority and opponents.

A competitor who exhibits poor sportsmanship after losing a game or contest is often called a "sore loser" (those who show poor sportsmanship after winning are typically called "bad winners"). Sore loser behavior includes blaming others for the loss, not taking responsibility for personal actions that contributed to the defeat, reacting to the loss in an immature or improper fashion, making excuses for the defeat, and citing unfavorable conditions or other petty issues as reasons for the defeat.^[4][5] A bad winner acts in a shallow fashion after their victory, such as gloating about his or her win, rubbing the win in the face of opponents, and lowering the opponent's self-esteem by constantly reminding them of how "poorly" they performed in comparison (even if they competed well).

Relationship to morality

Sportsmanship typically is regarded as a component of morality in sport, composed of three related and perhaps overlapping concepts: fair play, sportsmanship and character.^[6] Fair play refers to all participants having an equitable chance to pursue victory^[7] and acting toward others in an honest, straightforward, and firm and dignified manner even when others do not play fairly. It includes respect for others, including team members, opponents, and officials.^[8] Character refers to dispositions, values, and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures, and successes, and is typically seen in polite behaviors toward others, such as helping an opponent up or shaking hands after a match. An individual is believed to have a “good character” when those dispositions and habits reflect core ethical values.

See also

• Gamesmanship
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, trophy given by the National Hockey League to the player who shows the best sportsmanship
• Unsportsmanlike conduct

References

External links

• AL Notebook, Torre: Rodriguez Was Wrong to Distract Fielder. The Washington Post, June 2, 2007, Page E06.
• News story at ESPN.com