The Pageantry of Sport?

Most recently, the world caught one of baseball’s most impressionable players red handed. Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees was caught acting. Not acting in a good sense either. It happened in a game between the Yankees and a major division rival. The game was significant because the winner would become closer than the other to reaching the division playoff bid. Jeter was up to bat when the pitcher threw a ball close to Jeter. At first glance, it looked as if he was hit in the elbow. He acted as if he were hit and made a scene. The ump let him walk to first. The Yankees wound up losing that game but by the end of the game it was known that the ball hit the bat. This play sparked a hot debate: Is acting in the sport okay if it helps the team win, especially a much needed win?

My answer to this is acting will not help a team or individual win in the long term. It is a simple argument. If one wants to win in sport, they must learn to respect the opponent. Why? Because when one respects the opponent this brings out competition in its truest form. They can see what other teams are doing for success and failure. It is sort of an acknowledgement by respect. Now, one can see how they need to perform in contrast to what the opponent is performing. They work on their skill development. This does not mean the athlete or team will get the win at the game though. It does mean though the athlete or team is learning how to develop and become better and stronger.

Where does acting fall into this discussion? To sum it up, acting does not help skill development in the sport. Acting distracts one from working on the skills required to beat an opponent. In another sense, by acting it is telling the opponent one did not take the time to prepare to your best. One did not respect the game their opponent plays. I would say that acting could communicate a sign of weakness, a lack of focus.

In the end, think about this question: “If you approached coaching as teaching life skills to help your athletes learn how make life decisions, would acting be involved?”

John Tyler Mowbray
University of Notre Dame 2011
Social Foundations of Coaching