The match-fixing accusations engulfing the Pakistani cricket team on tour in England are the latest in a rapid succession of scandals that have dragged sport onto the front pages of the news [Ref: Guardian]. Thierry Henry’s use of his hand to help score a goal at a World Cup qualifying match in November 2009 - thereby eliminating Ireland at the expense of France - for many typified the bad example sports stars set young people [Ref: Guardian]. The prominence of blatant acts of cheating in professional football, rugby union and Formula 1 motor racing led many to dub 2009 ‘the year of the cheat’ [Ref: Guardian]. Meanwhile, off-pitch scandals involving the private lives of golf superstar Tiger Woods and England football captain John Terry seemingly reinforced the attitude that professional sportspeople have been corrupted by the wealth and celebrity which comes with excelling at high-profile sports.

Despite such scandals, it is regularly argued that sportspeople, due to the adulation and public profile they are afforded, can and should act as role models in society; for example by encouraging children to eat healthily and take exercise or to become good citizens and learn the importance of fair play [ref: Daily Mirror]. Yet others argue that sportspeople should be judged by their sporting success alone, that they have no responsibility to act as role models and that unhelpful and extraneous expectations are being foisted onto sport by politicians and moralising do-gooders. The debate has been heightened since the football World Cup in South Africa, where several noted acts of bad sportsmanship and England’s disappointing performance appeared to strengthen perceptions that sporting behaviour reflects declining standards in public life [Ref: Daily Mail]. When it comes to sport, are excellence, entertainment and winning all that matters or should we demand that sportspeople demonstrate high standards of behaviour on and off the pitch?

Status confers responsibility?
While many are concerned with the example set by stars in the sporting arena, there is possibly more attention afforded to their off-pitch behaviour. For some, the rewards sportspeople gain by excelling at sport – including the wealth and prestige – come with a responsibility to set a good example in their private lives [Ref: Herald]. Therefore it is argued that when they transgress society’s moral boundaries in their private lives they should be held responsible; such as Terry being stripped of the England captaincy or Woods losing his claim to sporting greatness [Ref: Daily Mail]. Young people are seen as being especially prone to the influence of the stars they adulate and, therefore, we cannot turn a blind eye to bad behaviour however talented the sports personality involved. For others, however, much of the criticism levelled at stars’ private lives smacks of snobbery and jealousy at their being ‘overpaid and spoilt’, particularly since those most heavily criticised tend to be from less well-to-do backgrounds. They maintain that what matters is their sporting achievement and sports stars – along with others in the public eye - have a right to a (sometimes messy) private life regardless of the rewards they get [Ref: Guardian]. Furthermore, the idea that young people will simply mimic the behaviour of their sporting heroes is regarded as patronising and without foundation [Ref: Science Daily].

The importance of respect and fair play
From the athletes of Ancient Greece to the modern Olympic Games, high-level sport has long been associated with reflecting and instilling a moral ethos into wider society [Ref: Western Mail]. Indeed, the founder of the modern Olympiad, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, adopted the slogan “the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part” to reflect the attitude that sport was as much about striving for excellence and playing fairly than it was being crowned a victor. For many commentators today, the wealth and fame associated with professional sport mean that this ethos has been eroded, leading many young people to view cheating and breaking the rules as perfectly acceptable behaviour in life [Ref: Daily Telegraph]. In response to concerns about deteriorating behaviour the FA launched its Respect campaign in 2008 to reduce levels of anti-social behaviour both on and off the pitch [Ref: The FA], whilst the Cricket Foundation and the MCC teamed up to launch the Spirit of Cricket campaign the following year to promote the importance of fair play to school children [Ref: Lords]. Commenting on German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s failure to alert the referee to Frank Lampard’s goal at England’s World Cup match, the ethicist Peter Singer criticised him for missing the opportunity to ‘do something noble in front of millions of people’ [Ref: Guardian].

Winning is the name of the game
For others, the current emphasis on fair play, behaviour and role models is all too much handwringing which misses the main point: to win! From this perspective winning is essential to achieving excellence in sport and a more competitive spirit is what should be encouraged. Mayor of London Boris Johnson argued after the World Cup that there should be more emphasis on competition in British schools to breed winners rather than ‘good losers’ [Ref: Daily Telegraph]. It is even observed that part of the appeal of competitive sport is the unbridled passion to win [Ref: Independent] which comes with the recognition that winners do not always play by the rules and that for some a degree of cheating cannot easily be separated from the drama and intrigue of sport [Ref: Oxonian Review]. Others point out that we are thrilled by sporting geniuses regardless of their downfalls, whether alcohol, drugs or worse, and that a focus on the former is far more inspiring for any youngster than another campaign for respect [Ref: Independent]. Reflecting on the beauty of Ben Johnson’s ‘shatteringly brilliant’ 100 metres win at the 1988 Seoul Olympics despite his failing a dope test a few days later, Simon Barnes, the chief sportswriter for the Times, wrote: ‘Sport is not a safe and cosy world …it is there to tell us tales of the wonders and fallibilities of men and women’ [Ref: The Times]. So why the modern day concerns? One account, reflecting on the enormous significance attached by the media to England’s exit from the World Cup and, even more strikingly, President Sarkozy launching a national inquiry into the failure of the French team; is that the importance of football has been inflated ‘to fill the space where our national public and political life ought to be’ [Ref: spiked]. On the other hand, when so much significance is attached to sport, surely it is right to try to harness this enthusiasm for wider social gain and invite sports stars to step up to the mark?