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Prominent Athletes Can Teach Valuable Lessons

As seen in Sports Illustrated November 18, 2002

Posted: Wednesday June 22, 2005

A few years ago the Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers in a hard-fought, back-and-forth tussle at storied Lambeau Field. Steve Young was the quarterback for the 49ers, and Brett Favre called the signals for the Packers. After the game a television sideline reporter interviewed a muddied and battle-weary Favre. But Young, who had fought his way through the joyous cheeseheads surrounding Favre, briefly interrupted the interview to personally congratulate his counterpart on the win and for having played so well.

Of course, Young didn’t have to do this. But he knew sportsmanship is a part of the game—of any game—whether you win or lose. Real athletes understand that they must maintain the integrity of the game. That’s what counts above all else, and integrity always starts with sportsmanship.

These days it’s hard to escape stories about selfish athletes who sacrifice sportsmanship for showmanship. But though you hear much less about them, many athletes are classy, and they can teach kids a lot.

The next time you and your youngsters watch a college or pro football game, pay attention to the players as the last few seconds tick off the game clock. You’ll see exhausted opponents shaking hands and congratulating each other, often so sincerely that you can’t tell who won or who lost. Such graciousness should be a part of any game, and you can tell kids about many other shining examples. How about when Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa came in from rightfield during a game with the St. Louis Cardinals to congratulate Mark McGwire on hitting home run number 62 in 1998? Or consider this one from an English Premier League soccer match two years ago: With the scored tied at one late in the game, West Ham United’s Paulo Di Canio was surprised to see an open net as he prepared to receive a crossing pass. Then he noticed the opposing goalkeeper had collapsed to the ground in obvious pain. Rather than chip in the winning goal, Di Canio reached out and caught the ball.

This is true sportsmanship, a notion Anaheim Mighty Ducks assistant captain Dan Bylsma embraces on and off the ice. Aside from being a leader on an NHL team, Bylsma has also become a leader in the effort to educate youth sports coaches, parents and players on proper conduct. Bylsma has seen a tremendous increase in unsportsmanlike behavior from obnoxious parents and unruly coaches in youth sports. But rather than just shrug off his concerns, he’s doing something about it.

Along with his father, Jay, Bylsma created IT PAYS—I Teach Positive Attitudes in Youth Sports. The organization promotes youth hockey as a fun activity that also can teach kids life lessons. IT PAYS lets parents and referees grade teams’ sportsmanship, and the organization encourages respect for the game and for others by distributing brochures and behavior contracts that guide players, parents and coaches. Although IT PAYS is little more than a year old, it already has received an enthusiastic endorsement from the NHL, and its tenets are spreading throughout North America. (For more information check out the IT PAYS website at www.hockeyitpays.com.)

Sure, we always enjoy seeing an athlete win a gold medal, score an overtime goal in the NHL playoffs or hit a pennant-clinching home run. But even better is seeing one take an extra step to play the game the way it’s meant to be played—to see one who knows winning and losing are only part of athletics and that sportsmanship is the real bottom line.

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