Unsportsmanlike Conduct

In 1930 Babe Ruth became the first professional athlete to earn more annually than the President. Since then, our professional sports leauges have become a market place where above all, many athletes are driven by the pursuit of higher salaries, not by the love of the game. The desire to win has caused many pro-athletes to display poor judgement, for example taking steroids and using modified equipment like corked bats or weighted bobsleds. This gives the impression that winning is more important than sportsmanship and perserving the integrity of the game.

Though the numerous instances of professional athletes exhibiting bad conduct and poor judgement definetley disgraces sports in general, athletics can and does have a positive impact on the kids and young adults that play sports. In schools everywhere, an athlete must maintain passing grades to remain eligible to play sports. With that in mind, it can be argued that participating in athletics motivates kids to do well in their classwork. Aside from the obvious physical benefits, playing sports also teaches communication skills, the ability follow directions and can relate to kids being well-ajusted socially.

In contrast to sports as a positive impact on kids, exceling in sports sometimes becomes a priority above all else. Kobe Bryant joined the NBA straight out of high school , turning down dozens of the college scholarships he was offered. At a recent Nike basketball camp, eight-grader Derrick Caracter drew lots of attention and is being scouted at only fourteen years old. Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu says that her parents overworked her and as a result of she didnt have a childhood.

Pete Rose and Tonya Harding come to mind as examples of the dark side of pro-sports. In 1994, Tonya Harding plead guilty to conspiracy charges after her figure skating opponenet was attacked by a man her husband hired. In 1989, Pete Rose was banned from professional baseball