Acting dishonestly or unfairly to gain an advantage is a trait of man's fabric due to man's passionate desire for personal acclaim and/or monetary gain; thus man's propensity for cheating. Although, we know people circumvent rules and cheat daily, we seem to relish is the celebrity scandalous cheating, which grabs public attention.
Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were caught in cheating plots either bribing or falsifying academic records to get their daughters into prestigious colleges. Huffman admitted guilt while Loughlin pleads innocent to charges. The 2017, World Series Baseball Champs, Houston Astros now have an asterisk aside that title due to proven 'sign-stealing' cameras, which gave clues to their batters on pitching deliveries. Of course, baseball cheating has a long history dating back to the infamous 1919-Black Sox Scandal to Pete Rose's betting on games and the notorious steroid era, which saw long-standing home tun records falling like autumn leaves.
Baseball is not the only sport with cheating blemishes. The Boston College basketball point-shaving in 1978-79, the football Patriots' Spygate and Deflate cheating, the Olympic and cyclist doping and least we forget the NBA referee, Tim Donaghy who bet on games he officiated, 'How 'bout that sports' fans?'
Well, yours truly is not exempt from that sport cheat history. They say confession is good for the soul...perhaps but realization of wrong and hurt in-that-moment was a lesson never forgotten. A young Coach Roustio in a hotly contested prep basketball game called a late game time out on the heels of one of his players being fouled. The player fouled was perhaps a 60% free throw shooter. Therefore, during the time out, I told a higher percentage shooter to, "Go to the free throw line instead of his teammate." It worked out. The shooter made the free throws and we won. However, when I walked into what I thought would be a celebratory locker room, the players' mood spoke volumes. In that moment, I realized I'd lost my players' respect. Before they departed that night, I apologized to the individual I denied a chance to shoot and I apologized to our team.
Grantland Rice was right, "It's not if you win or lose but how you play the games."
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