Athletes Gone Wild

In the past couple of weeks there has been an outcry on ESPN and around the country about the dirty play of athletes. Some have asked the question, "What has happened to good sportsmanship today"? To those people I would like to bring up the name Ty Cobb (MLB 1905-1928). One of the most dirtiest players in its long history. A player who was known for sharping his cleats and sliding feet first with nasty intention.

The best story is about a young pitcher who intentionally beaned him in his first plate appearance. Cobb took his base without saying a word. The next time he came up to bat, he dropped a bunt down the first-base line. When the pitcher went to field the ball, Cobb knocked him over, then spiked him on the chest. The pitcher was sliced open and had to leave the game. If you look up the definition of "dirty" in the dictionary, there's a picture of Ty Cobb.
Stephen Escudero
Phoenix

Dirty play isn't a recent epidemic, we just have more cameras that catch every action sequence so every play is scrutinized.

In addition, people should realize that the actions taking place in the sports arena is a far different environment than the one most people live in. Of course people are horrified and appalled when they see the video of Brandon Spikes gouging the eyes of a defensively player. If that was to happen on the street, he would probably get arrested for assault. However, on the football field, these types of actions are not only accepted but encouraged (depending on the coaching staff). When I played football, I remember coaches pointing out the opponents best player and advised that we needed to put a hurting on him to make sure he doesn't beat us. For many of my teammates and I that meant, we needed to take this player out. Now we didn't gouge anyone's eyes out, however, we did aim for his ankles. So before you jump all over the player and start calling for suspensions, I would take a look at the coaching staff and what they may be preaching.

So don't worry about the plight of sportsmanship because it hasn't changed. There will always be dirty players and until coaching changes these types of behaviors will always manifest until winning isn't everything. For the time being we just have to accept that sportsmanship starts after the game ends.