Mayor Loran Joseph: The Sport of Politics
When winning is all that matters, everyone loses. When we treat our political parties the same as we treat our sports teams what's the point of debating the issues?
Loran Joseph is the Mayor pro tem of Baker City.
The pros and cons of sports
"Central Oregon Basketball Tournament 2011" by rwentechaney is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Let's talk basketball. As a fan, former player and coach, spouse to a former professional player, member of a family of players, and father of two young boys outgrowing shoes every couple months, basketball is an inseparable part of my Oregon Way. So it comes as no surprise that when I first learned that the University of Oregon Tall Firs were winners of the first NCAA basketball tournament I couldn't have been prouder. My own basketball experiences were impactful as well. Trail Blazer glasses from Dairy Queen, Jim Boutin camp at Lane Community College, and pickup games at Laurelhurst park: these were important moments that shaped my life in Oregon and were shared with many others in the state.
I've always considered sports to be a way to learn important life skills. I'm sure you've heard it stressed as well: teamwork, work ethic, sportsmanship, and discipline. What better way to incorporate these qualities into one's character than sports? Not to mention the myriad of health benefits that physical activity and exercise provide.
Many other parents must also feel this way seeing how much effort goes into creating opportunities for kids to participate in sports year-round. Our community has had many discussions regarding the economic impact of "sports tourism" and how families are spending thousands of dollars in coaching fees, tournament fees, uniforms, restaurants, hotels, and fuel.
As I've grown older (and wiser?), I've taken harder and closer looks at my relationship with sports and what exactly my children are gaining from their participation. More and more, I see where the competitiveness of sports has taken over, leading to the wrong lessons being learned.
When I look back at all of the physical altercations I've participated in, over half of them occurred on the basketball court. I obviously did not learn self control from sports. Getting more introspective, I’ve asked myself what life skills I learned from the 30 years I've spent playing basketball? If I am to answer honestly, it is that I learned to always try to dominate my opponent, humiliate them if possible, and avoid losing at all costs.
What it really means to win
"Skirmish" by _vikram is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Is this experience unique to me? Where did I go wrong in my basketball career to end up like this? Can I blame that one coach I had that would kick the ball into the rafters if he lost in our scrimmages? The sad truth is that the competitive sports environment is headed in this direction.
Even at the amateur level, coaches and players alike seem to have put winning above all else, while leaving decency on the sidelines.
I've watched tournament teams play their starters the entire game trying to win—victory comes at the cost of building a team.
I’ve listened to high school coaches who amass a 30 point lead over an inferior team in the first quarter shout "not good enough!" and then insist they continue to fast break and score every time.
I've seen coaches and players wait in the parking lot to accost referees.
Of course, this behavior is what the pros model as well. Every night you can turn on the TV and see trash talking, whining about calls, fighting and other bad sportsmanship. These are not isolated occurrences and the only complainers are the losers. Winning makes anything and everything ok.
I believe that the culture that we have created around sports has become toxic, and unfortunately has spread to other areas of our life. No longer are discussions on social media about informing others or trying to understand someone's point of view. The political process has no place for coalition building or compromise anymore. The scorched earth, take no prisoners, win at all costs mentality has slowly infused every aspect of our lives and directly led to the tribalism of America. When winning is all that matters, everyone loses. When we treat our political parties the same as we treat our sports teams what's the point of debating the issues?
Ducks vs. Beavers, West vs. East, Democrats vs. Republicans: these rivalries have become more similar than we'd like to admit. I believe that in order for our state to "win" we must first redefine winning as "achieving that which makes us better." Then we will be able better recognize what we should be striving for. In the meantime I've found other activities for my children to develop the life skills they should have learned in basketball. Track and field, music lessons and bands, DIY projects, fishing, the list goes on. As for me, I'll let you know how my competitive makeover is going once I can breathe and sweat indoors next to nine strangers again without worrying about the coronavirus.
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