With all the talk of cheating, and deviating from the norm in the sports world, I can't help but notice some of the issues we currently see happening, the New Orleans Saints bounty investigation, the prevalence of flopping in the NBA, and a harder stance taken on heavy hits in both the NFL and NHL. But looking back at the history of the games, how much of it is cheating, and how much of it is simply, giving your team a slight edge? Is this because we live in a kinder, gentler, society today than we did 30-40 years ago?
From an outsider perspective, the New Orleans Saints bounty incident is a clear-cut case of violating the rules. Defensive players on the Saints were given monetary incentives for injuries they inflicted upon other players. The penalty has been severe, both their head coach Sean Payton, and Jonathan Vilma, a key defensive player, have been suspended for all of next season. However, when most former players are asked, including former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Chris Carter, they say that bounties are a common practice in a game where heavy hits and violence are a selling factor. Did the Saints blatantly cheat, or were they simply maintaining the status quo, rewarding defensive players for big hits on the opposing team?
Flopping has become an issue in the NBA. Superstar players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James can literally sell any contact to the refs, and some players could win Oscars for their acting. However, back in the 70's and 80's it was a physical game. When the Boston Celtics dominated, they did so with defense and physical play. In the late 80's and early 90's, the "Bad Boys" of the Detroit Pistons were known for readily putting an opposing player daring to enter the lane flat on his back. The famous play in the 1987 finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers where Kevin McHale clobbers Kurt Rambis out of the air was a routine play and wasn't even called a foul. Now there is a gripe that there is a flopping epidemic in the league. However, is it cheating, or is it simply attempting to gain a competitive advantage? If a play is borderline, you're going to try and sell it to the officials. It's not flopping, but Kobe Bryant is the master at pump-faking and using his arms to draw contact from the other player and get to the free-throw line. Is it cheating? Or is it gaining an edge?
Changes need to be made when it comes to player safety, and we are seeing that in the NHL and the NFL. Dirty plays, made to the head, are being heavily penalized. The Phoenix Coyotes' Raffi Torres was suspended 25 games for a play that put another player on a stretcher, however, during the game, a penalty was not eve called. The Pittsburgh Steelers' James Harrison has been suspended multiple times for vicious hits to opposing players, most recently a vicious hit to the Cleveland Browns' Colt McCoy that gave him a concussion. However, as more evidence of concussions and their long term effects is becoming available, it is necessary to make sure that player safety is a priority.
Why are these changes occurring? Is our society becoming more concerned with health and safety of athletes? Is our society more in tune than it was 40 years ago? Perhaps we live in a kinder, gentler world. Our parents grew up in a time when whipping your child with a belt was socially acceptable, so were many practices in sports that don't exist anymore. Times certainly change.
Mark Fabrick
KIN 577
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