The Sport Ethic

Hughes and Coakley (1991) refer to the sport ethic as, "to what many participants in sport have come to use as the criteria for defining what it means to be a real athlete."  The sport ethic essentially encompasses four key characteristics of what it means to be a real athlete.  They are: 1) Being an athlete involves making sacrifices for The Game 2) Being an athlete involves striving for distinction 3) Being an athlete involves accepting risks and playing through pain 4) Being an athlete involves refusing to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities.  Athletes conform to these set of beliefs because it shows that the athletes are conforming to the "rules" of sport under the social control that makes those rules.  These four concepts minimize the risk of deviant behavior.  An athlete who conforms to these concepts is seen n the eyes of the public as an athlete of loyalty, allowing the participant to be labeled a "true athlete."

In my own experiences, I believe that I have conformed to these concepts.  Although deviance and unconformity is not always a bad thing by showing that the athlete portrays strong opinions and character, they also keep costly behavior to a minimum and allow for all participants to play on an even keel.