Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and recipient of the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous international awards, passed away at the age of 95 on December 5, 2013. In terms of a person who lived his life based on doing what was right as opposed to what was economically advantageous or simply emotionally or physically easier, Mandela clearly set a high standard. His recent passing serves to remind us of the fragility of freedom and the immense challenges all countries face in the world arena, and also of the tremendous value, as Mandela himself realized, that sports can play in the global community.
I heard a radio commentator state that linking Mandela to sports somehow cheapens his legacy. I disagree. Would Mandela have survived the substantial hardships of Robben Island, where Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison, without the solace of the soccer matches he helped organize at the prison? My guess is yes, but he often noted the importance of those soccer matches to the collective spirit of the prisoners. Would Mandela have had the courage and fortitude to stay the difficult course that marked the essence of his life without his early rugged training and experiences as a boxer? Again, my guess is yes, but who can say what forges and refines the raw material of a man such as Mandela?
Certainly, Mandela recognized the importance of sports both in the global community and in his own country. I was not a huge rugby fan in the mid 1990s, but I do recall vividly the impact on the world stage of South Africa’s 1995 Rugby Cup triumph. I did not appreciate until years later all the challenges Mandela faced in supporting the Springboks.
These certainly are ethically challenging times for sports at all levels. We’ve seen examples of youth coaches who berate their young players and teach them inappropriate tactics, communities that attempt to destroy the lives and families of rape victims whose assailants are high school athletes of renown in their community, and universities that sacrifice academic standards in the hopes of athletics success. It could be argued, perhaps cynically, that our most ethical sports are found at the professional level, where there is no confusion about the primacy of making money and no debate about the ultimate goal of winning at all costs.
Most of us will fall short of the lofty ethical standards set by Nelson Mandela, but as our parents told us, that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to be the best we can be. Mandela’s life serves as an instructive model for parents as we try to teach our children that it’s often hard to do the right thing. In the world of sports, perhaps coaches and athletes alike will take to heart Mandela’s sense of sacrifice for a greater good. Mandela showed us the potentially transformative value of sports, and one hopes his legacy will inspire everyone involved in any way with sports to a heightened appreciation of ethics in this ethically challenged world of sports.
Comments? Please contact me at mgilleran@scu.edu. Thanks.
