Commentary: Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is trending.  At the end of cross country season there has been a number of articles featuring runners helping fallen and/or injured runners.  Dripping with "human interest," these events were featured on mainstream media as well as social media.

It started in Minnesota with the runner carrying an injured athlete to the finish on her back.  Both athletes were not only featured in local television and print media, but also made a n appearance on Ellen DeGeneres's daytime talk show.  Shortly thereafter a fallen runner was helped to the finish by two other runners near the finish of the MSHSL XC Championship girl's Class AA race.

The three runners together in the center of Gene Niemi's picture--Tierney

Winter(423), Jessica Christopher(429) and Kailee Kiminski(459)--were all 

disqualified. 

This past weekend a virtual carbon copy of the MSHSL display of sportsmanship happened in the NCAA DI women's race, as well as the men's race at the NAIA XC Championships. All were recorded online and in the mainstream press.  All were hailed as heroic displays of sportsmanship. Is this trend that unusual and/or noteworthy?   Or has it happened as often as this year only it was not documented as well?

All those who helped a runner complete the race said they did it because it was "the right thing to do."  Even though it is against the rules because it is a prohibited form of "assistance" that gives the athlete being "assisted" an unfair advantage.  It alters the outcome of the race.

No performance was improved aside from the athlete being helped to the finish.  Those providing the assistance finished slower than they would have if they had not stopped to help.  In all cases, the runner assisted was disqualified, although no statement regarding the runner who was injured and carried piggy back to the finish was made as to whether or not she was DQed, it seems logical to think that she was not given an official finish time and place.

All these situations raise a number of questions.  Is "sportsmanship" in such short supply that when people do what the athletes did to assist the runners in trouble in these situations was it that noteworthy or rare that they merited the publicity they received?  Is it fair and reasonable to disqualify those who helped?  Do the current rules in Minnesota need to be revisited or are they fine as is?  Part of the "assistance" rule states that runners cannot touch each other, hold hands. So, if they wanted to tie in a race, technically, both could be disqualified.

One guesses that this may be because there is another rule that either demands a judgement from officials as to who was ahead of the other.  One would get first, for example, and the other second, which might be a factor in team scoring. Or, if the rules said that if a clear winner could not be determined that both individuals would be given the same place, which again could influence team scores. Sportsmanship and scoring collide with the nod given to scoring, to competition over compassion.

There is no universal "right" answer to these questions only rules and their interpretation and enforcement. Is there a way to both reward "sportsmanship" and the rules of competition?

Minnesota and Baylor runners helping another Baylor runner .
Photo by Mike Scott

In the video of the athletes helping the Baylor runner finish you can hear those taking the footage or those standing near them instantly recognize that one of more of these runners was breaking the rules. You can hear the mixed emotions in their voices, as if they know what the rules say, but they wish they didn't.  A wish that the rules would have room for competition and compassion.  It will be interesting to see if anything comes of these mixed emotions.  If they inspire rules alterations or if there is no change that can accomodate those seemingly conflicting  emotions.