Devon Warntz
English 202 B
James Brasfield October 15, 2013
What Is Sportsmanship?
Sportsmanship can be looked at in a few ways. In the sports world it can be viewed as either positive or negative by us fans. The actions behind sportsmanship can be good or bad in nature. Merriam-Webster defines good sportsmanship as: “fair play, respect for opponents, and polite behavior by someone who is competing in a sport or other competition.” In contrast bad sportsmanship would be considered the opposite of good sportsmanship. Sportsmanship can be seen throughout the history of sports in both good and bad forms across all sports at all level of play. I associate good sportsmanship most closely with Respect. Showing an opponent respect is something that I was always taught by my coaches growing up. I played baseball, football, and I wrestled. The sport where I feel sportsmanship was taught to me the most was football. I started off playing pee wee football when I was seven years old. My first coaches were a father and son who very much understood what sportsmanship meant. From day one, I was always taught to respect my opponents and for the most part I always did. When I didn’t I learned my lesson. One instance I can recall is when I was playing midget football (a step above pee wee) and I had a really strict coach. I was a running back and had got stopped on a 4th down play. After I got stopped I slammed the ball on the ground in frustration clearly showing disrespect of my opponents. I was subsequently punished by my coach for my bad sportsmanship and did not play the rest of that game, as well as the whole first half of our next game. This taught me a lot about how negative of a view bad sportsmanship gets. My coach was a stern coach who made us practice hard, he always wanted to win. He wanted to win with glory and respect in true sportsmanship though rather than win by rubbing it in the other coach’s faces. This is how true sportsmanship can be seen, when a coach does not want to rub it in when they win, but when they win, they do so with glory shake hands with the opposing coach and congratulate them on their effort.
A true gem of sportsmanship occurred on September 15, 2013 when the Boston Red Sox honored longtime rival Mariano Rivera, of the New York Yankees, prior to his final game at Fenway Park. The New York vs. Boston rivalry is one that is known around the world. Career-long Yankee closer and future hall of famer Mariano Rivera is someone who wreaked havoc on Red Sox batters since July 16, 1996 when he made his Fenway Park debut. Since 1996 Mariano appeared 55 times at Fenway and closed out 36 games (Cafardo, 2013). Rivera showed true class and sportsmanship on all 55 of those appearances. True class and respect was shown by the Boston Red Sox organization on September 15. They began with a playful “roast” of Mariano for blowing Game four of the 2004 American League Championship Series, the same series which the Red Sox went on to win four straight games to win the series 4-3. After the ALCS, the Red Sox went on to become 2004 World Series champions. The “roast” played thru that series and into the following year on opening day, where it was New York head to head with Boston, again in Fenway. This is the same day when the Boston Red Sox were awarded their World Series rings from 2004. The roast showed when Mariano’s name was called during player introductions; the Boston Crowd gave him a standing ovation for his play in the 2004 ALCS which eventually led them to a series victory. Mariano being the class act he is took it with respect and kept a huge smile on his face, laughing, and raising his hands in the air. They then went on in the video to show good sportsmanship and congratulate Mariano on an amazing career and wished him the best in his retirement. The whole “roast” was not meant to cause harm or be disrespectful in anyway, it simply shows the rivalry will always exist; it was a playful act of what I would consider good sportsmanship on part of the Red Sox organization. Mariano, in good sport, agreed that the Red Sox deserved to say their farewell to him with the 2004 theme. Sportsmanship was then shown by the Boston crowd; when Mariano Rivera was announced the crowd stood to their feet and gave him a standing ovation as he ran onto the field. This is the same crowd that has “booed” him so many times before yet they respect the achievements in his career and acknowledge that he is a class act and good sportsman. When the cheers simmered down the ceremony continued. Mariano was awarded with many good graces on the part of the Boston organization. Mariano was presented with a painting to relieve his moment on opening day of 2005, a bullpen rubber, a piece of the scoreboard bearing his number 42, a 1934 blue Fenway Park seat also bearing the number 42, and a donation to his Panama charity organization in an anonymous amount (Cafardo, 2013). All of these gifts were presented in true class by Red Sox greats, who have played against Mariano throughout the years. The gifts show the good sportsmanship of the Boston organization after all the success Mariano has had against them over the years. Mariano again showed his sportsmanship as he hugged and shook hands with the Red Sox players lining the infield. Though he didn’t directly address the Boston Crowd, he left one final respectful message on the bullpen wall reading, “Thanks for everything” (Cafardo, 2013). Mariano also showed his sportsmanship pregame when asked how he felt about Boston’s plans to honor him saying, “It’s different. Let’s put it that way. I’m humbled and honored and I appreciate what they’re doing” (Cafardo, 2013). In true form he showed his humbleness which is another characteristic of good sportsmanship. Rivera was also quoted pregame saying, “You come here to play against the Red Sox in Fenway, it’s always great games,” he said beforehand. “It’s never easy. It’s not. Big moments, big games, every game means something. The games are spectacular. I always take this opportunity to remember where 19 years I played against the Red Sox. Trying to do my job, it’s not easy” (Cafardo, 2013). It shows the respect he has had for the game and the bitter rivalry between the two teams throughout the years. Mariano respects the game of baseball and plays with honor, integrity, and good sportsmanship, the way the game should be played. The ceremony concluded with the playing of Mariano’s signature song Enter Sandman, while highlights rolled on the big screen showing his dominance over Boston players throughout his career. This was a very classy way to end a ceremony showing true sportsmanship again on the part of the Boston Red Sox organization and team.
Though good sportsmanship is what all fans hope to see it’s not always the case. On June 28, 1997 one of the most historic and remembered displays of bad sportsmanship occurred during the WBA Heavyweight Championship Fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV (Weinberg, 1997). The bout was between star boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. This was a rematch of their previous fight in which Evander has won the title in the 11th round ( ). During the second round of their rematch Holyfield accidently head butted Tyson, opening a gash above his right eye, which infuriated Mike. Beginning the third round Tyson came out with a vengeance landing punch after punch before tying up with Holyfield. This is where the fight took a turn for the worse and true bad sportsmanship was shown. “Tyson gets Holyfield in a clinch, rolls his head above Holyfield's shoulder, spits out his mouthpiece, and then in an inexplicable and gruesome move, crunches down hard with his teeth on Holyfield's right ear and bites off a chunk” (Weinberg, 1997). This was a very cheap move on the part of Tyson showing his lack of sportsmanship. Not only did he bite him, but he showed poor sportsmanship as Evander jumped around in pain, Mike pushed him from behind into the ropes, before the referee could stop the bout and separate the two fighters. After being docked two points for the incident and given a warning the fight continued. When the ref said fight, Holyfield hit Tyson immediately with another right hook, the two clinched again then, “Tyson, shocking and amazingly, cranes his neck around again, finds Holyfield's left ear and bites it. This time, he rips an even bigger piece of Holyfield's ear” (Weinberg, 1997). Not only did Tyson stoop to such a low level of class the first time he bit Evander, this took his level to a complete low. He showed lack of respect for Evander with being so aggressive with his dirty tactics. This time the referee disqualified Tyson and the match ended. This however was not the end of Tyson’s poor sportsmanship. The fans show their disgust for Tyson’s lack of sportsmanship as he walks back to his locker room, fans shower him with empty and half-empty cups of beer and soda and the boos rain down on Mike. Mike was showing his poor sportsmanship as he fought with security to get after Holyfield, who was also restrained. He then pointed his poor sportsmanship actions towards the crowd, “Tyson begins climbing over a temporary railing and up into the stands, making obscene gestures to the crowd and clawing his way up the side of a stairway before he is restrained and dragged to his locker room” (Weinberg, 1997). Mike let down millions of fans, who had respected him prior, with his actions and lack of character. He couldn’t control his emotions and let them take over in his match and eventually tried to take his aggression out on angry fans. Mike let down a sold out MGM Grand arena with such a poor ending to what was expected to be a historic fight. He showed his lack of respect for the sport of boxing and his fellow competitor which defines bad sportsmanship in sports. Mike Tyson had met an all new low in his life which was already in shambles. He was beginning another sad chapter in his crazy life. He was the most hated man in the boxing industry for his lack of sportsmanship throughout that chaotic night in Las Vegas.
Whether it is good or bad, sportsmanship has one defining characteristic, respect or lack thereof. Respect is defined by Merriam Webster as:
: A feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc.
: A feeling or understanding that someone or something is important, serious, etc., and should be treated in an appropriate way.
: A particular way of thinking about or looking at something.
All three of these definitions have the basic same idea; treating others how you want to be treated. Sportsmanship can be looked at as treating your opponent how you expect them to treat you. Mariano Rivera always showed the upmost respect for the Boston Red Sox his whole career and then was returned that respect before his last game at Fenway Park. Mike Tyson showed a true lack of respect for Evander Holyfield and the fans and was returned that lack of respect with all the hate he received in the aftermath. Respect is something that must be earned, and is something that can be earned by showing your opponents that same respect. Once respect is lost in the world of sports it is not something that can easily be regained. One moment can redefine and entire career of sportsmanship. That moment came for Tyson with his bite, he was not always known as a classy fighter but he was a respected fighter because he always had sportsmanship in his fights. His respect level is something he never truly gained back and that moment will always be remembered in sports infamy. On the contrary Mariano Rivera lived a classy career full of sportsmanship and his legacy will go down in history. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest the game of baseball has ever known. Sportsmanship is something that will always be a part of the world of sports, some will go down in history as good sportsman others will go down in history as bad sportsman; it’s an athlete’s choice on which path they lead.

Works Cited
Nick Cafardo (2013, September 16). Red Sox honor Yankees’ Mariano Rivera with ‘roast’. The Boston Globe. Retrieved from http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/09/15/red-sox- honor-yankees-mariano-rivera-before-sunday-nightgame/wBYjtyVgGI4tAqjdPwq7XL/ story.html
Rick Weinberg (1997, June 28). 30: Tyson bites Holyfield's ear in rematch. ESPN 25. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/30.
"Sportsmanship" Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (10 October 2013).
"Respect" Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (10 October 2013).