Recent events in the world of
sport in the USA has brought some attention to the conflict between collegiate
sport’s ethos, what it says it believes, and its pathos, the way it actually
operates. The conflict is demonstrated in a number of ways I have observed. I
will make an effort to outline some of these issues, how they intersect our
work as sport chaplains, character coaches, and sport mentors. I will also aim
to simply state the nature of the conflict. I won’t presume to have an answer
to solving the conflict, but seek only to help us understand the situation and
to serve wisely in the midst of such tension.
Ethos (what we say we
believe) // Pathos (how we actually operate)
Ethos = Amateurism //
Pathos = Professionalism
Ethos = “student-athletes” //
Pathos = professional athletes
I have watched the growth in
this conflict as coaches’ salaries have skyrocketed and student-athletes’
lifestyles have remained largely unchanged. I have seen the NCAA compliance
officers at universities obsess over whether to allow a bagel to be covered
with cream cheese or peanut butter; one being forbidden, the other deemed more
nutritious and therefore suitable. I have seen the Final Four, run by the same
cream cheese obsessed organization, make billions in revenue on the backs of
their “amateur” student-athletes. We have recently seen the uproar caused by a
recently retired student-athlete at a prestigious university seeking to
unionize his team’s football players so they can collectively bargain for
benefits, marketing rights, insurance, and presumably for cash. The International
Olympic movement dealt with their conflicts between amateurism and
professionalism over thirty years ago by allowing professional sportspeople to
compete openly, no longer pretending that many or most of those in their
movement were simply in disguise as amateurs, but operating as professionals.
We who live among, serve
with, and care for the people of sport are daily subject to the tension wherein
they live. Most simply complain about it, not even thinking about the source of
the conflict they feel. Many more take sides in the conflict and amplify the
arguments with their own personal experiences of the broken nature of
collegiate sport. We would do well to both understand and to help them find
ways to navigate these turbulent waters in a Christ-honoring way.
I believe that much of the
conflict can be understood by the inherent folly in a Greek, dualistic mindset
which separates the holy from the profane, the upper from the lower, the
amateur from the professional. Much of our culture will declare one group as
heroes (amateur student-athletes) while also vilifying another group
(professionals athletes). Many, mostly sports fans, will turn a blind eye to
the excesses of their regional collegiate sports programs, but will sling mud
and aspersions toward the professional clubs and players a thousand miles away.
In fact, there is little difference between the two.
Greek
Dualism // Integrated Holism
I believe that a better
approach to the whole world of sport is integrated holism. Rather than seeing
people as being compartmentalized into body, mind, and spirit with little or no
connection between them, seeing the competitor as a whole person with every
part being integral to the function of every other part, is much more Biblical
and wise. A brief reading of Genesis 1 and 2, Ephesians 4 and 5, would inform
the reader in God’s view of how we function. We are created as integrated,
whole persons, not as compartmentalized, fragmented persons. I believe this
model best informs the best and most God-honoring organizations as well. Our
ethos and pathos must become fully integrated so as to eliminate conflicts,
internal and external, individual and corporate.
As we serve people who live
in this tension, let’s help them integrate their ethos and pathos. If they hold
tightly to an amateur ethic, let’s help them develop wise practices that are in
keeping with their ethic. If they are professionals, let’s help them be at
their best and to pursue honorable, consistent, and wise processes with people.
If they live in an environment which straddles the line, let’s help them walk
through the mine field of tension and conflict with grace and wisdom, seeking
Jesus’ way to their goals.
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