At the end of a recent sporting fixture between two rival schools, parents of one of the schools, who had clearly been drinking for much of the day and subsequently making a lot of embarrassing comments very loudly throughout the match, came forward from where they had been standing to greet and congratulate their children on their efforts. Indeed, here were grown men in tears because their child had won an inter-schools’ fixture. What do all these factors tell the children who were playing in this inconsequential match and those who were watching?
In an indirect way, this scenario, not confined purely to this one match, sadly, is related to a comment that someone wrote recently (but no doubt echoed by many people) that “there is no such thing as a moral victory in top level sport”. We might wonder to begin with if such a statement was said (or is read) with sadness or relief or anger or acceptance but the fact is that such thinking is ‘out there’. It implies that all that matters is winning, however it can be achieved or gained. It is saying there is no place for morals in top level sport (which implies that there is no place for morals in life either, as sport mirrors life).
Let us understand, when we speak of a ‘moral victory’, we are saying that a team may have lost but they have performed above expectation (of themselves and of their opponents), showing admirable qualities in doing so. They have played with heart, dignity, integrity and decency, even in their defeat. Such surely should all be commended and admired, not ignored or dismissed.
Perhaps, though, the person making the statement about there being no such thing as a moral victory is correct. There is, after all, no league for moral victories. There are no extra points, no prizes, given for a moral victory. As people say with regard to golf, there is no comments column in sport – the end result is all that matters, whether the victory is deserved or not does not matter. We cannot claim that a defeat is in fact somehow a victory, people will argue.
The statement though does raise a number of other questions. Firstly, do we need to categorise victories with different adjectives? We do describe victories as comprehensive, lucky, deserved, crushing, so why is there no room or space for moral victories? We must be saying there can be luck or deserving in victories but no morals. That is surely inconsistent. Conversely, why do we not speak of moral losses or defeats? We might think we mean that the team has played poorly but behaved and responded well, though in truth it should rather mean that we have shown no morals in victory.
Finally, and most pertinently, we need to ask that if there is no such thing as ‘a moral victory’ in top level sport, is there such a thing at any level of sport, in particular in school sport? Ultimately, we must realise, we are asking if there is any place for morals in sport or indeed life.
Paddy Upton argues that we do need to show the way by “integrating practices such as mindfulness, equanimity, service, higher purpose and integrity”. The only important victory for all of us is when morals are upheld and honoured. A moral victory is a victory for morals. The beauty of that is also simple and encouraging – everyone can gain the victory, no matter the result.
The fact of the matter is probably that there is no such thing as a moral victory in top level sport because there is no such thing as a moral victory in schools sport, whether in the eyes of the coaches, the noisy blinkered parents or even the schools. For if the children are not learning about morals in sport while at school, then they will have no morals to carry forward to the other levels of sport. It is a sad indictment therefore of our school sports that there are no morals in top level sport.
Ultimately, if we find ourselves asking the question, “who cares about moral victory?” then we are saying it is fine to win at all costs – in school sport, in all sport, in society, in elections, in individual lives. We are saying there is no place for sportsmanship, respect, honour, humility, fairness and ‘doing the right thing’. It is, after all, only people who care who have morals. It is about time we did have moral victories. And if we do want moral values and victories then we need to reward moral values not victories. Now that might just bring tears to our eyes.
