Sportsmanship Essay

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Sportsmanship not only means taking part in sports and playing the game in honesty with the rules stated, but also playing the game with the spirit of positivity out on the field, court, or rink. Good sportsmanship is the most important aspect of the game. Sometimes games will get intense, heated and personal; therefore, sportsmanship must be learned in order to be practiced in fierce situations. If athletes weren’t criticized for inappropriate behavior, there would be no protocol for others to follow. Of course there’s talent and hard work, which are both very important aspects of sports, but without sportsmanship and self-discipline, there would likely be a disarray of conduct throughout the numerous levels of play. When athletes go “beyond …show more content…

A perfect example of this is an NFL player who goes by the name, Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was awarded the first Art Rooney Award for sportsmanship in 2015. Players from around the NFL voted the Arizona Cardinals receiver the first winner of the Art Rooney Award, which was established in 2015 to reward one player who really shows great strides in sportsmanship. Fitzgerald states, “Any time you get recognized by your peers, your teammates, it’s really humbling. It’s not a popularity contest, just guys’ authentic feelings, and it means a lot to me to be recognized as the first recipient of the Mr. Rooney Award”. The sportsmanship Fitzgerald shows on the field, helping opponents off the field when injured or not trash talking a defender, was developed when he played Pop Warner football. In Fitzgerald’s words, “It’s just who I am. It’s the way my parents raised me. I can always remember back to my first year of Pop Warner football. My coach, Don, he used to always preach sportsmanship to us. No matter if we win, we lose, we draw, you always have to respect your opponents and give them the respect that they deserve because they are competing and playing the same game that you are”. Good sportsmanship is one of the life lessons that children can learn from sports and benefit from for the rest of their existence. Helping children understand the values of good sportsmanship while making sure they have a safe and fun sports experience is what sports is all

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