When Character Breaks Down
Posted on Mar 7, 2016 9:05am PST
Another day, another professional athlete making headlines for all of the
wrong reasons. And why, because they wanted to take a shortcut to achieve
victory. Former World number one women’s tennis player Maria Sharapova
recently announced that she failed a drug test at the Australian Open
after testing positive for Meldonium, a substance that has been banned
since the beginning of the year because it is believed to help athletes’
endurance and rehabilitation.
Sharapova openly confessed that she did not review the list of newly banned
substances for 2016 from the World Anti-Doping Agency, and failed the
drug test because of ‘ignorance.’ In my book,
The Win Within – Capturing Your Victorious Spirit, there is a chapter entitled
Fair Play: Values and Standards to Live By. The impetus for my writing this chapter was the precipitous falls of
‘superstars’ such as Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds and Mark
McGwire. They too pleaded ‘ignorance’ instead of accountability.
As a result, they cheated the game, their teammates, peers and most importantly,
themselves.
Now, this isn’t the first time nor will it be the last that we bear
witness to athletes pleading ignorance during an impromptu press conference
in their attempt to defuse negative publicity. In fact, the more of these
press conferences I watch and read about the less I believe these athletes
are showing the type of contrition and accountability that comes with
true character. Instead, they appear to be carefully reading scripted
statements designed to save their multi-million-dollar endorsement deals
rather than taking the opportunity to speak from the heart and teach their
young fans that character counts – even, or perhaps especially when
– you’ve made a mistake.
From Lance Armstrong to baseball’s steroid age and plenty before
and after, cheaters often think they’re above reproach. But they
aren’t. Their fall from grace is just from a much higher platform.
The serious doping allegations against Armstrong and his subsequent lack
of sincerity have tarnished the image of this American athlete. Both Barry
Bonds and Mark McGwire lacked the character to be truly victorious, and
their legacies will be forever overshadowed by their devastating descent
into disgrace rather than their true talent. The use of performance-enhancing
drugs goes against all of the core values that are the characteristics
of the victorious spirit. The purest form of competition and performance
lies within the process and your ability to embrace it both emotionally
and physically. Your character and physical skill will be both tempted
and tested, but those who remain true and resolute will find their Win Within.
The victorious spirit is not something we can achieve through cheating.
In order to fully grasp it, we must persevere through turmoil and stick
to a set of strong values that help us weather the storm.