A new Josephson Institute survey of over 4,200 high school athletes provides a chilling picture of a confused generation floating in moral relativism and self-serving rationalizations. According to the results of the survey, high school sports do teach positive values and build character, but in many cases young athletes -- especially males -- simply learn to cheat, engage in improper gamesmanship and indulge in excessive violence.

The study, conducted by the CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition (a project of the nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics), is believed to be the most comprehensive measure of the attitudes and behaviors of high school athletes.

According to the Institute's president, Michael Josephson, "The values of millions of youngsters are directly and dramatically influenced by the values conveyed in high school sports. This survey reveals that coaches and parents simply aren't doing enough to assure that the experience is a positive one. Too many youngsters are confused about the meaning of fair play and sportsmanship and they have no concept of honorable competition. As a result they engage in illegal conduct and employ doubtful gamesmanship techniques to gain a competitive advantage. It appears that today's playing fields are the breeding grounds for the next generation of corporate pirates and political scoundrels." Among the key findings:

Coaches Don't Always Set a Good Example. While nearly 90% of
high school athletes report that most of their coaches set a good exam-
ple of ethics and sportsmanship, it's not clear they know what a good
example is. Large portions of these same athletes endorse questionable
actions of coaches including: 1) arguing with an official intending to
intimidate or influence future calls (51% of males, 30% females); 2)
instructing players how to illegally hold and push opponents without
getting caught (45% of males, 22% females); 3) using a stolen play
book of another team (42% of males, 24% females); 4) saying noth-
ing when official declares the wrong score in favor of the coach's
team (a mathematical rather than a judgment error) (40% of males,
21% females) ; 5) instructing a player to fake an injury to get a
needed extra time out (39% of males, 22% females); 6) ordering a
pitcher to throw at an opposing hitter in retaliation after a key player
was hit by a pitch (30% of males, 8% females); 7) swearing at an
official to get thrown out of a game in order to get team worked up
(38% of males, 12% females); and 8) using profanity and insults to motivate
players (37% of males, 15% females).

Many High School Athletes Break Rules and Engage in Unsporting
Conduct. Judging by the conduct and attitudes of young athletes, it appears
that many coaches place winning above the concept of honorable competi-
tion and sportsmanship by teaching or condoning illegal or unsporting
conduct. Thus, high percentages think it is proper to: 1) deliberately
inflict pain in football to intimidate an opponent (58% of males, 24%
females); 2) trash talk a defender after every score (47% of males, 19%
females); 3) soak a football field to slow down an opponent (27% of males,
12% females); 4) build up a foul line in baseball to keep bunts fair
(28% of males, 21% females); 5) throw at a batter who homered last time up
(30% of males, 16% females); and 6) illegally alter a hockey stick (25% of
males, 14% females).

Cynical Attitudes About Success. Nearly half of the male athletes reveal
cynical attitudes about the prevalence, necessity and legitimacy of
cheating in the real world. Thus, high percentages agree with the following
statements: 1) "in sports, people who break the rules are more likely to
succeed" (30% of males, 15% females); 2) "in the real world, successful
people do what they have to do to win even if others consider it cheating"
(56% of males, 45% females); 3) "a person has to lie or cheat sometimes in
order to succeed" (43% of males, 27% females); 4) "it isn't cheating if
everyone is doing it" (19% of males, 9% females); and 5) "if you're not
cheating, you're not trying hard enough" (12% of males, 5% females).

Winning More Important Than Sportsmanship. 1) More than one in three
males (37%) -- versus only 15% of the females -- agree that "when all is
said and done, it's more important to win than be considered a good sport".
2) While 94% of the females agree that "playing the game fairly and
honorably is more important than winning," 20% of the males disagree. 3)
While 87% of females believe that a high school coach "should be more
concerned with character building and teaching positive life skills than
winning," more than one in four males (27%) disagree. 4) 31% of males and
25% females believe their coach is more concerned with winning than in
building character and life skills.

Putting Sports Above All. Only half of all athletes (52%) think it is
improper to hold an academically successful student back a grade so he will
be older and bigger when he plays high school football; 25% say they are
unsure.

Performance Enhancing Drugs. 1) 12% of the males and 3% of
females used performance enhancing drugs in the past year. 2) 78% of
the males and 91% of females agree that "no athlete should use perfor-
mance enhancing drugs because it is unhealthy". 3) 78% of males and
87% of females agree that "no athlete should use performance enhancing
drugs because it is cheating".

Cheating and Theft. In the past year: 1) 68% of both males and females
admitted cheating on a test in school, 2) 26% of the males and 19%
females said they stole something from a store , and 3) 43% of the males
and 31% females said they cheated or bent the rules to win.

Hazing and Bullying. 1) 31% of males and 17% of females report that
degrading hazing or initiation rituals are common at their school. 2) 69%
of the males and 50% of the females admit that they bullied, teased or
taunted someone in the past year. 3) 55% of the males and 29% of the
females said they used racial slurs or insults.

To view report in its entirety, visit http://charactercounts.org/sports/survey2004.

Note: This story appeared in the October, 2004 edition of the BULLETIN. Click here to view the entire issue.