Yesterday I digressed from “having an argument” and joined 99% of the world and just “had an opinion”. And it sucked.
In Ethics, we were discussing a case on Chinese table tennis players switching nationalities for the opportunity to compete on the world level.
This is not unique to table tennis. I raised my hand and launched into a diatribe about Guido Trenti. While my classmates laughed and thought I was making up his name in a xenophobic rant; Guido is a real person with dual Italian/American citizenship whose selection on the US National team for the 2002 World Cycling Championships bumped other US cyclists off the list. There was much controversy over it which is explained here and anecdotally: “Trenti's selection has created ripples on both sides of the Atlantic. Americans are peeved that a compatriot was overlooked while the Italian press is already calling Trenti an extra teammate for star sprinter Cipollini.”
Who won the 2002 World Championship Road Race? His countryman and regular-season teammate on the Acqua e Sapone pro team; the Italian Mario Cipollini.
My tenure in the sport makes me 99% certain that if Guido would have won the 2002 World Cycling Championships (in a sport where a World title is MUCH more prestigious than an Olympic medal), the US record books would have an asterisk by his name. Supporting evidence of this sentiment could be seen here.
This may not be the same case as Chinese table tennis players representing other countries (because dual citizenship was involved). However, it may bring to mind a classmates well-articulated point about nationalism that I failed to make in my fervor. Which country do you represent and what kind of nationalistic pride does it entail/necessitate? In what nation does the competitor have the most pride? Also…would an “adopted” nation have as much pride in you as an athlete for representing them? Is national pride a pre-requisite? Is this the issue?
The two cases seem to converge on that point as well as one of overall quality of the sport, hence my drawing of parallels.
So who is “responsible” for the ethical choices if the athletes are simply working within the system? The government? The International Olympic Committee? The governing federations such as ITTF and cycling’s governing body, the UCI? As feeder sports to the Olympics, should their goals be in synch with the Olympics and therefore the “ideals” of the games? “Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." (Olympic Charter, Fundamental Principles, paragraph 1)”
My research revealed little about the treatment of the nationality issue, and has also shown that much of the governance and rule-making is given over to these organizations by the IOC with the get-out-of-jail-clause of “we can change it at any time”. Hm..
After class I was quite embarrassed by my inability to keep a level head, but perhaps it was illustrative of the biases by which we operate and cling to that may seem foreign to others. I mean, it’s just a freakin bike race, right? To some, maybe…but not to me. In business we’ve run into this before and we’ll run into it again; vehement opinion. Fortunately I think Darden helps us build the skills to have productive conversations that lead to sound decisions even if some participants seem at the outset to be full of little more than passionate assertions.
My life experience has shown me that athletes and athletic competition represent something precious, fleeting, powerful and important in the human condition. Few things incite so much passion or ire as sport. The decisions made in the sporting arena seem to have widespread effects and get plenty of media coverage.
-How many times have you heard the argument “Jack Welch was a better CEO than Bill Gates!” over beers in a bar? Now how about “The Yankees suck!”?
-When I lived in Milan a national survey came out of Italian men under age 35. They ranked their priorities as 1. Calcio (soccer) and 2. Mama.
-Who were your heroes as a child?
Viva lo sport!
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4 comments:
ah cycling talk!!!! she's back! bueno!
many elite athletes will do whatever it takes to further their careers. a few years back i remember rebellin considered taking an argentinean passport so he could compete at the worlds because he was left off the italian team selection that year. pure selfishness?
See, the thing is with Trenti, he didn't nudge any other Americans off the team. Nobody from the US tends to want to race the World Championships most years, which is fine. Guido should have a place. Why not? He's never going to make the Squadra Azzuri, and he carries a US racing license, so it's all square.
"Nobody from the US tends to want to race the World Championships most years" ... say what??? i think most guys would kill for the chance.
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