Why Not Honor?
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EDITORIAL
Why Not Honor? McIntyre R. Louthan
Published online: 1 September 2011 ASM International 2011
The broadcast and print media are filled with scandal assessments. Politicians, business leaders, university officials and sports figures are caught lying, cheating and otherwise engaging in unethical behavior. ESPN The Magazine stated that the 2010-2011 season was ‘‘the most scandalous year in college sports’’ and discussed ‘‘sin and shame on the field’’. Almost every sector of society seems to be facing dishonest behavior and dealing with unscrupulous individuals has become common place. Such behavior is certainly not new. The 22 Chapter of Exodus begins with the words ‘‘if a man steals a cow or a sheep…’’. However, the tendency for society to tolerate unethical behavior is certainly increasing and many championships become tainted because the players and coaches have lacked honor. ‘‘It is easier to win a championship than to be a champion’’ my Dad told our high school basketball team shortly after we had won the Virginia State Group II Basketball Championship in 1956. Several of us were bragging about our accomplishments in a way that Dad thought wasn’t appropriate. Dad was a teacher and coach at the high school and whenever our school work or behavior became unsatisfactory, he said ‘‘To be a champion, you need to act like a champion’’. Over the years I’ve often wondered what Dad would say about the behavior of many of today’s outstanding athletes and teams. Southern California and Georgia Tech have vacated football championships because they took a cheater’s path to victory. Coaches cheat to become successful, get caught and move to another school—a school where character doesn’t count and ethics are not a prerequisite for employment. Kentucky M. R. Louthan (&) Box 623, Radford, VA 24142, USA e-mail: [email protected]
relishes in a men’s basketball coach who had to vacate two trips to the Final Four—trips he made with other teams from other universities where ‘‘successes’’ were won by questionable behavior. Politicians are expected to lie and industrial leaders rape tomorrow’s potential for today’s pennies. Where is honor? Most Colleges and Universities in the United States either have, or had, an honor code. A code of behavior that was not complex, was easy to understand and very straight forward to interpret: ‘‘I will not lie, cheat or steel or tolerate those that do!’’ Over the years the honor code has changed in many schools. Some deleted the code in its entirety while others deleted the words ‘‘tolerate those that do’’. Unfortunately, society has also deleted much of the honor requirements. The University of Connecticut won the 2011 National Basketball Championship with a coach who couldn’t follow NCAA rules and regulations and the school continues tolerate the coach. Actually they don’t just tolerate the coach; they praise him and his tainted accomplishments. The Ohio State University president supported a coach who hid unethical behavior and lied about his knowledge of the facts. To make ma
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