Losing with Dignity

When I was in college, I had the chance to coach our dorm's intramural football team. I was a junior at the time, and the team was composed mostly of freshman. They came into the season believing that they were too quick and too talented to be beaten. It didn't really matter what kind of discipline or work ethic I tried to impart.

So I decided to let them see what the league was like. During our pre-season game, we played a veteran team that had won the championship the prior year. My team went out with swagger, and it didn't take long for reality to set in.

Once they were down by four touchdowns, the team started to get a little aggressive. Finally, our starting quarterback got frustrated and drew a 15 yard penalty. My back up went into the game, got sacked quickly, popped up and slammed the ball into the ground in frustration. I took both of them out of the game and wouldn't let them go back. This only added to the frustration.

As I knew they would based on their mentality going into the game, our team lost, badly. But I wasn't as upset with the loss as with the loss of decorum. After the game I gathered the team together and talked to them. I told them that whether we won or lost, we would play with respect and honor. I told them that any player that did anything cheap, that yelled at teammates, or that acted out on the field would be benched, no matter who they were or how valuable they were to our success on the field.

To a man, the players all agreed, and we grew into the team I knew we could be. Throughout my two years working with the team, I developed a bond with that group and had a lot of fun. And whether we won or lost, we played with respect for the game.

I couldn't help but reflect on that this afternoon as I watched the Lakers completely unspool. Not only did they lose the game and end their season, they lost their cool. Two players — Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum — were ejected for taking cheap shots at the opposition. Not only did they lose the game, they lost my respect.

In sports, as in life, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game that matters. The Lakers forgot that today.

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