Written by In trying to define both what small “c” and small “s,” culture in sports is and means, and what the platform “Culture in Sports” stands for, several common priorities and goals emerge:
- Prioritizing the safety and well-being of young athletes in and around sports
- Eliminating abuse in all its forms from sports and sports organizations
- A commitment to inclusion, based on the provable truth that the best teams are inclusive
- Providing education to help coaches be the best they can be
- Guidance for parents in navigating the challenges associated with sports participation
- Supporting athletes in using sport as an expression of their individuality and in pursuit of their life goals
- Embracing the highest values of sport and sportsmanship
- Celebrating the role of sports in furthering greater cultural and global understanding
Eight seems like a fair number to have. It is enough to be more than a few handy suggestions, but still less than some other more serious statements that hit double digits, like The Ten Commandments or The Bill of Rights.
While the focus of our work at Culture in Sports is decidedly less heavy than tablets written in fire on a mountain top, we still deal with a subject universal enough to matter on many levels. Sports are unquestionably a cultural teacher. As faith and participation in other institutions that have historically provided cultural commonality decline in the modern world, the significance of sports grows. Again, if only because of its universality.
Often, I find myself writing here about strategies for protecting young athletes or eliminating abuse from sports, but today I get to shine a spotlight on something good that happened this weekend in global sports.
After a semifinal for the ages in the French Open against Rafael Nadal, the unquestioned master of the red clay of Roland Garros, 34 year old Novak Djokovic had to battle back from two sets down deficit to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in Sunday’s final. After gutting out a victory against his younger foe, Djokovic who is making his case as the greatest player of all time did something I’ve never seen before. He handed his racquet, the one he used to hit the last winner of the tournament, to a young fan. The youngster’s reaction has gone viral. It was an act of what I like to describe as “radical sportsmanship,” an act that is larger than the outcome or the competition, this time to a fan not a competitor. Rather than auctioning off the racquet later to be bought by some wealthy collector for whom the racquet will just be a symbol of the collector’s wealth, Djokovic returned the boy’s support during the match by giving him his racquet.
It would be wildly presumptuous to suggest that, however touching, this will make this youngster grow up to be player with talent rivaling Djokovic. It’s a racquet, after all, not the magical sword, Excalibur. Although any fan of Monty Python will tell you “distributing swords,” magical or not, has limitations. But I guarantee it cemented a lifelong love affair for the young man with the sport and with the hero who shared this moment of connection with him. You could see it on his face. That is what made this moment priceless, the connection.
If you’ve been lucky enough to watch men’s tennis over the last decade, you’ve been treated to three great champions in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. I am not sure we will see their like again soon or maybe ever. You can make a case for any of the three to be considered the greatest player ever. But their incredible play is matched by their collective respect for the sport. This kind of glut of talent is rare in any era but again it is the respect for the game and the people for whom they play that makes them timeless and enlarges the sport.
Djokovic’s gesture harkens back to an early 1980s Coca-Cola commercial featuring Pittsburgh Steelers star Joe Greene limping off to the locker room, injured, bloodied, and in pain, and he encounters a young boy drinking a Coke. The kid says to the pained Greene that he thinks, “he is the greatest,” and offers him his Coke. Greene accepts, his powerful hand nearly covering the small glass bottle, and drains it in one gulp. In going their separate ways, Greene turns back and tosses the boy his game-worn jersey. The beaming kid says, “thanks Mean Joe!” The marketers at Coke contrived this moment, and it is absolutely contrived, because even in the innocent days of the 1980s, unaccompanied kids didn’t roam the lower reaches of stadiums on game days and star players didn’t have to limp to locker rooms alone after suffering an injury, because of the power of connection between star and the dreams of the kid who idolizes him.
Djokovic had his “Mean Joe Greene”- moment on one of the biggest stages in his sport on Sunday and the world is just a bit better a place because of it. Chances are none of us will never play like Djokovic or Greene. As for me, I could never play like Djokovic, because I am built more like Greene, except with much less athletic ability.
But each of us gets more chances than we will know, or even recognize, to influence, positively or negatively, a young person’s love of sports. It is how we meet these moments. What’s your next moment going to be like?