Elite sporting programs must strive to produce ethical athletes

Now that the dust has settled on the Australian cricket team’s ball tampering saga, it seems an appropriate time to take a look at the role of elite programs in producing athletes that value not only performance but abiding by the spirit and ethics of their chosen sport.

The tribulations of skipper Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and young opener Cameron Bancroft have been well documented over the last few months, and given the media furore, there were times when you could have been excused for thinking the trio had committed murder. However, from a sporting standpoint, the situation is black and white; senior members of the Australian side willingly and knowingly broke the laws of the game and were held to account, firstly by the ICC and then by Cricket Australia, whose punishments for the respective players were largely a result of the orchestration and premediated nature of the plan to ball tamper, more so than the act itself.

It easy to pile on to professional athletes about the way they conduct themselves because given the sheer volume of competitors, there are bound to be indiscretions, as there is with any demographic in society. However, this doesn’t mean these instances should be ignored; the fact that NRL prop Matthew Lodge remains at the Brisbane Broncos after footage emerged of his vicious assault on an innocent man in his own apartment in New York while his wife and child hid, is mind boggling.

This is why bodies like the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) are so important, because they have the personnel in place to educate prospective athletes on how to behave in a professional environment, which is especially crucial in this era of social media scrutiny. The AIS website has an Integrity in Sport section that encompasses everything from match fixing and drug use to child safe sport and community programs. In January, the AIS launched the Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement team, an initiative that prioritises mental health. Development programs like Leading Teams, used by major corporate organisations, have become commonplace in national competitions like the AFL, with these initiatives even being implemented at local level.

Australia has always been ultra-passionate about its sporting prowess and will continue to strive to achieve success. However, ensuring our athletes are informed and prepared to enter the public arena and behave in a responsible way, on and off the field, is an equally important goal.

The Australian Institute of Sport will be presenting at the Canberra ACS Seminar and will be available to answer questions from the audience.

Useful Links:

What defines the perfect coworking space?

Is health and tech the ideal double degree for the future workforce?