Unfortunately, it is a tale as old as time.
For, in sport, at every level, there are opportunities for athletes, coaches, and teams to bend or flagrantly ignore rules. In order to give themselves an edge.
Indeed, cheating, in all its myriad forms, has long been an unavoidable part of athletic competition. It has been at the center of numerous dramatic scandals and controversies. A history long and vast. The pillars of honesty and virtue at best seriously challenged. At worst ignored.
By way of example, take Fred Lorz, the apparent winner of the marathon at the 1904 Olympics. A significant result, until he is found to have traveled 11 of the 26- mile course by car.
Or baseball, with eight members of the Chicago White Sox, including starry outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, implicated in losing intentionally the 1919 World Series. Taking money from an organized crime gambling syndicate results in multiple lifetime bans.
Add in the 2019 Houston Astros, en route to a tainted World Series title, charged with sign stealing. A victory marred completely by subsequent fines, firings, and suspensions. Or the “steroid era” of 1995-2005. Dozens of players, such as Barry Bonds, use performance enhancing drugs and lie about it.
Of course, illegal drug use impacts equally other disciplines. Sprinter Ben Johnson loses his 1988 Olympic 100m gold medal. While cyclist Lance Armstrong, after years of vehement denial, finally admits serial doping. Is stripped of seven consecutive Tour de France victories between 1999 and 2005.
Other unsavoury incidents include college basketball’s infamous 1951 point- shaving debacle. A dozen players involved in the scheme, from players to agents to bookies to fixers, receive jail time.
And there is more. Consider Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal in Argentina’s 2-1 quarterfinal win over England in the 1986 Soccer World Cup. Or a violent 1994 attack on ice skater Nancy Kerrigan by supporters of Tonya Harding, a main rival. Finally, a disgraceful and fraudulent 2000 decision by a Spanish national basketball team sees a suspension of the intellectual disability classification for two Paralympic cycles.
I contemplate all the above. Know that thousands of other similar examples of underhanded and dishonest tactics exist.
Fortunately, even in world currently dishing out more than its share of conflict, strife, volatility, and despair, sport can also provide a salve of sorts. One particular event, back in April, 2008, delivers a timely, heartwarming, and positive reminder.
A chain link fence surrounds a sandlot field. A handful of spectators take their place in the bleachers. Others set up along the foul lines, some sitting in cheap aluminum folding chairs. Perhaps not the most impressive venue, yet a Pacific Northwest university softball matchup in which much is a stake. Western Oregon visits Central Washington, the winner to qualify for the NCAA Division 2 playoffs. The loser out.
Second inning, score 0-0. A young lady named Sara Tucholsky steps to the plate. Little does anyone know what is about transpire.
It has not been an easy season for the Western Oregon right fielder. A walk on, who does eventually manage a full scholarship, she somewhat lacks confidence. Hitting her weakness, just three hits in her previous 34 at bats as she settles in at the plate. Two teammates in scoring position.
The first pitch whistles by. Strike one. Another blazing fastball follows. Only this time, having never hit a home run in her entire career, she times this pitch to perfection. Launches a tracer bullet into left centre field. Shock, surprise, then pure joy, as the ball sails over the fence.
Teammates pour out of the dugout in delight. Greet two incoming runners. Wait to celebrate with Tucholsky.
Alas, she is nowhere to be seen.
Twenty pairs of eyes sweep the basepaths. Joy turns into disaster.
For whatever reason, in her excitement, having rounded first base, Tucholsky realizes she has failed to touch the bag. Quickly, to correct her error, though not necessarily required to hurry, she plants her foot. Reverses course. It is then, in a freak twist of fate, she collapses in agony. The cruel victim of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee.
The pain intensifies as, unable to continue, she literally crawls back to first base.
Confusion reigns. The umpires huddle, determine that a player pinch running for Tucholsky will negate the home run, reduce it to a two-run single. Her own teammates cannot touch her. An archaic rulebook threatens to submarine what should be a triumph.
Then, the extraordinary happens. Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, soon aided by shortstop Liz Wallace, bends over her prone opponent and asks if she might help. Then does the unexpected.
In the midst of a crucial playoff game, with everything on the line, the two players scoop up Tucholsky in their arms. Carry her around the diamond, making sure to slow down, then carefully lower her left leg, in order she touch each base. As this rarest moment unfolds, players and coaches from both teams shed tears, while the small crowd and umpires cheer wildly as the trio advance carefully towards home plate.
Ninety minutes later, the game ends. Western Oregon secures a 4-2 victory. Central Washington, the team that helped Sara, is eliminated from reaching the post season by her unlikely three-run homer.
Yet, the magic moment in question has little to do with pure athletic skill.
Rather, it encompasses all the very best about sport, and about life. About emotion, selflessness, compassion, integrity, and character. About humanity and the bonds shared through fair competition. Competition, in this case, not defined by the result of an actual game or event.
Without question, the remarkable act of sportsmanship by Holtman and Wallace reinforces the notion that sometimes the greatest victories happen away from the scoreboard. While proving conclusively that kindness and doing the right thing are free.
Indeed, those who ask and then make the effort will never regret the outcome, nor the good it will do.
Touch ‘em all!
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